duFC UAE Schools Cups Teams Qualify for National Semi-Finals

• Al Maarifa International Private School and Sharjah American International School in Boys U16 Soar to the Top
• Al Zuhour School and International School of Choueifat Sharjah in Boys U14 Secure their Spots
• Al Maarifa International Private School and Al Shifa Sun School in the Girls Challenge Look Strong
• Streets Cup Teams One Step Closer to the Finals

Sharjah, UAE – 27 November 2016:  The du Football Champions, UAE Schools Cups teams battled it out on the pitches of Al Hamriya Football Club to secure their spots in the national semi-finals which will be held in Dubai on March 11, 2017.

With winning trips scheduled to travel to Spain and the UK in April and the opportunity for top talents to get scouted into the du LaLiga High Performance Centre within arm’s reach, the young boys and girls from schools across the Northern Emirates pulled out all the stops to make it to the next stage in the competition.

UAE Schools Cup
The competition on the pitches of the U16 boys category was fierce with some of the strongest teams in the region having made it through the group stages including Al Maarifa International Private School, Al Kamal American Private School, Al Zuhour School and Islamic Scientific Institute.  Teams moving forward are Al Maarifa International Private School and Sharjah American International School

Teams in the boys U14 category were most evenly matched with many strong teams and talented players who caught the eyes of LaLiga Scouts during the group stages.  Teams moving forward are Al Zuhour School and International School of Choueifat Sharjah.

The girls from the Northern Emirates played some of the best football demonstrating an unexpected determination coupled with great team work, fast-paced passing and ability to hit the back of the net to make it to the national semi-finals.  Teams moving forward are Al Maarifa International Private School and Al Shifa Sun School.

UAE Streets Cup
Teams in the Streets Cup played their final day of Group Stages and will face off for their knock out stages next week.  Teams moving forward include The Avengers, The Professional Academy, Future Makers, First Kick and Team Adnan. With 2 spots open for Streets Cup teams to move forward to the National semi-finals the boys on the pitches of the Streets Cup worked hard to secure their spots.

Players to Watch
The stand out player of the week was Alaa Mohamed from Al Maarifa International Private School whose attitude both on and off the pitch combined with his tactical passing and speed caught the eye of the Scouts.  Other promising players this week included goalie Abdullah Osama, mid fielders Khalifa Sembaij and Arman Jafari, defender Bashar Zain and strikers Majid Khalid, Mohammad Bashir and Ahmed Al Sharqi.

What they Said
Coach Mostafa Ramadan from Al Maarifa boys U16 applauded his team saying, “We played in this tournament last year and it was a fantastic experience for our team, and we are motivated to take home the Cup this year.  The young boys are committed and focus on the end prize and we have been training for weeks.  I am very proud of them and we look forward to the knock outs.”

Speaking after his match, young Hassan Ali from Al Zuhour said, “It was a very tough day for us – we played 3 matches and each time the opponents were stronger and stronger, but we were determined and worked as a team.  I am so happy to make it to the semi-finals.”

Raphael Gonzalez, LaLiga scout said, “There are some very strong players in the Northern Emirates.  We are impressed with the skills we have seen here and it will be a tough decision to pick the top players from this region.”

With teams from Abu Dhabi and Dubai completing their registrations for kick on January 14, 2017 and February 11, 2017 respectively, the du Football Champions platform has reached an unprecedented amount of youth across the nation enabling youth footballers to pursue their aspirations of pro-football career.

Full games results and standings are posted on www.dufc.ae 
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