Dubai: The Du La Liga High Performance Centre (HPC) has tied up with the Dubai Sports Council (DSC) to further push its search for professional development of high potential talent at national clubs within Dubai.

The new partnership between the two was announced by Saeed Hareb, General Secretary General, DSC, and Osman Sultan, CEO of Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), and Maite Ventura, Director La Liga, in the presence of Hussein Murad, CEO, Inspiratus, on Tuesday.

Established in 2016, the Du La Liga HPC, has been training and developing some of the UAE’s top football talents to La Liga standards in preparation for possible professional football careers. The entity has quickly become a scouting ground for national, regional clubs and national teams.

Under the new partnership, two players from each of the four Dubai clubs — Al Nasr, Al Wasl, Shabab Al Ahli Dubai and Hatta — will join the Du La Liga HPC summer programme in Spain, where they will get the opportunity to raise their level of play in competitive matches against the best La Liga youth clubs.

In preparation for this trip, the youngsters will undergo intensive training in June at the Du La Liga HPC and continue with their training during their 17-day stay in Spain, beginning from the second half of August until early September.

“Such partnerships are needed for the sake of the future of sports in the UAE,” Hareb told media at the announcement of the fresh initiative.

“We need similar efforts from other sporting disciplines as well. Only then will we be in a position to continue with the supply of talent to the national cause while also helping youngsters to realise their dreams,” he added.

Murad related that four of the eight selected are strikers, while there are two goalkeepers and a defender and midfielder each. “Basically, it is the best eight players from the four Dubai clubs,” Murad asserted.

“Most of these are members of the under-17 national teams already. Gradually, over a period of time this pool of players will increase and we will have a number of players, who would go on to be part of the national teams for their countries,” he added.

“Through our partnership with Du, a visionary leader, and La Liga, the strongest league in the world, we will be working together to take UAE’s professional football development to the next level,” Osman Sultan, CEO, EITC, said.

“We remain committed to deliver on our vision to produce world-class footballer right here from the UAE through Du La Liga High Performance Centre, which is an incubator of talent and is producing a pipeline of professional footballers for clubs and national teams. We are especially proud to be of service to local UAE clubs and the UAE national team, and to support their efforts to elevate the level of football in the country and prepare them for competitions at the international level, the first being the World Cup 2022,” he added.