A packed crowd at The Global Village watched teams play out the semi-finals and finals of the under 10s, under 12s and under 12s girls competitions.
In the first game of the evening GEMS Modern Academy Under 10s took a 1-0 lead into the second leg of their semi-final, however it was JSS International School who advanced following a comprehensive 0-4 win in the second leg. Joining them in the final was Le Club France who defeated Zabeelers Football Academy A in both legs, 1-8 and 5-1 respectively.
In the first of the Under 12s boys semi-final Desert Rangers took a 5-2 lead into the second leg against Dubai English Speaking College. After a thrilling encounter, the second leg ended 1-3 to Dubai English Speaking College, which saw Dubai Rangers through to the final 6-5 on aggregate.
The French School Academy took a 2-1 lead into their Under 12 second leg against American School of Creative Science. Wearing the green and white kit, and after an absolute goal fest, the second leg finished 3-3, giving the French School Academy a 5-4 aggregate victory.
Next up on the night Le Club France, in the red strip took on the blues from JSS International School in the under 10s boys final. The game started with JSS taking the lead with a magnificent goal direct from the kick off before being pegged back just moments later. Goals in quick succession for both teams soon saw the game tied at 2-2. After conceding with the first kick of the game, Le Club France triumphed with an impressive 6-2 victory.
Under 10 Boys: Le Club France
Frederic Deswarte coach of Le Club France said: “It was a great tournament, the final was very competitive, which is good as it was an interesting game, and we conceded after two seconds so it was good to wake up the team. I was always confident we would win though and we didn’t worry and we are happy to have won. We take football seriously, and this has been a great way to develop the kids’ skills and we hope the tournament continues to grow as we are developing some great young footballers in Dubai.
The girls took to the pitch for the much-anticipated final with Zabeelers taking on Al Mizhar American Academy. Zabeelers, wearing the red kit, made a strong start going 2-0 up within the first five minutes. Soon after a long-range strike from the Zabeerers number seven made the game 3-0. After battling their way back into the game Al Mizhar American Academy came close forcing the Zabeelers goalkeeper into a great save. The game ended with a late goal before full-time, making it 4-0 to Zabeelers who took home the trophy.
Under 12 Girls: Zabeelers
Ross Ferns, the Zabeelers head coach spoke to Sport360 after the victory. “It was a very good match, the girls really played hard and they played well which was most important. Girls football is very important for us and it’s my dream to have an eleven-a-side girls team in the future.”
In the final game of the evening, and wrapping up The Global Village tournament, Dubai Rangers took on The French School Academy in the Under 12s boys’ final. It took just one minute for The French School Academy to open the scoring and they went 2-0 up shortly after with a great strike. Dubai Rangers pulled one back scoring a half volley from a corner kick, with over half the game to play. The French academy re-grouped and extended their lead to 3-1 after a spell of prolonged pressure. The game ended 5-1, crowning The French School Academy Under 12s boys champions.
Under 12 Boys: French School
Over 50 teams from 30 schools and academies took part in the competition, which took part as Kid’s Fest and over 500 kids competed. The matches have been played on a specially installed Astro Turf pitch, constructed especially for the tournament.
FINAL RESULTS
Under 10 boys
JSS International 2-6 Le Club France
Under 12 girls
Al Mizhar American 0-4 Zabeelers
Under 12 boys
French School 5-2 Desert Rangers
