- Dubai Sports City’s Spanish Soccer Schools win 2-1 against Dubai Club and take home the Plate Cup
- Hundreds of talented youth footballers from around the world took part on 21st & 22nd April
Hundreds of youth footballers took to the pitches of Dubai Sports City last weekend as part of the Dubai Intercontinental Football Cup for Under 13’s.
The competition, which took place on 21st & 22nd April, saw some of the world’s biggest clubs, including Real Madrid and AC Milan, travel to Dubai and compete in the inaugural tournament.
The tournament, which is in partnership with Dubai Sports Council and La Liga, took place across Dubai Sports City’s world-class facilities and saw local and regional clubs – including Al Nasr and Dubai Club – mix with teams from Australia, Japan, Spain, Italy and the rest of the Middle East.
Despite an early defeat to AFA Angola, Celta Vigo emerged as the champions of the tournament, crowning their victory with a thrilling 1-0 win over Real Madrid in the final. On Saturday afternoon home side, Spanish Soccer Schools managed to beat Dubai Club, 2-1, which saw them take home the Plate Cup.
Michel Salgado, ambassador for the Spanish Soccer School and Real Madrid legend, said: “It has been a fantastic weekend of football here at Dubai Sports City, you can see all the teams have really enjoyed themselves and learnt a lot along the way.”
“Over the past two days everyone has played really well and I was delighted to see Spanish Soccer Schools win 2-1 against Dubai Club and take home the Plate Cup!”
The top goal scorer award went to Yeray Lancha Perez from Real Madrid, who scored 8 goals. The best goalkeeper award went to Cristovao Catungue from AFA Angola and Most Valuable Player (MVP) went to Robert Carril from Celta Vigo.
Dubai Sports City President, Khalid Al Zarooni said: “We are delighted to have hosted the inaugural Under 13 Dubai Intercontinental Cup here at Dubai Sports City. We are really seeing the quality of football in this country increase and I have no doubt that has been aided by having world-class facilities, coaching staff and by hosting world-class event like the Dubai Intercontinental Cup. Events like this allow our youth players to gain valuable experience and play against teams from across the globe.”
The level of youth football in Dubai has risen in recent years due to the increasing competition and development of the Dubai Sports Council Championship, which merged the top private academies and some of the local professional clubs. The growth period has been overseen by Salgado, an ex-professional who played in 343 La Liga games over a 15-year period.
Ali Omar, Director of the Sports Development Department in Dubai Sports Council said: “We are happy to cooperate with Dubai Sports City in organising this unique football event; it is in line with the strategic plan of DSC aiming to give the junior players the chance to play more matches in order to improve their skills, and prepare them to lead our clubs and national teams in the future”.
As well as action on the pitch, off-pitch fans and spectators were able to enjoy entertainment will be available for the whole family to enjoy with the exciting Intercontinental Cup Fan Zone. The Fan Zone included live entertainment, a variety of food and beverage options and fun interactive activities throughout both days of the tournament for all the family.