Dubai: Who’s the best shooter of them all? Putting a Dubai spin on the viral ‘street’ football challenge, Emirates invited AC Milan, Arsenal and Olympique Lyon players for a bit of fun scoring multiple creative and dexterous goals while visiting the Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab and touring the Dubai desert with Arabian Adventures.
There’s only one catch: players had to masterfully shoot the ball into an extra-small, 86cm wide goal, kicking at different distances, angles, terrains, against their fellow players, and even blindfolded.
Emirates is featuring TikTok skits of Olympique Lyonnais, AC Milan and Arsenal street football challenges, in addition to Facebook, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Stories.
Amazing bicycle kicks
Emirates Cabin Crew helped to kick off the challenge and first up were Alexandre Lacazette, Corentin Tolisso, Anthony Lopes, Moussa Dembele, Houssem Aouar and Maxence Caqueret from Olympique Lyonnais. With the iconic Burj Khalifa as their inspirational backdrop, the players practised their sharpshooting skills, footwork and clever passes, attempting to hit the target, with no shortage of scores as well as misses, pranks and mishaps.
Next up was Arsenal, led by Captain Martin Odegaard, Kieran Tierney, Eddie Nketiah and Nathan Butler-Oyedeji. The players experimented with their own version of beach soccer, with the spectacular Burj Al Arab in the background as they challenged each other’s skills and showcased some amazing bicycle kicks.
It was AC Milan players Pierre Kalulu, Ciprian Tatarusanu and Aster Vranckx against the elements, or more accurately the Dubai desert as they tried to switch the field and strike their goals in impressive fashion.
Tiny target
Lastly, players were blindfolded as they aimed to take shots at the tiny target. Some players were uncannily accurate. Others were just ‘shooting in the dark’.
The players took time out of their warm weather training sessions and competing in the Dubai Super Cup to take on the challenge. Emirates continues to bring major clubs to the UAE to compete in unique tournaments, as well as take part in warm weather training sessions, to prepare for the final leg of their football season. Dubai has become the preferred base for winter training with its world-class training grounds and year-round availability of sporting complexes, in addition a wide-range of attractions to experience during the players’ down time.
