Taking place on April 21st and 22nd April, hundreds of youth-age footballers from some of the world’s biggest clubs, including Real Madrid and AC Milan, will contest the inaugural tournament in Dubai.
The tournament, which is held in partnership with Dubai Sports Council and La Liga, will see stars of the future play at Dubai Sports City.
UAE teams, such as Al Nasr and Dubai Club, are set to clash against European heavyweights and other teams from Australia, Japan and the Middle East.
Former Real Madrid star Michel Salgado, a Dubai resident and ambassador for the Spanish Soccer School, said: “We’re very excited to welcome international youth teams to Dubai to compete in the inaugural Dubai Intercontinental U-13 Cup. It’s a great sign of how youth football in Dubai has grown in recent years, and will show us how our footballers of the future measure up against their international peers.”
The standard 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.
Inaki Beni, Football Academy Manager at the Spanish Soccer School, added: “Dubai’s youth players will be itching to test themselves against players from iconic clubs such as Real Madrid and AC Milan, and will certainly be looking to swap shirts after the games.
“It’s the next step in the development of the Dubai Sports Council Championship and we expect this tournament to become an annual event. We hope we can continue to bring the world’s top youth teams to Dubai.”
As well as action on the pitch, off-pitch entertainment will be available for the whole family to enjoy with the exciting Intercontinental Cup Fan Zone. The Fan Zone will include live entertainment, a variety of food and beverage options and fun interactive activities throughout both days of the tournament.
Dubai Sports City President, Khalid Al Zarooni said: “We are delighted to be hosting the Dubai Intercontinental Cup here at Dubai Sports City. Over the past number of years’ football in this country has gone from strength to strength and we are delighted to be playing a part in that.”
The full list of teams taking part is as follows:
- Canadian Academy of Futbol
- AFA Angola
- Al Wahda – Abu Dhabi
- Tokyo Select
- FTS Australia
- Al Nasr
- Al Fateh FC
- Celta Vigo
- Real Madrid
- AC Milan
- Dubai Club
- Spanish Soccer Schools.
To find out more information about the Under 13 Intercontinental Cup, click here.
Further details are also available on the Dubai Sports City website.