A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR YOUTH FOOTBALL IN OMAN

was more reliant on the technical side of the game and my mental strength as well.

“The first thing that I would look into is the ability to absorb information,” he explained. “If the player is able to take information and execute it, that’s the best player to work with, because if they are able to dribble, or shoot or have skill, but are not able to take in information, those things count for nothing, as you need to be coachable as a player.”

While Lami may be spearheading a new avatar of an existing academy, the Muscat Football Academy (MFA) is an initiative that’s been instituted from the ground up. This standalone football development centre is the Gautam Viswanathan brainchild of former Leicester City and Morocco goalie Chuck Martini and Sheikh Al Jarwani, one of Oman’s leading business magnates. Since its inception about four years ago, Martini – who represented his nation on four occasions and travelled as part of the Morocco squad to the 1994 Fifa World Cup – has always developed local talent, but had an international perspective. Over the last two years, MFA have been regulars at the Mundialto Tournament, which features some of the world’s best youth prospects, featuring clubs such as Valencia, Ajax, Barcelona, FC Porto, Sporting Lisbon, Club America from Mexico, and many others.

Martini has also taken his play- ers to the neighbouring UAE to take part in many other youth tournaments, and this is central to a plan which involves bringing the best out of players.

“One of our goalkeepers, Mees Eppink, is now pursuing his dream at Ajax in the Netherlands, and Tariq A’Saadi, who left two seasons ago, is actually about to sign for Manchester City,” said Martini. “We’ve had two of our major stars go and play abroad: They may be only 10 or 11 years old, but clubs are now taking on children as young as that.

“We also have Alejandro Espinosa, who is now playing collegiate football and studying in the United States via a scholarship with us,” he added. “I do be- lieve we can offer a path to parents whose children are serious about football. It’s not just about spending money to join an academy, but they can eventually use this as a means to education, or if they show enough promise, become professionals.” Speaking of goalkeepers, Oman’s very own favourite footballer also has hopes to help young footballers in the nation follow in his footsteps. The Al Habsi Football School may be the newest entrant, but is one that is sure to grow rapidly, given Ali Al Habsi’s fame across the region.

“We believe there is everything here in Oman for players to succeed,” said Ahmed Al Habsi, the operations manager for the school and a former member of the board of directors of the Oman Football Association.

“What we want to do as part of our long-term plans is to set up an academy here in Oman, where we can fully benefit from Ali Al Habsi’s experience in England. He has about 15 or 16 years of experience and I think the youth of Oman will benefit greatly from his expertise. “Of course, for that we need a lot of land and help from the Oman Football Association and other organisations but I am sure we will get that in the future,” he added.