DUBAI // In Dubai, the rise of the sporting academy began four years ago with the launch of Manchester United Soccer Schools.
Since then the national demand for sporting excellence has spawned Dubai Sports City, which is near completion and will boast eight specialist academies, including football, hockey and swimming.
DSC and other independent academies in the emirate have attracted an array of professional athletes keen to help a generation of children develop their potential.
The Elite Sporting Academy was opened in March at Repton School in Nad Al Sheba under the helm of Tim Cahill, the Everton and Australia international footballer, and his cousin, John Mamea-Wilson, a former rugby professional.
The former England footballers Trevor Sinclair and Carlton Palmer and the Samoan dual-code rugby international Apollo Perelini are among the permanent coaching line-up.
ESA's aim is to provide promising young rugby and football players with a platform to a sporting career without having to leave the UAE. The academy offers scholarships funded by international football and rugby stars to pupils who show talent but do not have the finances to pursue their dream.
"I am passionate about kids and sport and putting something back in," Cahill said. "My parents got a loan for £3,000 for me to come to England and it was very difficult, especially with brothers and sisters. Not every parent can put their kids through schooling.
"There are talented kids out there but they miss the opportunity we are trying to give them."
Whether or not they became successful players, he said, each child would have a life-changing experience and an education. "We want to find the first kid from Dubai to play in the Premier League or the first or second division, or the next rugby [league] player to play for St Helens."
From next season, Manchester United Soccer Schools (MUSS) will be based at DSC, as will Socatots, the International Cricket Council's Global Cricket Academy, the World Hockey Academy, the David Lloyd Tennis Academy and the Butch Harmon School of Golf.
Ekta Hutton, assistant academies manager at DSC, is hopeful the site will allow MUSS to develop links with school sports departments and a local league.
Such academies, she said, had an obligation to the community to fill the gap that had prevented young sporting talent developing.
loatway@thenational.ae
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Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
MATCH INFO
Qalandars 112-4 (10 ovs)
Banton 53 no
Northern Warriors 46 all out (9 ovs)
Kumara 3-10, Garton 3-10, Jordan 2-2, Prasanna 2-7
Qalandars win by six wickets
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Uefa Champions League last 16 draw
Juventus v Tottenham Hotspur
Basel v Manchester City
Sevilla v Manchester United
Porto v Liverpool
Real Madrid v Paris Saint-Germain
Shakhtar Donetsk v Roma
Chelsea v Barcelona
Bayern Munich v Besiktas
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
South Africa's T20 squad
Duminy (c), Behardien, Dala, De Villiers, Hendricks, Jonker, Klaasen (wkt), Miller, Morris, Paterson, Phangiso, Phehlukwayo, Shamsi, Smuts.