•    League-leaders du LaLiga HPC defeat UAE juggernauts Al Ain FC 8-0 in match of the season
•    du LaLiga HPC remain undefeated in inaugural season with 11 successive wins

24 April 2017, Dubai, UAE – This week has seen the culmination of the first season of the UAE FA Academy League (FAAL), the official youth football league that has enabled UAE national clubs for the first time to play competitive matches against top private football academies.

The deciding match of the season took place between Al Ain FC and du LaLiga High Performance Centre (HPC), in a much anticipated first face-off for both teams. 

The opening minute saw a deflected cross from du LaLiga HPC’s Rajeh Al Qasem, recovered and smashed into the back of the net by the HPC vice-captain Mohannad Wahdan. This was followed by Ahmad Al Yamani with two beautiful displays as he dribbled the ball around 3 defenders on both occasions to plant the ball into the back of the Al Ain nets; one a clean chip over the goalie, the other into the very tip of the bottom right corner in the 13th and 21st minutes.  

Al Ain tried to make up ground on several occasions but time after time the HPC defensive midfield won the ball back and sent it to the awaiting HPC strike force who converted a further 3 goals before the half-time whistle scored by Ramy Hatem in the 25th minute, Driss Matni in the 28th minute, and then Ahmad Salam through a penalty in the 33rd, ending the first half 6-0 to du LaLiga HPC.

In a testament to Al Ain, the second half was not the same story. Many of HPC’s plays were blocked by the Al Ain defense and deflected back to the midfield, where once again the HPC dominated possession. Al Ain seemed to be visibly frustrated as their tackles got rougher and received four yellow cards and one red for a double-footed slide tackle. 

HPC’s Rashed Ahmad and Ahmad Arif nailed two more goals in the 50th and 60th minutes sealing the final score as 8-0 and the du LaLiga HPC as the new UAE FA Academy League Champions.

In other matches across the country…

In a surprise turn of events Emirates Club pulled out all the stops in their home match against Al Ahli club where they dominated both halves to finish the match 3-1.

EFF came away with a solid 5-2 victory over Abu Dhabi Elite leaving EFF now in 2nd position behind the new champions, du LaLiga HPC.  

In Abu Dhabi, Al Jazira played against FC Barcelona Escola where true to previous form Al Jazira nailed another dominating victory 7-1 In highlighting their status as one of the UAE’s greatest clubs.

Zayed Sports City saw Abu Dhabi Elite try to recover from a loss against EFF but were unable to as E-sports came away with a 7-1 victory.

Commenting on du UAE FAAL, Dr. Khalid M. Abdullah, Managing Director, FA Academy, said, “The first season of UAE FAAL has exceed our expectations with a very high level of play witnessed from both the national clubs and academies. The world’s best styles of football were all represented in UAE FAAL, the Spanish, English, Dutch, French as well as the Middle Eastern and specifically UAE, which helps to raise the game for all participants.  However, this is only the beginning and we look forward to an even greater participation next season, with an expanded platform to five age categories.”