In a continued effort to promote exceptional sportsmanship and develop talent at grassroots level in the UAE, Sport360 have announced a new National School League (NSL) for emerging footballers.
– Brett Holman confident Emirates Club can challenge for AGL again
– Copa America 2015: 10 young players to watch out for in Chile
– Al Jazira nearing deal with Roma for Ivory Coast star Gervinho
– GALLERY: Top 20 most valuable footballers
Following on from the tremendous success of the inaugural cricket and basketball competitions, the new tournament will see the soccer stars of tomorrow grow their ability and further learn the values of teamwork, respect and dedication.
NSL Football is a first national tournament of its kind in the UAE, pitting Under-14s and U-16s boys against each other from September 27 to December 12.
With the expert eye of technical partners E-Sports and help of continuing NSL sponsors Stadium, both coaches and players taking part will receive dedicated guidance at first-class venues and compete in top-notch kit.
Preliminary registration is open now for this exciting 8-a-side competition and spots are sure to fill up fast. So, get in before your school misses out – an added bonus provided by a year’s subscription to Sport360 for each child enrolled.
A total of 944 children have taken part in NSL Cricket and Basketball across 43 different schools, with this number set to grow once again.
“The NSL is all about giving back to the communties we serve,” said Sport360 CEO Michael Chalhoub. “It is about helping our children to lead a healthier lifestyle, get back onto the pitch and embrace the positive values of sport – respect, fighting for your team-mates and fair play.
“By introducing the NSL concept, we wanted to promote this at the grassroots level. We have noticed the children and coaches in NSL Cricket and NSL Basketball have been very receptive to this.
“Sport360 is offering kids a platform to shine. It helps them share the spotlight with the Cristiano Ronaldos who make it onto the pages of Sport360 or Sport360.com.”
The structure of the tournament is based on the format of the UEFA Champions League, which is the world’s most glamorous club tournament.
There will be two age divisions in U-14s and U-16s, with approximately 40 schools in each.
The league will be played across three geographical groups – Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, Sharjah and Northern Emirates and Dubai split into two sections. Each team will play every team within their league once, playing one game per week.
A squad of 12 players will be selected for the games, which will run for two 20-minute halves. The top two from each pool will progress to the quarter-finals.
The winners there will progress to a thrilling deciding day, in which the semi-finals and all-important final take place. Sport360° will have plenty of content for players and followers to stay up-to-date through www.sport360.com/nsl featuring news, game highlights, stats and live scoring to be launched soon.
