Stars make it a memorable day for orphans

Dubai

The coach of the UAE national football team has reiterated that the lesser privileged children are capable of making a difference, should they be given the opportunities to do so.

Mahdi Ali, who has given his squad a short summer break before resuming preparations for the rest of the qualifying rounds of Fifa 2018 World Cup, stopped by at the ‘Orphans Sports Day’ held at the Dubai Sports World late on Wednesday.

The ‘Orphans Sports Day’ was held under directives of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in an attempt to make orphaned kids have a sense of belonging in society.

“These orphans can one day adorn UAE national colours if they are given the right opportunities,” Mahdi told Gulf News as he watched an exhibition match between the stars of the 1990 Fifa World Cup and the orphans.

“There is no cap on genuine talent. I can see some good footballers out here. Maybe these kids have not had the most perfect childhood due to the situation they are in. But they can certainly play football and I will not be surprised even if we have a few of them making the grade in sports at the national level,” Mahdi Ali added.

Co-ordinated by Beit Al Khair Society in conjunction with Emirates Transport, Wednesday’s ‘Orphans Sports Day’ witnessed more than 100 children from various orphanages come and spend time at the Dubai Sports World being hosted at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Khalid Esmail, who was the first Emirati to score a goal at the 1990 Fifa World Cup in the UAE’s 1-5 loss to West Germany 25 years back, agreed that all kids need to be given the opportunities. “This is the vision of our leaders and I am glad to be a part of such a grand initiative,” Khalid said.

“We have a responsibility towards these kids and I am just happy to be here and do my bit so that they get the confidence of being part of society through sports. I sincerely wish some of them can go on to represent the country,” Esmail said.

Saeed Hareb, General Secretary, Dubai Sports Council (DSC) was pleased to fulfill an obligation. “Getting these children into mainstream society is our duty. Through this sports day they have a chance to integrate and contribute and I am glad that we can assist in making their dream come true,” Hareb said.

“We hope we can select a few talented youngsters in various sports and get them proper guidance under high-performance coaches and experts so that they contribute to the success of the UAE,” he added.