UAE soccer school pupils to meet heroes

Dubai: Adham Hamza, Julian La Madrid and Nicholas Cruze will embark on a trip of a lifetime when they travel to Spain next month.

The three youngsters will meet their football heroes at FC Barcelona, thanks to an initiative from the FC Barcelona Soccer School being run at the Raffles International School in Dubai.

Hamza and La Madrid, both 9 and Cruze, 10 were selected from a group of more than 90 children.

"They impressed us with their skills and their desire to learn and excel," technical director Josep Gombau told Gulf News.

The trio will fly on a part-funded trip to Spain and then for a competition to be held in Poland from December 10 to 16. The first two days will be spent at the Barca headquarters in Nou Camp.