Muscat: Nearly 700 children, from the age of eight to 17 years, fought hard on the pitch, showed camaraderie, shared success and defeat with smiles on their faces at the Muscat International Unity Youth Cup, which was held in Muscat from October 12-14.
A total of 12 academies, including teams from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE, entered the tournament that featured five categories - under-9, under-11, under-13, under-15 and under-17.
The football festival demonstrated competitive spirit among the participants and also showcased the talent of many youngsters as keen contests took place till the final in all the categories.
UAE’s Fursan Hispania and Oman’s Win A Dream team stole the limelight by claiming a grand double while UAE’s Forza Club claimed the under-17 title.
In the under-9 final, Fursan Hispania beat Muscat Football Academy (MFA) 2-0 and the UAE team also won the under-11 category.
Oman’s Win A Dream claimed the titles in the under-13 and under-15 categories respectively.
MFA were on the losing side in another final, when they went down to Forza Club in the under-17 title clash.
The teams that took part were Evolution Academy and Premier League Football Academy (PLFA) from Qatar, Juventus Saudi Arabia, Manchester City, Forza Club, Fursan Hispania (all three academies from the UAE), MFA, ESG, Juventus, Alegria, Brazil and Win A Dream (all academies from Oman).
Jointly organised by the Muscat Football Academy (MFA) and Muscat Media Group, the Muscat International Unity Cup proved to be a platform to bridge cultures as it brought young footballers together in the spirit of unity and friendly competition.
The event was held at two venues with the initial matches played at Cheltenham Muscat and the grand finale concluding with a full-day affair at the Seeb Sports Stadium.
Except for the under-17 and under-15 competitions, which were played on 11-a-side and nine-a-side formats respectively, the other categories were eight-a-side format.
Besides the winning teams, individual awards were handed to the best player in each category, best goalkeeper and top goal-scorer.
BabyShop, Jeep, Tanuf, and Mohsin Haider Darwish played key roles in supporting the event as sponsors.