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FOOTBALL crazy teenagers are setting their sights on reaching their Manchester United goal and hoping to stand out when the English Premiership champions’ top scouts travel to Bahrain to watch them in action.
This weekend 32 school football teams from across Bahrain who have registered for VIVA Manchester United Soccer Schools programme will take part in an inter-school tournament at the Soccer City stadium in Janabiya.
Each player, aged between 13 to 15, in addition to representing his or her school, will have a chance to demonstrate their skills and win a week-long professional football training session in the UK.
The schools competing will be Modern Knowledge School, The British School of Bahrain (BSB), St Christopher’s, Al Noor School, The Indian School, Al Hekma International School, Ibn Haytham School, New Vision School, Sacred Heart School, Al Naseem School, Rawabi School, Tylos School, Bangladesh School, Al Ebdaa School and Al Salam School. Additionally, government schools participating in the tournament include Abdulrahman Al Nasser School, Jaffari Institute, Guthabieeya School, Ahmed Al Fateh School, Imam Ali School, Ibn Rashid School, Hamad Town School, Isa Town School, Umam Al Gazali School and Alk Farabi School.
GulfWeekly caught up with BSB youngsters preparing for the task ahead. There will be a squad of 11 boys and 11 girls from the school chasing places to make their United dream turn into a reality.
Year 10 student Tom Noble, 14, from Hamala, is excited at the prospect. He said: “It would be amazing to make it.
“I am proud to be representing my school in this competition and am looking forward to showing others what we can do.”
His teammate Sarrie Rabayah, 14, a Year 9 student from Saar, added: “We have been training once-a-week since September to prepare for competitions in the annual Bahrain Private Schools Sports League.
“I have an idea of what to expect and I’m really confident that we can beat other schools in this tournament and hopefully secure spots for the big prize of picking up some new footballing skills in Manchester.”
The BSB squads have been selected by the head of physical education for the senior school, Wayne Ridgway.
The 30-year-old from Um Al Hassam combined teens from the junior and senior squads to take part in the challenge.
He said: “I had spoken to the coaches of the individual teams at the school and asked them to suggest their top players to form a squad. I then put together a team of 11 that I thought would offer the best chance of qualifying individually.
“To me this is about the individual students getting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of showcasing their skills and possibly getting the chance to train at the United grounds.
“As much as we always want to win as a school, and I know they will play to the best of their abilities, my role on the day is to keep changing the players around to give everybody the chance to impress the coaches.
“The tournament is an unknown entity because while we know the abilities of the private schools it will be interesting to see how we get on with facing the others.
“At the moment, the chosen players have continued to prepare with their usual team coaches focusing on passing, shooting, ball coordination and tactical awareness.”
The VIVA Manchester United football scouting programme will offer 22 young boys and girls the opportunity to learn the secrets of professional football in the UK and an exclusive chance to play in Carrington, where the first team trains.
Next season the Premiership stars will have to impress new United boss David Moyes, the current Everton manager, who will be taking over the hot seat from the retired Alex Ferguson.
Best friends and Year 10 classmates, Lana Naji, 15, from Seef and Soraya Faiz, 14, from Janabiya, are both excited about the competition and hope to get selected together.
Lana said: “Soraya and I are proud to be representing the BSB girls. It would be a dream come true to travel to Manchester together.
“I love football and am blessed to have Miss Lucy Jones as she is such an inspirational coach.”
Soraya, who has been playing since she was four, is eager to put on a good show. She said: “Football is a part of me. I used to play with my dad, Mike. I used to go to the pitch with him in the US and then when we moved here my 11-year-old sister Suha and I would play outside in the compound.
“I got to experience a different level of football with the Bahrain National Team last year.
I hope the coaches see the amount of effort Lana and I will be putting in.”
Miss Jones, 36, a physical education teacher, from Adliya, said: “I am really proud of all these girls. They have worked hard and win or lose I will still be proud of them. We have been practicing every day to get the girls ready.”
Day one of the trials on Friday will witness 24 boy football teams, slotted in different groups, playing seven-a-side matches in the first stage of the competition. The following day will have eight girl football teams demonstrating their soccer skills and boy’s teams shortlisted in the preliminary round of try-outs.
The trials will be evaluated by official coaches from Manchester United Soccer Schools who will be searching for the best performers on the pitch, showcasing exceptional technical footballing talent.
The format of the programme, they promise, will ensure that every player gets an equal chance to display his or her abilities and is evaluated on all parameters, including physical and technical attributes as well as individual skills.
Aside from finding the 22 players to fly-out to Manchester courtesy of VIVA Bahrain, awards will also be handed out for the best player, best striker, best goalkeeper and the top three schools.
For more information on the programme, visit www.viva.com.bh
