The first week featured over 200 goals from 50 matches featuring the top schools and streets teams from across the emirate.

This weekend du Football Champions, in partnership with LaLiga, and home of the official UAE Schools and Streets Cups and UAE Girls Challenge, kicked off its Dubai and final leg of the nationwide tournament with over 50 matches and 200 goals scored in the first weekend of play at the Sevens Stadium.

Many of the big contenders are back again this year including International School of Choueifat, Philadelphia Private School, Rashid Bin Saeed, St Mary’s Catholic High school, Lycee Libanais Francais Prive (LLFP), Al Razi, Dubai National School Altwar, Towheed Iranian School, Adab Iranian School, Al Makwakeb School, Garhoud, the German International School and Lycee Francais George Pompidou.

Newcomers to the tournament include Mouath Ibn Jabal, Abu Saeed Al Kadari, Soukaina Bint Al Hosn, Safiya bin Hoyaye and Dwight School. 

Veteran teams are also back to compete in the UAE Streets Cup including Sharjah Scout Academy, Future Stars, LaLiga Academy, Remontada, Teen Soccer Academy and Al Ain Fc. Over 50 new teams are competing in the Streets Cup this year.

Taking the lead in Schools Cup U-16 Group A and B respectively are Rashid Bin Saeed School who beat GEMS Our Own Indian School 5-0 and New Academy School 3-1 and Towheed Iranian School for Boys who played a superb match against LLFP beating them 3-0 and also beating Dubai Scholars Private School 4-0.

Teams in action during the championship.

In Schools Cup U-14 Abu Saeed Al Khudari beat LLFP 5-1 and Philadelphia Private School 3-0 securing them a perfect 9 points and the lead in Group A. Dubai Scholars Private School cleared their way forward to the knockout stage with 5 points in Group B.

In Boys U-12, Abu Saeed Al Khudari and Soccer Dubai lead in Groups A and B respectively with 9 points each.

“We wait for du Football Champions impatiently every year. It’s so exciting to be in the 5th season. Our teams practice the whole year for the chance to play in this world-class tournament,” Mohammed Ramadan, the coach of the Rashid Bin Saeed school said.

“Dubai’s off to a strong start as we kick off the last leg of the nationwide du Football Champions tournament. With both returning and new teams, the competition across the Emirates is heating up in the lead up to the semi-finals. We also look forward to uncover this year’s top talents from Dubai over the next few weeks,” said Iago Aguilar, du Football Champions Technical Director.

du Football Champions is a nationwide initiative, home to the UAE’s official schools Cup and Streets Cup, and a unique youth football scouting platform in partnership with LaLiga. duFC aims to achieve sustainable human development through the discovery of promising talents, who will raise the bar on sports excellence at local and national teams as they become the next generation of professional male and female footballers.

Scouted players will subsequently be invited for trials for the opportunity to secure a professional football contract with a professional club through the prestigious du LaLiga High Performance Centre.