Street soccer enthusiasts given a chance to showcase skills in one-day competition at the Dome@Rawdhat
The art of street soccer is building a steady fan base in Abu Dhabi and now a new tournament dedicated to test the specialised football skills is coming to the UAE capital at the Dome@Rawdhat.
Dutch street soccer group Streetkings has set up a new home in Abu Dhabi and will host the one-day tournament on Saturday 17th December from 4pm. Open to footballers of all age groups and abilities, players will be categorised into Under 12s, Under 17s and 17 and over and each team of two will go head to head in a series of nine games.
Budding street soccer stars who want to fine tune their skills ahead of the tournament can take part in a Streetkings clinic the day before, on Friday 16th December from 3pm to 5pm at the Dome@Rawdhat. Streetkings’ founder and former professional Dutch footballer Edward van Gils will be joined by his team of street football experts to offer free advice and showcase their skills.
“The ethos behind street soccer is to be as creative as possible and have some fun with the football,” said van Gils, a former player with Dutch League side AZ Alkamar. “Introducing this new sport to Abu Dhabi has been fantastic and we’re encouraging as many residents as possible to get down to the Dome, enjoy being as active as possible and test their skills.”
Streetkings’ presence in Abu Dhabi is a fascinating insight into the hugely popular sport of street soccer, which has turned players like van Gils into cult figures around the world because of their ability to effortlessly manipulate a football in a flamboyant show of ball control, imagination and showmanship.
The sport has become big business, and van Gils has appeared in commercials for some of the world’s biggest brands with famous players like Ronaldinho and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Street soccer is seen as having learning qualities well beyond the vast array of tricks invented and perfected by players such as van Gils, and his colleague Lenny Macnack, an expert at Panna, the art of playing the ball through your opponent’s legs.
Rinus Michels, the Holland team manager who led Ajax to the European Cup and Barcelona to the La Liga title in Spain, has described the sport as “the most natural educational system that can be found.”
The Dome@Rawdhat was built by Reem Investments to create a vibrant sporting community at the gateway to Abu Dhabi. The area has become a magnet for players of all ages, currently hosting more than 12,000 footballers and their families every month on its indoor and outdoor pitches. It is also home to the hugely successful Manchester United Soccer Schools which launched in October 2010.
Registration for the clinic and tournament is now open at www.thedome.ae or by calling 02 449 8480 or 050 662 7701.
