DUBAI // Few goals in life are more worthwhile than a healthy lifestyle, improving skills and teamwork.
Those are the aims of a football tournament that is also encouraging more girls to take up the sport, organisers say.
Over the past seven weeks, more than 100 teams of boys and girls from 50 schools across the emirate have been competing in the Dubai Schools Football Cup (DSFC).
The grand prize is an all-expenses-paid trip to the UK to attend a Premier League game featuring the champions, Manchester United, at Old Trafford.
The winners will also get the chance to brush up on their skills with the team’s expert football coaches.
Ahead of the finals this weekend, Hussein Murad, DSFC president, said it was important to educate pupils about the benefits of physical activity.
Exercise can reduce the long-term risks of developing diabetes and cardiovascular diseases in a country crippled with such issues because of unhealthy and sedentary lifestyles.
“DSFC accomplished all it set out to and more,” Mr Murad said.
“We have seen a shift in how the children play. Skills and teamwork are improving week on week, but also in how they are excited to spend their weekend outdoors every week, and above all in how they view competitive sport, as is evident in their Facebook posts.
“Now the children have experienced the value of a healthy active lifestyle, where sport and wholesome food make for well-being, sound bodies and minds, especially during their turbulent teenage years.”
Participants say the competition has also fostered a growing interest in football among young girls in the UAE.
“We’re seeing improvement across the board,” said Mervat El Shewy, the Dubai Arab American School girls’ coach.
“Even our PE classes have changed as a result of the tournament. It has encouraged the girls and raised their sporting spirit.
“Their skills are improving and they are determined to return every week to the DSFC. In fact, I have been inspired to start an after-school sports club with basketball, horseback riding and, of course, the one all the girls want now – football,” Ms El Shewy said.
“We would love to see tournaments like these for other sports, like basketball and handball. My girls have changed for the better and I’m seeing a difference every week.”
Mr Murad said many coaches had reported positive feedback.
“Coaches have told us that they arrive at PE lessons ready for full participation where before they may have sauntered to class and felt lacklustre. As a result, PE teachers are designing a more rigorous programme, inspired by their students and that stretch the students further.”
Lorelei Tetaut, of the Lycee Francais International George Pompidou school under-16 girls team, which has made it through to the semi-finals, said she has enjoyed being part of the tournament.
“I am so proud to have been able to score 15 goals already in the tournament, but I couldn’t have done any of it without the whole team,” she said.
“It is very exciting to be a part of the Dubai Schools Football Cup.”
Michel Salgado, director of DSFC, said the competition had encouraged young footballing talent across the emirate.
“Within the first weeks of the tournament we have already seen high-quality matches and young players with real talent,” he said.
“In fact, we have reached out to a number of students to discuss how we can help develop their skills and pave the way to take their games forward to the next level and beyond and, who knows, maybe even to professional football.”
The semi-final, final and awards ceremony will take place on Saturday at Dubai Sports City.
The prize trip to Old Trafford will be handed to the top team in each of the four categories: boys under-12; boys under-15; girls under-13; and girls under-16.
DSFC 2014 is a joint initiative between Dubai Education Zone and the Princess Haya Initiative for the Development of Health, Physical Education and School Sports, in partnership with Dubai Sports Council.
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Sonchiriya
Director: Abhishek Chaubey
Producer: RSVP Movies, Azure Entertainment
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Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
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Fitness problems in men's tennis
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
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Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
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4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
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Name: Yousef Al Bahar
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