Dubai: Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal are confident of defending their title as the Seventh Hamdan Bin Mohammad U17 Football Tournament kicks off at the Dubai Police Officers Club from Friday.
Al Hilal defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-1 to win the title last year but the German giants have reinforced their squad this time.
Al Hilal and Borussia Dortmund will be joined by debutants Olympique Lyonnais of France and Italian side AS Roma with the four outstation teams joined by four club teams representing Dubai in Al Ahli, Al Nasr, Al Wasl and Dubai Club.
Friday’s formal opening ceremony will be held at 4pm followed by the inaugural match between Lyon and Dubai Club at 4.45pm, followed by the second match between defending champions Al Hilal and Al Ahli.
The eight participating teams have been divided into two groups with the preliminary matches being held for the first six days followed by the knockout semi-finals on April 14 and the third place play-off and final on April 16.
“We know the importance of this tournament as this is a crucial time for players to make that most important transition into a professional career. Several clubs were of the opinion that we could perhaps have a tournament for other age groups, but after long talks we concluded that this age category is the best,” Ali Omar, chairman of the organising committee told media.
As many as 22 teams from the UAE and across the globe have participated in this tournament over the previous editions. “The main thing this time will be a symposium for all participating teams where coaches will come on a common platform and share their level of expertise,” Ahmad Salem Al Muhairi, tournament director, said.
Al Hilal are currently third in the Saudi League behind Al Nasr and Al Ittihad. “We have won last year and this year we want to win it again,” Al Hilal coach Lourenco Frutos said.
“For me, the most important thing is to have a fresh look at my players before we continue our surge towards the league title,” he added.
Borussia Dortmund are also eager for the crown that evaded them last year. “Our team is built around two players who played here last year [Marko Ayman and Torge Wittenberg] and their experience will be important for us,” Dortmund coach Christian Fluthmann said.
“This year, we have a stronger and faster side and we hope we can win,” he added.
Dubai Sports Channel, Medeor Hospital, Azizi Developments, Emirates, DP World and Audi are among the strategic sponsors for the annual event.
The tournament started off with five teams in the first year and then saw the field increase to ten in the second year. However, since then the competition has been organised for only eight teams with the four best teams from Dubai being joined by four invited sides from different schools of football from across the world.
FIXTURES
(April 7) FC Lyon v Dubai Club; Al Hilal v Al Ahli
(April 8) AS Roma v Al Nasr; Borussia Dortmund v Al Wasl
(April 9) Dubai Club v Al Hilal; FC Lyon v Al Ahli
(April 10) Al Nasr v Borussia Dortmund; AS Roma v Al Wasl
(April 11) Dubai Club v Al Ahli; FC Lyon v Al Hilal
(April 12) Al Wasl v Al Nasr; AS Roma v Borussia Dortmund
(April 14) Semi-finals
(April 16) Third-place match and final
