Muscat Academies Youth League to begin in October

MUSCAT, June 5

As many as 400 expected junior footballers will take part in the first edition of the Muscat Academies Youth League which will begin in next October and will run to March next year. The youth league for private football academies will be hosted and facilitated by the Cheltenham Muscat school.

Coach Chuck Martini, former English Premier League footballer and head of Muscat Football Academy, told sports reporters during a press meet at the Cheltenham Muscat school that this league will be a special occasion to run a professional youth league.

“The tournament will attract many young players from different ages including under-9, under-11, under-13, under-15 and under-17. The league will be for both genders while for girls the categories will be up to under-14. We are expecting participation of many private academies in Oman and as per the initial plan the number of academies will be in a range of 8 to 10 teams in each category. There will be a registration fees of RO 100 for each team to pay ahead of the league,” he added.

Organised by Muscat Football Academy in cooperation with Muscat Media Group, the league for age-group teams, will be played at the lush green grounds of Cheltenham Muscat.

The head of Muscat Football Academy clarified that the playing format of the league will be special for each category. “The under-9 league will have seven players in a side while U11, U13 and U15 will be eight players in a side. In U17 league, it will be nine players a side. The youth league will be a best environment for discovering and developing the talented players as there will be competitive games and matches,” he said.

Martini, a former Moroccan international, revealed that the Muscat Academies Youth League will also be open to age-group teams from OFA-recognised clubs.

He said: “We have got a good response so far. We have around 16 private football academies and schools in operations in Oman. We are hopeful that the inaugural edition will feature at least eight academies and around 400 kids across all categories.”

Coach Martini sought more support from the Oman Football Association (OFA). “As private football academies, we are facing some challenges to organise these kind of leagues for youth categories. We hope to have a collaboration very soon with the OFA and the private academies supported by the domestic clubs. Besides that, many private academies in Muscat managed to provide golden opportunities for many talented players to play in professional leagues in Europe including Tariq al Saadi, Suhaib al Kharusi, Ali al Hashmi and Mohammed al Numani,” he ended.

Graeme Fisher, director of Cheltenham Muscat, said: “We are a new school in Oman, having launched our operations two years back. We have always believed in all-round development of children and sports activities which are part and parcel of our curriculum. We are proud to be partners of Muscat Football Academy for the league, which will bring together kids from different schools and academies. It gives us a sense of community involvement and we are happy to be associated with it.”

Sultan al Harassi, former national youth team player, who was also present on the occasion said, “there is a need for better coordination between private football academies and Oman Football Association. This initiative is praiseworthy as it will give a good platform for children to compete over months and help them gain exposure to play against different teams. I am looking forward to a successful inaugural league for the youths.”