Following their success of the seven-a-side format, Duplays are launching their first five-a-side football leagues later this month with registration still open.
Plenty of teams have already showed interest, so Duplays have organised two leagues to be played on Mondays and Wednesdays, starting from April 27. And for the first time, players will be able to showcase their skills at the brand new Koora Dome complex at Al Wasl Sports Club in Dubai.
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“It’s quite an amazing place to play football,” said Gareth Curtis, UAE operations manager at Duplays. “It’s climate-controlled facility and it’s state-of-the-art. It’s something that we are quite excited about and am sure the players will be also.”
Matches, which will follow the traditional five-a-side rules, will be played between 19:00 and 23:00, with play-offs taking place in the final week.
As the UAE’s largest sport and social club with over 5,000 members, Duplays knows what is required to make their leagues a success. Their portfolio includes a wide range of sports including cricket, badminton and volleyball. And with their seven-a-side leagues proving to be a huge success, Curtis is confident that Duplays 5s will be equally popular.
He said: “Our seven-a-side leagues have been pretty huge since we started. It’s gone beyond our expectations and today we have around 1,000 footballers playing. We have six leagues running per week and it’s really taken off.
“What people enjoy about the seven-a-side games is that it’s a short format and they get to play against other amateurs in Dubai in what is an exciting and challenging format.
He added: “There’s a market for five-a-side football in Dubai and we feel confident this will grow. So far, the number of entries have been positive as people find it’s much easier to make up a five-a-side team than for a seven-a-side.
“Our goal is to make our Duplays 5s the largest 5-a-side league in Dubai, similar to our Premier 7s league.”
Team entries cost Dh3,200 while it’s Dh500 for individuals.
What: Duplays 5s
Where: Koora Dome, Al Wasl Sports Club, Dubai
When: Beginning Monday, April 27, 19:00 to 23:00
Contact: For registration visit: https://duplaysdubai.playpass.com
