OIYC champions crowned

MUSCAT: An exhilarating final day brought the first Oman International Youth Cup (OIYC) to a close with bronze, silver and gold trophies contested in all four age groups. The gold finals in under-11 and under-13 were both won by the impressive Torino sides from northern Italy who had dominated their categories from the very start. Barcelona Dubai won the under-9 gold while ESG from Muscat won the under-15 gold. Presiding on the prize-giving ceremony was Sayyid Khalid bin Hamad al Busaidy, Sabco Group Chairman.

Omani teams performed well on the final day, with ESG winning bronze in the under-9 category, Muscat Football Academy (MFA) winning bronze in under-11, Al Fohood winning bronze in under-13, and all three winners in the under-15 group coming from the Sultanate. Al Khadra took the bronze, MFA won the silver and ESG picked up the gold trophy.

Chuck Martini, Football Technical Adviser of Al Jarwani Group, said, “Today was a fantastic end to a fantastic tournament. The players and coaches are proud and honoured to represent their club and loved visiting Oman. Many parents came too and made a real family atmosphere in the stadium every day.”

“It was a great festival of football for all the young kids in Oman, and a chance to see talented players from Europe up close with the opportunity to watch and learn from them,” he said. The tournament has been an overwhelming success. Each day was well supported and staffed with 300 volunteers giving their time to ensure the tournament running effectively.

In addition, as well as competing in the tournament, coaches from both Manchester City and Arsenal conducted community activities with local academies, offering professional insight to their counterparts and expert coaching to the young Omani players.

Many of the professional clubs have already indicated they would be interested in coming to compete again and planning for next year has already begun. This commitment will allow the tournament to grow in stature and help further develop grassroots football in Oman, establish the Cup as a prestigious international youth event, and increase sports tourism to the country.

One of the promising achievements of the tournament has been unlocking opportunities for young Omani players. Mutasim al Khusaibi, who is one of the local players in the under-11 matches, was spotted and signed up by the Torino team, while Yaqoob al Sawafi was spotted as well by the Italian pro club with a chance of being signed up soon. Another rising name noticed by the pro clubs was Al Walid al Musalmi.

The Oman International Youth Cup was organised by Sabco Sports, the Al Jarwani Group, Ominvest and Oman Sail as part of the Tanfeedh initiative to diversify the sports tourism. The event was able to attract the pro teams as well as teams from the GCC including Team Evolution from Qatar and the Barca Academy based in Dubai.