JC Heat’s Joe McCaffrey was among the players to take to the field in the third edition of the tournament and the all-rounder had nothing but praise, having tested himself in the Under-14 and U-17 competitions.

“It was a very good experience for me and it was good to see where my game was at against players in my own age group,” said the 14-year-old all-rounder, whose U-17 team reached the quarter-finals.

“Playing in the NSL allowed me to gain an insight on what areas of work I’ll need to improve on.

“Every time I played, I was really motivated as it was a good challenge of testing myself against players I’ve never played against.”

He added: “I think the biggest plus is that I got the opportunity to play against teams across the country. Otherwise, we’re usually playing against the same teams in
Dubai, so it’s a great learning curve.”

Nooran Thakur, who was part of the Abu Dhabi Indian School team that reached the U-14 semi-finals for the second consecutive season, rates the tournament as one of the best in the UAE.

“Although we lost the semi-final, it was a great learning experience and for sure we will bounce back strongly,” said the skipper.

“I’ve been playing the NSL for a long time and it’s definitely one of the biggest tournaments I’ve played in this country.”