MUSCAT, SEPT 20
Muscat International Unity Youth Cup, a brainchild of Chuck Martini under his Premier Sports company, will see top football academies from Oman and GCC countries strive for excellence in Muscat.
The youth tournament for boys and girls will be a three-day affair starting on October 12 at the Cheltenham International School grounds.
The group stages will continue on October 13 at Cheltenham and the finals of the different age-group categories will be held at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex on October 14.
“This is a football festival for children training under different academies in Oman and the GCC countries like UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait. The tournament is run in cooperation with the Oman Football Association (OFA) and comes under the Fifa grassroots development programme,” the owner of Muscat Football Academy said during a press conference at Grand Hormuz Hotel to unveil the details of the new tournament.
The former Moroccan international said it was delight to get approval from the OFA.
“The tournament is being launched with the close cooperation and support from the OFA. The finals of the different age categories will be staged at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex with a spectacular closing ceremony,” Martini said.
He recalled the crucial support from OFA General-Secretary Mohammed al Yahmadi and the OFA technical director Sghaier Zouita.
The OFA officials are expected to be present at the tournament to monitor the standards of grassroots level football in Oman, Martini added.
The OFA will provide the referees and match officials along with other technical assistance for the tournament.
TOP ACADEMIES
The top-notch academies from the GCC like Manchester City, Juventus, Paris Saint Germain (PSG), Barcelona and Evolution Qatar have confirmed their attendance for the Muscat International Unity Cup.
Most of the Oman academies are expected to participate with the likes of Muscat Football Academy, Juventus, PSG, Junior Stars, Algeria Academy, Alfa Academy, Brazil Academy and Rio Academy Salalah.
“This tournament has the approval of Ministry of Heritage and Tourism and it will be an annual event. We expect a lot more participation of teams after today’s launch. Overall we expect 15 to 16 academies to field teams in different age categories like under-9, under-11, under-13, under-15 and under-17.”
It will be an 8-a-side team format for lower age groups and 9-a-side for under-15, while under-17 will field 11 players with Fifa regulations.
“Oman has got wonderful football talent according to the head coaches of the different academies here. The football academies have already contributed a good number of players to the national and the club teams in Oman and outside. This will increase during the current period with many children joining the academies.”
The MFA owner said: “The tournament will bring in hundreds of players and their parents from the neighbouring countries and we are committed to make it a top-class event. All the participating teams will be put up in one hotel, Grand Hormuz, and we are in talks with Mwasalat for transportation of teams to the venues.”
Martini called on all Oman academies to come and cheer for the local academies during the tournament.
“This is a rare opportunity for the children to showcase their talent in the highly competitive matches at some of the top facilities in the country. Exciting prizes including special trophies and individual awards are awaiting the top-placed teams,” he concluded.
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