DUBAI // The Dubai Schools Football Cup kicked off this weekend, with its organisers hoping the event will promote a healthy lifestyle, build confidence and encourage leadership qualities in children.
Hussein Murad, chief executive of sports marketing company Inspiratus, which organised the event, said the teenage players were at a critical stage in their lives and should be encouraged to exercise.
“We don’t want kids to stay at home playing video games or staying on social media websites, but we want them out, having fun, living healthily and learning how to be competitive,” he said. “At the same time, we’re building in them qualities essential to their development, such as focus, discipline, adaptability and team work.”
“These qualities, along with self confidence, they will need and use later on in life when they grow up and go off to work.”
Mr Murad said the competition is an opportunity to bring together children from different schools and nationalities, making it a learning experience.
“The children taking part in the Dubai Schools Football Cup come from all different backgrounds – from private schools and from public schools, and it’s all for free,” he said.
Khalil Mohamad, 13, from the National Charity School, said he had enjoyed the competition.
“I really like this game because it keeps me fit and allows me to have muscles,” he said. “I also think that it is a way to have fun with your friends and it encourages teamwork.”
Mohamad Walid, 13, a Syrian, also a pupil at the National Charity School, said he was confident his team would win.
“We’re here to have fun, but we are also here to win the cup. It will take collaboration and lots of teamwork, but we can do it.”
The returning champions girls’ team from St Mary’s Catholic School were preparing for their first game of the competition yesterday morning.
“We’re hoping for another win this year,” said player Charlene Dharmai, 14, an Indian. “I never thought I would be playing football, because when I first started I was very bad. However, we train twice a week, and the teammates have a special bond with another.”
Hashini Devendre, 15, from Sri Lanka said the sport was a great way to blow off steam with people whose company she enjoys.
“My teammates are great people, and there’s never tension between us. We might make fun of each other every once in a while, but we love each other,” she said. “This game allows us to let go, have fun and compete with other teams.”
For Khloe Marcela, 15, from the Philippines, the game is all about building self confidence.
“I used to be so shy and I really wasn’t comfortable in certain settings, but football has allowed me to be more confident,” she said. “Now when I’m on the field, I give it all I’ve got.”
The Dubai Schools Football Cup launched yesterday, with 2,000 pupils from 55 schools across Dubai taking part.
The finals take place on March 7. The grand prize is a trip to watch Manchester United play Manchester City at Old Trafford, and the chance to train with Manchester United coaches.
dmoukhallati@thenational.ae
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One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
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FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday
Saint-Etienne v Montpellier (10.45pm)
Saturday
Monaco v Caen (7pm)
Amiens v Bordeaux (10pm)
Angers v Toulouse (10pm)
Metz v Dijon (10pm)
Nantes v Guingamp (10pm)
Rennes v Lille (10pm)
Sunday
Nice v Strasbourg (5pm)
Troyes v Lyon (7pm)
Marseille v Paris Saint-Germain (11pm)
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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