Du adds life-to-life to a new generation of sports savvy individuals with the launch of du Football Champions (duFC), to discover young talents in the UAE and thus build tomorrow’s football stars, in partnership with La Liga. The Launch was announced in a press conference held today at the Address Hotel, Downtown Dubai.
Through a ground breaking partnership with La Liga, duFC is designed to offer youth talent from across the UAE the opportunity for a professional international and national football career. The Championship is also endorsed by the UAE Football Association and is open to boys and girls aged 11-17 from across the UAE. Featuring the UAE Schools Cup and UAE Streets Cup, duFC officially kicks off its inaugural edition on October 17 in Abu Dhabi and will run until March 19, 2015.
Speaking at the press conference Fahad Al Hassawi, Chief Commercial Officer at du said, “Football is not only a game, it is a tool that gives the youth skills and abilities that will be indispensable throughout their lives. As a responsible Emirati business, we are proud to nurture the future leaders of tomorrow. Sport can also be a career and we are opening new doors for the younger generations in the UAE to explore the world of professional sports and to excel in it. We are extremely proud to be launching our new platform the du Football Champions in the UAE.”
du Football Champions platform is a long term project that aims to achieve sustainable human development and constitutes du’s corporate social responsibility strategy. Partnering with La Liga, the strongest football league in the world to refine the youth talents and enrich their capabilities with the latest available scientific measures and styles, through training with world-famous coaches and traveling to Spain and playing competitive games with the best La Liga youth clubs. Which will give them the prospects of being selected for an international
pro-football career.
Fernando Sanz, Director General for MENA at La Liga and the first La Liga Global Ambassador, said, “La Liga are honored to be part of the launch of du Football Championship platform, as this groundbreaking initiative through the UAE Schools and Streets Cups, will bring together the nation’s youth, providing them with a unique platform to showcase and foster their football talent. We look forward to contributing to the development of football and young athletes of the UAE.”
The tournament will be played at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain Football Club, Sharjah Football Club, Emirates Sevens and Dubai Sports City in Dubai, all under the expert guidance of football legend Michel Salgado, who has just been appointed as a global ambassador for La Liga.
Inspiratus CEO Hussein Murad concluded: “du Football Champions is a celebration of the nation’s youth footballers. Creating this platform, with our partners du and La Liga and sponsors Chevrolet, celebrates football excellence in the UAE and will be the catalyst to the development of the future pro-footballers on an international scale.”
About du Football Champions
du Football Championship, featuring the UAE Schools and Streets Cups, is designed to nurture youth talent at a grassroots level in the UAE at an unprecedented scale and offer them the chance for an international pro-football career. Played to world-class standards under the direction of football legend and La Liga Global Ambassador Michel Salgado, du Football Champions will be conducted at a national level and played in Abu Dhabi,
Dubai and the Northern Emirates.
The Championship is open to boys and girls from age 11-17 and will pave the way for youth to cultivate their sporting talents and aptitudes and is the only platform in the UAE enabling the future pro-football players to be
discovered.
It is designed to attract the largest number of football enthusiasts in the UAE by engaging them with the sport in relation to those aspects most important to them at this age: their school and their friends.
About UAE Schools Cup
The du Football Champion’s UAE Schools Cup, in partnership with La Liga, is set to change the face of youth football athletics in the UAE with the most sought after competition on the UAE calendar.
The Cup was born to support the UAE’s quest for development of youth football excellence.
The championship is open to all schools in the UAE through 3 categories Boys U14, Boys U16 and Girls U17.
Winners will travel to Spain for training, competitive matches and football tourism with La Liga. Top players could also land a trial with one of the top clubs in La Liga.
The Cup will be played in 3 locations:
○ Abu Dhabi
○ Northern Emirates
○ Dubai
About Streets Cup
The du Football Champion’s Streets Cup, in partnership with La Liga, is open to Boys U16.
It allows multiple entrants based on only one requirement: that they participate with a team, either an established team, which could be either on a club, school or academy team or a newly formed team with their friends.
The Streets Cup enables youth teams to experience football on a professional level, with the upholding of commitment, fair play and teamwork values at the heart of the tournament.
The Streets Cup runs concurrently with the Schools Cup. Winners will travel to Spain for training, competitive matches and football tourism with La Liga. Top players could also land a trial with one of the top clubs in La Liga.
The Cup will play in 3 locations:
○ Abu Dhabi
○ Northern Emirates
○ Dubai
Championship Format:
● 15 Week Tournament
● 7 players per team, 12 min halves
● Schools Cup 12 player squads, Streets Cup 10 player squads
● Matches will be played on Saturdays, 9:00-17:30 from Oct 17, 2015– Mar 19, 2016
● Finals on: Mar 19, 2016 at Dubai Mall Ice Rink
To register your school or for sponsorship opportunities visit: dufc.
