International flavour for Mina Cup Futsal 2024

Teams from Bahrain and Oman to vie against the best talent from Dubai academies this weekend

DUBAI: Teams from Dubai will be up against some of the best talent from across the region when the Mina Cup Futsal 2024 is held in two age categories at Al Wasl Club’s indoor stadium in Al Jaddaf area, this weekend (June 21-22).

The competition will kick-off with the U-10s at 3 pm (UAE time), with the opening day witnessing Ajax Academy ‘White’ taking on Empire FC in Group A and Ajax Academy ‘Red’ facing Al Khaleej Football Academy in Group B on two separate pitches.

Saturday will see the U-12s contest from 9 am till 3 pm with Manchester City Dubai playing Al Khaleej Football Academy in Group A, while Group B will see Manchester City Abu Dhabi taking on the visiting Alseeb Club Academy in the two opening matches.

Both age groups have attracted 12 teams each with visiting Bahrain Futsal Academy participating in the U-10s, and Oman’s Al Seeb Club travelling with teams in both age categories.

In both age categories, there will be six teams in the two groups with a round-robin contest deciding the best two sides from each group advancing to the knock-out semi-finals.

The highlight of the competition will be that the winners of the U-10s tournament will earn an automatic spot in the European Futsal Cup that is scheduled to be held in Strasbourg, Germany in the last week of January 2025.

The European Futsal Cup is a high-quality futsal competition that attracts some of the best clubs from across the continent, including Juventus, Olympique Lyonnais and Benfica. In this year’s edition held in the final week of January, Arsenal FC got the better of FC Barcelona 2-0 to win the U-10 title.

In the U-12s, Group A will consist of Manchester City Dubai, Go-Pro Sports, Ajax Academy, Joga Bonito Academy, Azul FC and Al Khaleej Football Academy, while Group B will be made up of Manchester City Abu Dhabi, Empire FC, Dubai Irish FC, Reds Football Academy, Elite Football Academy and Al Seeb Club Academy from Oman

In the U-10s, Group A will be made up of two teams from Ajax Academy (White), Elite Football Academy, Bahrain Football Academy, IJF Academy, The Futsal Academy and Empire FC, while Group B will comprise of Ajax Academy (Red), Dubai Irish FC, Al Seeb Club Aacdemy, Go-Pro Sports, Reds Football Academy and Al Khaleej Football Academy.