More than 500 children on 46 teams took part in the first Kings’ 7’s football tournament this weekend at Kings’ School Al Barsha. The tournament featured five different competitions for age groups U-10 to U-15 across the two days of action.

Several schools impressed, with Jumeirah Primary School winning the U-10 and U-11 groups over runners-up Kings’ and Dubai International Academy, respectively.

Dubai English Speaking College, meanwhile, had a trio of triumphs as they topped the U-12, U-14 and U-15 groups, beating out runnersup Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS) each time.

JESS, however, found their own success as they claimed the U-13 group over Dubai College.

Lydia Wickham, sports coordinator at Kings’ Al Barsha, said: “All the hard work prior to the event has now been worthwhile. It was a fantastic celebration of football with lots of happy footballers and parents.”

Kings’ Al Barsha will continue the event in January, but will change the sport to rugby sevens to allow more children a chance to display their talents.

Colin Morris, director of sport at Kings’ Al Barsha, added: “This is one of many events we hope to host here at Al Barsha. Our fantastic sporting facilities will allow us to grow and become one of the leading sporting schools in the region.”