They’re French in origin, but Ecole Francaise de Football (EFF) will represent the UAE with pride when they travel overseas for the first time to play in the Gothia Cup this summer.

– #Quiz360: WIN a group paintball session at Zayed Sports City
– Dubai Dragons claim AFL Middle East title for third time
– VIDEO: Celebrating Gaelic Games marquee competition

The world’s largest international youth football tournament will host over 80 nations in Gothenburg, Sweden from July 12-18, and EFF will be one of the few teams to display the talents of the UAE with their U15 and U18 teams.

No longer a small, upstart club, EFF have evolved from 30 to 40 kids since being formed in 2000 to now having more than 200 players from ages six to 18. For EFF president Bruno Fittipaldi, the time is right to finally get a test outside of the region and on the international stage.

“Now that we figure the club has matured in certain age categories, we see that the football that’s developing is quite good, so we want them to face much, much tougher competition,” Fittipaldi said.

“Everybody is very excited of course. Since it is our first visit, we’re going there to learn first. The target for us is to come out of the group stage.”

Initially started by people from French companies and having children from the French schools in Abu Dhabi, EFF have recently opened up to all players and now boast more than 20 nationalities within the club.

Even though they continue to expand and be ambitious, EFF remain a non-profit organisation, which Fittipaldi believes is significant to their identity.

“All the money goes to the kids, to cover the cost of booking the pitches for the year, providing the uniforms, buying equipment and organising tournaments,” he said.

“Now there are some very wellorganised academies, but the cost is much higher. For us, for example this season, the cost was Dh1,000 for the whole season for an individual. That includes everything. This is really one of our assets because the life in the UAE is not easy for everybody.”

The Gothia Cup won’t be the only new competition the club have joined this season. EFF have played in several leagues and tournaments for the first time, including the Haddins Youth Football League and the Sheikh Zayed bin Hazza Football Cup.

“It’s very important because the only way players will improve will be to play in competition,” Fittipaldi said. “The training is good, but if they want to go a step higher, if they want to go higher, they have to play competitive games.”

To prepare for the Gothia Cup, the club are ramping up training, which is normally held on Thursday and Saturday at the Armed Forces Officers Club in Abu Dhabi.

EFF have opened their two Gothia Cup teams to outside players, with a few spots still remaining. Inquire at eff.abudhabi@yahoo.fr.