Dubai: Sixteen-year-old Dubai-based Maltese striker Andrea Borg has signed for English League One (third tier) side Peterborough United, his former academy coach has confirmed.
Chris Brown, managing director of Dubai’s ‘It’s Just Football’ (IJF) academy, posted on Facebook: “We are delighted and extremely proud to announce that Andrea Borg has signed as a full-time trainee scholar for Peterborough United Football Club in England.
“Andrea has been a member of the IJF family since he was nine years of age and it has been an honour to see him grow and develop as a player and a person in these last seven years.
“We are so pleased for Andrea and his family as he starts a career in professional football. We wish you all the best mate.”
The Dubai College student is believed to be only the third UAE-based player to have signed for an English club. German goalkeeper Fabian Speiss and South African defender Keiran Geldenhuys both signed for Notts County in 2010 and 2012 respectively.
Speiss, 22, a product of the Jebel Ali Centre of Excellence, now plays for English National League North (sixth tier) side Boston United, while Geldenhuys, 20, who was also with the IJF academy, is on a football scholarship with Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana in the US.
