H.E. Saeed Hareb, the Secretary General of Dubai Sports Council (DSC) confirmed that the government’s policy, legislations & motivating environment make Dubai & UAE in general as an encouraging and ideal environment for attracting and developing of talents in all fields, among which is the scope of sports talents.

He referred that DSC gives special attention to sports academies and talents’ scouting & development programs, and it allocates annual championships & events for scouting & developing of talents, based on Dubai government’s policy & directives, since talents are considered as the main base for the future and the essential supplier which provides clubs & national teams with promising players who can attain achievements & gain titles.

This came during H.E. Saeed Hareb’s meeting with Mr. Kelly Cross, the FIFA’s expert who visited DSC’s premises, accompanied by Mr. Marcel Lucassin, the Technical Manager in the UAE Football Association.

Mr. Kelly Cross attended part of the workshop, organized by DSC at its premises in the presence of H.E. Naser Aman Al-Rahma, Assistant Secretary General of DSC / Technical Managers of Football Academies in Dubai clubs.

The international expert reviewed Dubai clubs’ programs for scouting & development of sports talents, which reflect the governmental directives coping with the fruitful goals of the Talents Sponsorship Program, launched by FIFA under title “Give Every Talent a Chance”, & managed by the prominent coach Arsene Wenger the Football Development Program’s Manager in FIFA. The Talents Sponsorship Program was announced during the FIFA’s Congress, convened on 14^th March 2023 in Rwanda. FIFA has allocated an amount of $ 200 million, to be spent in the period from 2023 to 2026, to support sports talents programs in national sports federations.   

Mr. Kelly Cross expressed pleasure toward DSC’s efforts to scout & develop sports talents through specialized programs and local & international championships, which are organized in collaboration with the UAE Football Association, besides coaches qualifying sessions & courses and local & international annual forums, held with participation of top prominent experts such as the sessions, which were held on the sideline of Dubai International Sports Conference, under title “Attracting of Talents”, and lectured by Rui Costa, president of Benfica / Unai Emery, current coach of Aston Villa & former coach of Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain & Sevilla / Julian Ward, Sports Manager of Liverpool FC. DSC organizes Dubai school games aiming to supply Dubai clubs with sports talents since early ages. Football academies of Dubai clubs also exert considerable efforts in this field.    

Technical Managers of football academies in Shabab Al-Ahli, Al-Nasr, Al-Wasl & Hatta Clubs, reviewed during the workshop their sports talents development programs, regarding the selection process, private trainings, conducting of periodical tests for measuring the extent of development, considering that the workshop was held in the presence of Mr. Ahmed Salim Al-Mahri, the Acting Director of the Sports Development Dept.