More than 20 teams have signed up for the Futsal 5’s Academies Invitational tournament and if you want to join them then make sure you register before 18:00 on Thursday.

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Open to football clubs and academies in the UAE, Friday’s event, which consists of two age groups U-8 and U-10 (boys), will see promising youngsters compete for honours at Fitness First Meadows, Sports Zone Arena in Dubai.

The players will get to showcase and develop their skills in becoming a better footballer in futsal – a sport which is fast growing around the world.

Having originated in Brazil in the 1930s, futsal has become hugely popular in developing players’ skills and abilities, and is now played in many countries including Spain and Portugal.

While it is not as popular as football in the UAE, despite its similarities, Sports Management Solutions, organisers of the tournament, believes there are a lot of gains for those players who take part.

“We want to help promote futsal in the UAE,” said Faris Al-Mudaffer, managing director of Sports Management Solutions. “It’s a very utilised method of teaching kids of improving their technical skills.

“It’s very highly rated in many countries around the world, most notably in Brazil, Argentina, Spain and Portugal and if you look at their countries they produce very good technical skilled players.

“A lot of this is to do with that futsal is part of their programme and you can see that with the number of quality players they produce. There are a lot of talented footballers in the UAE and I believe that any young player will learn a lot from just taking part.”

It is no surprise that some of the top football clubs and academies in the UAE have already signed up for the first edition of the tournament and Al-Mudaffer is delighted with the number of entries so far.

“We’ve had a great number of teams signed up which is great since it’s our first tournament,” he said.

Team entries cost Dh450 with seven players in each squad. While matches last 12 minutes each, the tournament will consist of round-robin games and knock-out stages.

And to make the matches more exciting, there will be a number of rule changes.

“Obviously the rules are different from football, so we don’t want to introduce many rules because a lot of them will not be familiar to them,” said Al-Mudaffer.

“The Under-8s will play with Size 3 ball and the Under-10s with Size 4. And goalkeepers will be allowed to throw the ball under arm. I think the most exciting feature is that when the matches are tied, instead of a penalty shootout, players will have to dribble with the ball from the half way line and score a goal within five seconds.” 

Prizes will be awarded to the top three sides, while one footballer will go home with the MVP award. Al-Mudaffer promises it will be a tournament to remember.

He said: “It’s a really ideal game to play because players will get more touches of the ball. It’s an important part of any development for a footballer.”

Next Friday will see the U-12 and U-15 categories take place with registration still open.

VENUE: Fitness First Meadows, Sports Zone Arena, Dubai
WHAT: Futsal 5’s Academies Invitational
WHEN: Friday from 14:00
Sport360 VERDICT: A great chance for budding footballers to develop their skills in a competitive tournament.
CONTACT: To register or for more information email futsal@sportsmsuae.com. Registration for U-8 and U-10 groups ends Thursday at 18:00.