Dubai: The stands at The Sevens will be rocking sooner than usual this year with more thrilling sevens action. However, it will be a whole different ball game for the Al Ain Road venue as the first Emirates Airline Dubai Football Sevens takes centre stage.
Following on from the phenomenal success of the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens, Emirates, together with event associate First Sport, welcomed Liverpool legend Ian Rush to Dubai yesterday.
Rush will launch the football tournament which will take place from March 11 to 13.
The new event will bring together a massive cross-section of footballers, with Rush and a host of other greats lined up to play on the same pitches as eight-year-old hopefuls dreaming of following in their footsteps.
Rush — Liverpool's all-time leading scorer with 346 goals in two spells at the club between 1980 and 1996 — said: "It is a great pleasure to be here in Dubai and to be a part of this great concept — the Emirates Airline Dubai Football Sevens."
"I have already spoken to many former players who are particularly excited about coming to Dubai in March for the tournament and I'm sure this event is going to be a great success."
League of former greats
Six clubs will be represented by former greats with Rush joined by Steve McManaman in the Liverpool side; Michael Thomas heading up an Arsenal select; John Collins among the Celtic heroes; and with Rangers also confirmed, a host of other stars will also be flying in for the event.
In addition to the all-star legends event and competitions for various age groups of youngsters, eight professional teams will be taking part — including Arsenal, AC Milan and Olympiacos.
Sevens allure
- Date: March 11-13, 2010
- Where: The Sevens
- Where to buy tickets: Timeouttickets.com, Virgin, Go Sport, selected Costa and MMI outlets, Emirates headquarters, Dnata and The Sevens.
