Over 100 children shared their excitement in taking part in Sport360's inaugural National School League (NSL), at the league's official launch at ICC Academy today.
Forty-four teams from across the UAE have entered the competition, backed by the Emirates Cricket Board, and will have two age groups U13 and U15. The tournament begins next Friday at The Sevens in Dubai, with the aim of giving children to perform against other schools in a unified league and hopefully be selected for the national team.
Speaking at a press conference at ICC Academy in Dubai, yesterday, Michael Chalhoub, founder and CEO of Sport360, said: "It's our responsibility and duty to give the children the platform to not just follow or read sport but to participate in sports and live a healthy lifestyle.
"We want to give the kids the opportunity to perform at the highest level and maybe one day they could go on and play for the international team."
"It gives the children opportunity to play in a tournament that will be covered in the media and my advice is to seize that opportunity and enjoy."
Among the schools that were present yesterday were Repton and Dubai College. And Repton U15 captain Kareem Jafree can't wait to play.
He said:" It's a great opportunity to play because there are not many school leagues in the country so it will be good to test ourselves."
Wajih Zaman, U13 captain at Dubai College, said: "To play the game at big grounds is fantastic and one we just can't wait for. It will be a great tournament and will be good to play against other schools in the country."
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