• French School (LFIGP) dominate the Semi-Finals in all 3 Schools Up categories
• Rayyan Dagher and Ahmed Al Arif who played like professionals leading their teams to victory in the Streets Cup

Dubai, UAE – 13 March 2016 – The UAE’s best football teams battled it out at the duFC national semi-finals, the home of the UAE Schools and Streets Cup. 32 teams from Abu Dhabi, Northern Emirates and Dubai played their toughest day of matches to date, to secure one of 8 places at the national duFC Finals to be held on March 19, 2016 at the ice rink at Dubai Mall.

320 semi-finalist male and female players aged 11-17 out of the 7,100 who competed for the past five months in duFC from Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the Northern Emirates proudly carry the nation’s flag high at The Sevens Stadium.

The young players, boys and girls, aged 11-17 from across the UAE gave it their all for a chance to fulfill their dreams at the only international youth football scouting platform in the nation conducted in partnership with LaLiga.

Earlier this week, it was announced that football legend and former Real Madrid player Roberto Carlos will be leading the duFC clinic on 17th and 18th March, which will prepare the top eight teams for the duFC Finals along with Michel Salgado.

Fahad Al Hassawi, Chief Commercial Officer du commented on the day of matches saying, “du Football Championships have really brought the football communities and their families together during the exciting games. Today, we are one step closer to making dreams come true for the UAE youth. Soon our very best players will hone their skills to world-class standards with professional LaLiga trainers in Spain. The football that we witnessed throughout the competition really raised the bar for the finals on March 19, and we are proud to be a part of the making of true UAE champions from across the nation.”

The Finalists
The promising athletes in the Schools Cup Boys U16 category raised the bar on youth football today with determination, speed, tactical passes and most importantly the ability to work as a team demonstrating fantastic sportsmanship.  Teams moving forward are the French School (LFIGP) who played their semi-final match against Al Khalil International School from Al Ain winning 4-2 and the International School of Choueifat (Dubai) who came from back from 0-2 at half time against Al Maarifa School of Sharjah to dominate the match winning 5-3.

“It’s an amazing feeling to have won today and for our team a dream come true to be trained by Roberto Carlos.  Next week will be tough, the French School are a great team,” said 15 year old Mahan Javaheri, goalie from Cheouifat Dubai.

Championship Director, Michel Salgado wished the finalists luck ahead of the finals, “The level of football today was very high.  The youth across the UAE have worked hard in the past months and the ones going forward to the finals deserved their wins today.  What separated winning teams from others was their ability to work as a team.  I look forward to working with them together with Carlos next week and wish all the teams’ going into the finals the best of luck.”

In the Schools Cup boys U14 category, tensions were high as the top 4 French School (LFIGP), National Charity School NE, Rashid Bin Saeed Hatta School and Philadelphia Private School made it to the semi-finals.  With everything on the line, these young boys played like true champions.  Teams moving forward are French School (LFIGP) and Philadelphia Private School, both of whom worked as a unit, aware of each other’s position on the pitch and able to create plays and score goals to seal their fate.

The Schools Cup girls U17 category has throughout the tournament been supported by a great crowd of friends and family and today the deafening sounds on the sidelines led the French School (LFIGP) and Al Yasmina School to victory.  The French School (LFIGP) played their semi-final match against the German International School Dubai winning 2-0 while Al Yasmina Abu Dhabi faced off against the German School Abu Dhabi which ended in a penalty shoot-out which saw Al Yasmina moving forward.  It was a day of fierce competition on the pitches of the girls matches and what set these 2 teams apart from the others was their crisp, creative, accurate passing that enabled them to get past the defense of opposing teams time and again.

The Streets Cup pitches were witness to some of the most talented players in the tournament who recognize the great opportunity they have to follow their dreams.  The boys from Top Gunners and El Classico are moving forward after a day of grueling matches.  Both semi-final matches ended in nail-biting penalty shoot outs where Top Gunners rivaled against EFF from Abu Dhabi while El Classico met Santos FC both teams from Northern Emirates. 

Speaking after his win, Samer Atallah from Top Gunners said, “This has been a great journey for us and to play today wearing Nike uniforms bearing the brand we designed for our team made us feel like heroes.  It is amazing to be one step closer to Spain.”

Hussein Murad, CEO of Inspiratus, the organizers of the initiative spoke after the semi-finals saying, “Over the past six months we have been closely supporting youth from across the UAE to come out and play their best football game for a chance to pursue their dreams. Today, at the national semi-finals, youth are getting ever closer to their dreams. On the pitch today, we witnessed superior talent, the kind you see in pro football leagues, and I am certain that we will see some of these youth playing in professional teams and leagues in the near future.”

The top eight finalist teams will face off against each other at what promises to be an unforgettable day of finals at the ice rink at Dubai Mall on 19th March 2016.

The du Football Championship is a nationwide initiative that aims to achieve sustainable human development through the discovery of promising talents, who will raise the bar on local and national teams as they become the next generation of pro male and female footballers.