The last day of du Football Champions (duFC)’s Abu Dhabi group stages took place this week, with top teams across age categories in the UAE Schools and Streets cups facing off for a place in the knockout stages.

Over 300 young footballers participated in the new U12 category, which was created to give the opportunity to be discovered by La Liga scouts.

British School Al Khubariat’s Robert March shone in the new category, leading his team to the top of their group. Among the others who may have caught the eye of La Liga scouts were U16 player Mohamed Tarek, U14 footballer Ameen Yazi, and March’s fellow U12 players Yousef Mohammed, Mustafa Mohammed, and Abdelrahman Ahmad.

Those young talents who are selected will be invited to join the du La Liga High Performance Centre.

The U16 category also saw some of the closest matches, as Al Dhafra Private School and British School Al Khubairat contested fiercely for top spot in their group. They played out a superb 1-1 draw when they met, and Al Dhafra ultimately topped the group only on goal difference. Raha International School and Al Najah School were the other teams to advance to the knockouts.

British School Al Khubairat showed their pedigree across age categories, with both the U14 and U12 sides qualifying for the knockout stages.

The championships also feature the UAE’s largest football tournament for girls, the UAE Girls Challenge, with International Community School, Cambridge High School, AISA, and Regional Sports qualifying from the group stages after some superb displays of skill and technique.

In the UAE Streets Cup, goals ruled the day, with a whopping 78 scored across the U16 and U14 categories.