DUBAI // Dubai’s aspiring footballers will have the opportunity next week to be coached by former Manchester United and England striker Teddy Sheringham.
Sheringham, part of United’s treble-winning team in 1999, will lead two coaching clinics in the emirate in association with the It’s Just Football (IJF) academy, with the first held next Monday, May 1 at Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex. The second takes place the following evening at Dubai College. Open to players aged between nine and 18, each clinic is free to attend.
Sheringham, 51, was most recently manager of Stevenage, the English League Two club, but during his playing career represented with distinction Tottenham Hotspur across two spells either side of his time at Old Trafford. With United, he won three Premier League titles, one FA Cup and the Uefa Champions League. In 2001, he was voted PFA player of the year.
“With the facilities and the level of coaching, it should be a great opportunity for kids in Dubai,” Sheringham said. “I’m really looking forward to it. The facilities we’ll be training at are first class, and it’ll be great to see how good the young footballers of Dubai are. I’ve been told the standard there is very impressive, and so it’ll be good to teach them a few new things as well.”
Considered one of the most talented English forwards of his generation, Sheringham was capped 51 times by England. He was an integral member of the side that reached the semi-finals of the 1996 European Championship.
“I want everyone to come out, whether they want to participate or just come and watch or listen,” Sheringham said. “Everyone has different criteria. There might even be coaches who want to see what different sessions we put on.
“But, ideally, I’d like to see the young strikers of Dubai, give them a few tips and to ultimately help them become better. I learnt a lot from different coaches during my career, so hopefully I’ll be able to pass some of that on.”
The two days in Dubai mark IJF’s collaboration with Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex, with the academy to relocate there in September. Once the move is complete, IJF plans to feature ex-professional guest coaches on a regular basis.
“With the quality of coaches we already have, and adding the best facility in Dubai and what we feel is the best technical programme we have to offer, then the next step is to try to give our players the best advice and knowledge as possible”, said Chris Brown, managing director at IJF. “So we’ll invite ex-professionals to come out and explain what it takes to actually become a professional footballer at the highest level. It’s fantastic that Teddy’s headlining the first for us.”
To register, email info@itsjustfootball.com or contact 0559094809.
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Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Shubh Mangal Saavdhan
Directed by: RS Prasanna
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers Pickford (Everton), Pope (Burnley), Henderson (Manchester United)
Defenders Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Chilwell (Chelsea), Coady (Wolves), Dier (Tottenham), Gomez (Liverpool), James (Chelsea), Keane (Everton), Maguire (Manchester United), Maitland-Niles (Arsenal), Mings (Aston Villa), Saka (Arsenal), Trippier (Atletico Madrid), Walker (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Foden (Manchester City), Henderson (Liverpool), Grealish (Aston Villa), Mount (Chelsea), Rice (West Ham), Ward-Prowse (Southampton), Winks (Tottenham)
Forwards: Abraham (Chelsea), Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Kane (Tottenham), Rashford (Manchester United), Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Sterling (Manchester City)
Opening day UAE Premiership fixtures, Friday, September 22:
- Dubai Sports City Eagles v Dubai Exiles
- Dubai Hurricanes v Abu Dhabi Saracens
- Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
