Next Saturday is the final chance of the season for teams to battle it out to become champions of the Sportsmania football tournament and claim Dh1,500 prize money.
Their 5-a-side competition returns May 13 from 17:00 in JLT, Dubai and while entry numbers have been positive, there’s still time to sign up ahead of Thursday’s deadline.
Since opening in 2015, Sportsmania have held many successful tournaments and next week’s looks to be another big hit. “Football is always a wellfollowed sport and our previous editions have been really popular,” said Fouad Ghandour, general manager of Sportsmania.
“We usually hold one per month and our last one in April attracted 25 teams which was very encouraging. “We hope that given it’s the final tournament of the season, that there will be even more teams competing and be part of an exciting event at Sportsmania.”
Open to male and females, players must be 15 and over. Teams will be guaranteed at least four matches with a league and knockout format, while each game will be overseen by a qualified referee.
There is no limit of members in a squad although a maximum of five players can be on the field during match play. With a few days to go until deadline, Ghandour insists there are plenty of reasons for people to sign up.
“The weather is getting hot out there and before the summer kicks in, it’s a great way to end the football season in style,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity to meet new people and make friends.
The matches will be fun and competitive and as well as wanting many teams to enter, we also want them to bring their friends and family to show their support, which will only add to the atmosphere of the tournament.”
Entry costs Dh399 per team and as well as medals and trophies, the overall champions will also be richer by Dh1,500.
“There’s plenty to play for in the tournament but winning isn’t everything, participation is”, finished Ghandour. “Whatever your ability, you can compete and we hope to see many newcomers sign up and see for themselves why the tournament is so highly rated. There is passion and respect among the teams and it’s a tournament any side can win.”
