Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council

duFC UAE Schools and Streets Cups Wins 5-Star Ranking for Best Sports Events 

November 19, 2016 - Dubai, UAE:  duFC, the only international scouting platform in partnership with LaLiga, the world’s strongest league, and featuring the UAE’s Schools and Streets Cups, was officially ranked as a 5-star event for 2015/2016 under the Sports Events Ranking System.

His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai International Marine Club, presented the award to Mr. Osman Sultan, CEO, du, Fernando Sanz, LaLiga General Director in MENA, Hussein Murad, CEO, Inspiratus, the organizers of duFC and Ahmed Aburahima, Senior Vice President Government Relations, du.

Results of the ranking system, which is managed by a Swiss specialized company, were ratified by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, and were revealed at a ceremony held at Armani Hotel Burj Khalifa last night. 
duFC is the only local event in the 5-star category, joining the ranks of four other events, all global in nature, taking place in Dubai such as the Dubai World Cup, the DP World Tour Championship and ATP World Tour Tennis, an unprecedented achievement for a youth sporting event - after one year of its launch - on the UAE sports calendar.

duFC is organized by sports marketing specialists Inspiratus, in partnership LaLiga, the Sports Councils and all Education Authorities. duFC, featuring UAE Schools and Streets Cup, was the only local and youth football event selected in the 5-star ranking, which reviews thousands of sports events taking place in Dubai annually. 

As part of du’s commitment to the sporting initiative, the du FC platform is now open to engage the largest number of youth around the world’s most popular sport, football.  Commenting on the results, Mr. Osman Sultan, CEO, du, said, “We are extremely proud to receive this 5-star ranking days, after launching the second season, for what is truly a ground-breaking platform. As a company, du is committed to sustainable human development and creating the first ever international scouting platform, will enable talented youth from across the nation the opportunity to pursue their dreams of becoming international footballs stars right here from the UAE. It is these children - their passion for the sport dedication to development  - which makes duFC the unique meaningful platform it is today.”

The ‘Sports Events Ranking System’, is an initiative by the Dubai Sports Council (DSC) under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of DSC, to rank sports events according to 13 criteria and 29 key performance indicators (KPIs), and classify them under five categories: event development, economic development, sports development, social development and brand development.  duFC earned top scores across all categories.

The Sports Events Ranking System, introduced last year, is part of the UAE’s efforts to set new global benchmarks for excellence in every sphere of life including the sports sector.

Commenting on the ranking results, Fernando Sanz, LaLiga General Director in MENA & Head of International Projects, said, 'We are extremely proud of LaLiga’s partnership with a world-class platform such as duFC, which is creating a pipeline of football stars to play in national and international clubs and teams and is executed to LaLiga’s highest standards. It’s great to see duFC receiving the highest recognition this evening and we look forward to seeing LaLiga’s next stars emerging from the UAE.”

Speaking after the event Inspiratus CEO Hussein Murad said: “We are honored of the recognition duFC platform has received as the highest rank sporting event in Dubai. This platform is delivering football excellence to the boys and girls across the UAE while making dreams come true. We thank our partners du and LaLiga as we celebrate this great recognition and dedicate this recognition to all the youth across the UAE who partake in the event year on year - their success is the inspiration that drives the platforms success.”

duFC is the nation’s official youth football platform offering boys and girls 11-18 with the opportunity to play football at world class standards.  It is the only international youth scouting platform conducted in partnership with LaLiga, the world’s strongest league.