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UAE football's youthful hope
As senior team look certain to miss the 2010 World Cup, the youngsters draw the limelight.
- Gulf News
- Published: 23:30 November 21, 2008
It has been quite a mixed bag for UAE football teams over the last week. While the Under 19 and Under 17 teams did the nation proud by qualifying for their respective World Cup finals, the senior team's dreams lay shattered following their 1-1 draw against Iran.
The diehard fan may still be hoping that some miracle can see the team qualify for the 2010 showpiece in South Africa, while it would be more realistic to look at the positives from the campaign and build from here. It has been two good years for UAE football - starting with the Gulf Cup triumph last year and the team's progress to the final round of Asian qualifiers of World Cup - but perhaps not good enough.
While the professional league is a step in the right direction, more of UAE's talented footballers should vie to ply their trade in the leagues of other developed football-playing countries. This, while polishing their skills, would also teach them the tricks of the trade for achieving success on the big stage.
And the heartening news is: there is enough good raw talent in the youth teams to choose from and plan for the future.
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