ABU DHABI Charting out big plans, the Abu Dhabi Youth Football Club (ADYFC) are currently on a mission.
The club is recruiting young girls for the under-16 squad as it’s in the process of building a strong team to participate in the prestigious Gothia World Youth Cup to be held in July.
This will be the first time a girls’ team from the UAE is participating in this prestigious tournament.
“This is a big opportunity for the girls,” said Laura Tarrel, coach of the under-16 girls’ team. “Even though ADYFC have a girls’ squad not all can take part in Gothia. So we are looking for girls to join us and train for the big tournament.
“We have had quite a good response so far, but we looking for strong, competitive and experienced girls with a love for football,” Tarrel added.
The club got a first feel of the tournament when their under-16 boys participated last year and are planning to take three teams for this season.
“We learnt and experienced a lot of what is needed in preparation for the tournament. Fitness is a major area as the games are full length and the girls could be playing twice a day. Our fitness instructors will be working closely with our squads and we will also have local friendly matches not only against female opponents but also against male teams as this prepares the girls for some of the more physical games they may face during the tournament,” she said.
ADYFC has over 100 registered players and is a non-profit club with all its coaches and support staff working as volunteers.
“Girls’ football is still relatively small in Abu Dhabi with only a few clubs having a girls squad, but the future is looking positive with more and more clubs looking to expand with girl squads,” Tarrel said on the interest for the sport among girls in the capital.
“Currently we have 15 girls in our squad, and are looking to expand this to 20-25 ideally. The girls train on Monday evenings at Al Yasmina School, Khalifa City A, Abu Dhabi. We also play in various leagues and also arrange as many friendly matches as possible against the limited number of girls’ football teams. We also take part in ‘Ladies Adult’ tournaments that are held as well as playing in the U-14 Abu Dhabi Free League against the U-14 boys.
“We contact schools and word of mouth to attract more girls into the sport,” she noted.
For details contact: laura@youthfootball-uae.com, www.youthfootball-uae.com
