Abu Dhabi gets preview of United's Soccer School

Abu Dhabi: While English Premiership club Manchester United was making the headlines over England star Wayne Rooney's decision to quit, here in the UAE capital, two coaches from United's Soccer Schools kicked off their coaching endeavour with a soft opening.

Nearly 100 students from Raha International School went through light 45-minute coaching lessons conducted by Andy Dixon and Chris Rosimus, two coaches accredited and certified at Manchester United Soccer Schools (MUSS). The boys and girls were given a preview of the football programmes that are expected to attract thousands of youngsters when Manchester United Soccer Schools has its big kick-off in the capital later this month.

The football programmes will be conducted at the Dome@Rawdhat, the UAE's first air-supported indoor pitch as well as outdoor pitches located on Airport Road in Abu Dhabi.

The MUSS programmes will be run exclusively in the UAE for two years following a partnership deal with Reem Investments who also have the option to expand the partnership into other areas of the GCC.

Speaking to Gulf News, Andy Dixon said, "In terms of the schools and the programmes we deliver, we go all over the world and the children are of various levels.

Challenge

"For us the main challenge is to make sure that they enjoy the programme and they have a positive experience as they come away having learnt something."

"It is best to start early and from four years onwards is good enough. At that age we will let them just feel the football, manipulate the football and as they grow older they can progress with different levels of skills," he said.

Commenting on yesterday's sessions, Dixon said, "This was our first schools initiative in Abu Dhabi, but it is based on work we have done very successfully around the world. It's a great way to meet the kids and show them the kind of things they would be doing ... "

Starting with an initial six-week course from October 30, the full MUSS programmes will be held at the Dome@Rawdhat.