Little wizard Mohammad Shafiqullah Taj got the inaugural Emirates Islamic National School League Football (NSL Football) off to a flying start as he lit up an opening day detailed by great competition and sportsmanship.
An incredible 42 teams from the two Dubai sections plus Sharjah and Northern Emirates were in action on Saturday as Sport360°’s new eight-a-side tournament for Under-14s and Under-16s kicked off.
The crowd favourite from New Indian Model School was held aloft by his grateful team-mates upon the final whistle of a tense 4-3 victory against Sharjah Indian School.
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The tiny forward wowed with his skills, dribbling through to score before claiming an inventive assist to secure the man-of-the-match award in the Sharjah and
Northern Emirates U-14s group-stage clash at 7he Sevens.
Shafiqullah Taj resembles Lionel Messi, but his idol can be found at Real Madrid rather than Barcelona.
He said: “Cristiano Ronaldo is my favourite player. I want to play like him and I am so happy with our victory.”
Swashbuckling Lycee Francais International Georges Pompidou Under-16s enjoyed a dream beginning, laying down a marker they will be contenders come January 23’s finals day.
Hat-tricks from man of the match Esteban Ghrous and Thomas Rou-sse helped secure an incredible 11-0 win in Dubai Pool 2’s U-16 group against Al Khaleej National School, during which opposition goalkee-per Amirhossein Mirsoleimani performed valiantly.
“It was a perfect start, as we scored a lot of goals and conceded none,” LFI coach Frederic Deswar-tes said. “If you concede one goal in the same game, you are frustrated.”
Another huge victory was registered by Wellington International School U-14s in Dubai Pool 1, beating Credence High School 9-0. Axel Risland, Hasan Salman,
Adany El Massih and Oliver Aslam all got braces, with Sammy Burns rounding off the scoring.
Elsewhere, Maher Ahmed was on the scoresheet as Victoria International School Sharjah U-16s edged a highly-competitive tie against Alkamal American School by 2-1.
“All three goals were scored from set-pieces and that showed how tough it was,” VISS boss Cihan
Karahan said.
Anas Memon was the star man as The Millenium School Dubai U-16s beat JSS Private School 3-1 in Pool 1. He opened the scoring from close-range in a tight match.
He said: “It was a tough game as it was our first match of the tournament. We played like a team and that carried us through.”
It may be a hot day but all teams are playing with high spirits #NSL360 pic.twitter.com/qYSfhCjWBh
— Sport360° (@Sport360) October 10, 2015
The woodwork denied The Millenium School Dubai U-14s three points at the death in Pool 2, GEMS Modern Academy playing out a 1-1 stalemate.
“This tournament is a great opportunity for my boys to get valuable experience,” coach Afsal of Millenium said. “It would have been nice to win at the end but it is no problem.”
Akshay Adur was one of the stars of the day, scoring twice and assisting one from an unfamiliar centre-forward role as Delhi Private School beat The Apple Internatio-nal School 6-2.
He said: “We played really well and it is thanks to my team-mates I was able to be named man of the match.”
Naming partners Emirates Islamic added further entertainment, holding both penalty-kick and ‘keep-ups’ challenges.
More #NSL360 Football results.The tournament's started in grand style & next week promises to be even more exciting pic.twitter.com/uqO4DD5Dao
— Sport360° (@Sport360) October 10, 2015
“Investing in and supporting the community is something we are very keen on,” said Emirates Islamic chief operating officer Wael Ibrahim.
“Sport is a key part of developing kids and helping them become active members of society.”
The tournament can be followed through www.nsl360.com, which will feature news, highlights and statistics. For information, e-mail [email protected] or call +971 52 244 3906.
