Footballers of the future get new training centre

A new training centre for future national and international pro-footballers was opened on Thursday, as schools geared up for the du Football Champions finals on March 19.

DUBAI // A new training centre aimed at producing national and international professional footballers opened on Thursday, as schools geared up for the du Football Champions finals on March 19.

The du High Performance Centre in partnership with La Liga, the top football league in Spain, will enable young people to develop their skills to create professional footballers in the UAE, said du chief commercial officer, Fahad Al Hassawi.

“The value of initiatives such as this not only provide our youth with once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to become professional football players, but creates a platform through which the youth connect with each other and with the best professionals in the industry internationally,” he said. “It is an honour to have our efforts and those of our partners officially recognised at a national level.”

Fernando Sanz, general director for Mena at La Liga and the first La Liga global ambassador, said that it was apparent that this was exactly what the youth of the UAE was waiting for.

“We at La Liga are proud to be part of this groundbreaking initiative,” he said.

Meanwhile, Michel Salgado, du Football Champions director and La Liga global ambassador said: “We have seen some fantastic play over the past weeks in Abu Dhabi and the Northern Emirates and are excited about the talents we have spotted.”

The Dubai round kicks off on Friday at The Sevens after the official draw by the technical committee of du Football Champions, which will announce the format of play and Dubai group formations for the UAE Schools Cup and the UAE Streets Cup.