Dubai: The UAE’s top talents for 2016-17 were selected over the weekend, earning them a coveted place at the du La Liga High Performance Centre starting in April.
The country’s finest 115 footballers showcased their best football skills for the opportunity to be selected by La Liga scouts and earn the chance to pursue their dreams for a possible pro-football career.
In the final selection, 26 top talents were selected in the U16 category and another 23 made it through in the newly-introduced U14 category. Another ten talented youngsters will join the U18 category comprising of players selected from last year.
The nationwide talent search extended to more than 7,000 aspiring footballers who took part in duFC’s UAE Schools and Streets Cups that were held between November 2016 and March 2017. The top talents selected from the Northern Emirates, Abu Dhabi and Dubai were invited to the final trial for the selection of the du La Liga HPC team for this season.
The selected players in the U16 category will travel to Spain in August together with the selected talents from the U18 category, where they will all participate in an intensive three-week training camp. They will also play competitive matches against top clubs and have the opportunity to be scouted by La Liga clubs.
Commenting on the final selection of talents from the second season of du Football Champions, Fernando Sanz, General Director, Middle East and North Africa and Head of International Projects, said: “Over the past six months, we have seen some very talented players across the UAE and the final selection was challenging. The players selected are the ones who have what it takes to embark on a successful pro-football career. It does not only take superior technical skills and physical abilities, but a relentless drive, commitment and dedication to continuously improve and perform to their highest potential. We look forward to developing them with the coaching that has helped to produce the world’s best players and I am confident that some of football’s future stars will be among them.”
2016-17 du La Liga High Performance Squads
U18: (Goalkeeper) Ali Karmali; (Defenders) Mohammad Al Sakhadi, Mohammad Zayed; (Midfielders) Pierre Misdorp, Saeed Hussain, Mohammad Haytham, Mohammad Sameer, Sym Sebera; (Strikers) Mohammad Eyad, Lotfi Machou.
U16: (Goalkeepers) Abdullah Salem, Rajai Ardakani; (Defenders) Aidan Pinto, Thomas Craig, Falah Abdullah, Osama Yakut, Mohammad Al Shabrawy, Sebastian Allsop, Abdullah Ali; (Midfielders) Hamza Khan, Timi Esan, Adham Khalid, Ameen Yazid, Kareem Mohammad, Mahmoud Samir, Barbod Mazloumian, Mohammad Rabia, Zayed Bin Walled, Adham Bayoumi, Omar Taha, Hassan Ali, Joshua Hendricks, Fabio Rouano; (Strikers) Carl Masrajian, Mehdi Al Khamlichi, Sultan Al Nuaimi.
U14: (Goalkeepers) Karim Moamen, Zayed Abdullah; (Defenders) Omar Azlan, Amr Bassem, Abdel Rahman Taher, Waleed Bassam, Sarya Nouh, Ashraf Zaheyr, Khalid Al Mansi, Jay Baisley, Khalid Abu Hamarah; (Midfielders) Abhinav John, Ahmad Nashat, Amirhossein Perad, Mahmoud Tarmoum, Mahmoud Yazan, Mohammad Sabri, Ghaith Bader, Yiannis Petras, Hazim Mohammad; (Strikers) Obaid Mohammad, Ali Zakeri, Akram Kabbani.
