Kindergarten Starters book ticket to England; Jazira top
dubai — A two-day youth football extravaganza saw a total of 60 teams from across the Middle East compete for the coveted title of Manchester City FC Abu Dhabi Cup 2017 champions.
The winning teams in the under-12, under-14 and under-16 age group categories have now won an incredible week-long coaching package with professional coaches from Manchester City FC.
In the under-12 category, Abu Dhabi Thistle Football Club took the top spot and Al Jazira Football Club secured the top places in the under-14 and under-16 categories. The top prize of a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the home of Manchester City Football Club was won by under-10 team Kindergarten Starters from Dubai. Kinder Garten Starters team coach Arun Parthap said: “The team have been
The team have been training very hard for this competition. They played very well throughout the weekend Parthap, Kindergarten Starters coach
training very hard for this competition. They played very well throughout the weekend and I am delighted they have won the trip to the home of Manchester City — they really deserve it. We are all thankful for the opportunity and are really excited to being going to the Etihad Campus.”
They will now travel to the Etihad Campus in Manchester where they will get to play and train at the same facilities as Manchester City’s Vincent Kompany, Sergio Aguero and Kevin de Bruyne. Commenting on the tournament, City Football’s Project Manager Simon Hewitt said: “We have had around 2000 young players and spectators enjoying an absolutely fantastic weekend of football in Abu Dhabi. The response has been excellent and the atmosphere around the pitches was great. We thank everyone who played a part in making the tournament such a success and we plan to host the Manchester City Abu Dhabi Cup for many years to come now.”
The tournament, which is supported by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority and Etihad Airways, came to a conclusion on Saturday afternoon on the pitches at Zayed Sports City — with more than 850 boys and girls having taken part. Teams from across the GCC including Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman took part in the event.