'This is the biggest motivation possible'

Abu Dhabi: The players of the UAE youth and junior national teams were in high spirits on Monday after meeting with President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and regarded the reception as an incentive to achieve more laurels for their country in all regional, continental and international levels.

"I feel very proud and actually cannot express myself because one of my dreams was to meet His Highness the President. Can you imagine my delight when I presented the Asian Youth Championship trophy to him?," Hamdan Al Kamali, captain of the UAE youth team, told Gulf News on Monday after the reception.

Proud colleagues

"I am sure that all my colleagues are proud and they really know that this reception is a motivation for us to do our best in all our official matches representing our country. They also know that this honour is a big responsibility because the leaders of our country support us continuously and we have to achieve good results in recognition of this support.

" I am optimistic with our chances in the finals of the World Cup and I am confident of my teammates and their capabilities. Believe me, we exceeded our expectations by just reaching the second round of the World Cup. We want to leave a good impression in Egypt to all the other participating countries," Al Kamali said.

"There is never a bigger prize for winning the Asian Youth Championship than meeting our leader His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. This reception will be etched in our memory forever and will be a strong encouragement for us to fight our hearts out for our country in all kinds of sport. It is actually an honour to all the youth of the UAE and not only to us," Amer Abdul Rahman added.

"His Highness's support for the youth and sport in the UAE is one main reasons behind our good preparation and we were ready to face other good teams of Asia on equal terms.

"Presenting the President with the Asian Youth Championship trophy is but a small token for his kind support and we hope that we will be able to achieve more victories so we can come again and meet His Highness in the future," Mohammad Fawzi, the youth team's defender said.

"I still can't believe that I actually met His Highness the President," Fahad Salem Hadid, striker of the Under-16 team who scored the winner against Australia that earned the team a seat in the final, told Gulf News. "It is a dream-come- true," he said.

"We are proud and hope to be able to repay this kind and noble support in the near future," Haddaf Abdullah, a player of the junior team who also shared the limelight, added.