Abu Dhabi // The inaugural National Amateur Football Championship turned into an all-Abu Dhabi semi-final with Hawks, winners of the Abu Dhabi Football League, joined by Spartans, Al Jassim and Lambos.
Hawks topped Group A and will meet Lambos, winners of Group B, and Al Jassim play Spartans next Saturday for a slice of the Dh50,000 purse in the seven-a-side tournament.
Ibrahim Fateh scored a hat-trick to lead Spartans, the runners-up behind Hawks two weeks ago, to a 3-1 win over Mediapro Middle East in a top-of-the-group clash and book their place in the last four at The Dome at Rawdhat last night.
Fateh gave Spartans a 2-0 lead at the break and added a third after Stuart Weeden had pulled one back early in the second half.
Al Jassim thrashed Persepolis 6-1 in another group-decider with Mustafa Mbecke and Nathan Bugdan each scoring twice for a 4-0 lead at the break.
Rashid Sheikh and Ahmed Siddiq completed the rout after an own goal early in the second half had given Persepolis a consolation effort.
"I have played at the division-one club level in my country and the NAFC and ADFL have provided me with a great playing opportunity," said Mbecke, a 25-year-old Senegalese student from Abu Dhabi University.
"I train twice-a-day, six times a week because I want to continue playing at a good level. I have been here for two years and played for Baniyas Police last season and currently play for the Capital Police in the Government Departments tournaments."
"One of my friends also has told me a club in Lebanon was interested in signing me as a professional player and I hope to travel for a trial during this summer. So any kind of competition will help me stay in good shape.
"Besides, this competition has drawn some of the best expatriate players, and some of them have played at national level. This is the first year and for sure this competition will get better over a period of time."
The top teams from the four four-team groups advanced to the semi-final. The 16 teams comprised the top eight teams from the ADFL and the top seven teams from Dubai and one from Fujairah.
The Falcons and Rugby All Stars were joined by King Raiders and Mondial Studs in the women's semi-finals.
The Falcons topped Group A from Rugby All Stars while King Raiders and Mondial Studs joined them after Team Abu Dhabi, winners of the ADFL women's tournament, and Dubai Ladies withdrew from the competition.
