HispanicBusiness

Dubai, the city that never ceases to amaze its zillion admirers, had done it again. This time --the heart of the Middle East-- is opening its arms to embrace Fifa--s Club of the (20th) century.

Real Madrid, the club with the greatest record in the history of European Cup and the club for which the legendary Alfredo di Stefano, Puskas, Zinedine Zidane, Figo, the two Ronaldos and Raul scripted many an epic, has now made its foray into Dubai, hoping to unearth and polish the next footballing jewel.

In tandem with Baniyas Investment and Development, the investment arm of Baniyas Football Club, Read Madrid launched the Realmadrid Foundation Football Academy in Dubai on Saturday evening.

The idea is not only to discover and nurture the young talents but also to teach the young ones to learn to lead a healthy lifestyle.

"After the success of the Real Madrid Foundation Football Academy in Abu Dhabi and in response to strong demand, we decided to launch operations for the academy in Dubai. With the aim of promoting sports values and as an educational instrument in youth development, this new academy will cater to the needs of the younger generation between the ages of 4 and 17, preparing them towards sporting excellence," said Waleid Gamal Eldien, Deputy CEO, Baniyas Investment and Development Company, at the Dubai Municipality Club on Saturday.

Adolfo Sanchez Munoz, Technical Director of Football and Training of Real Madrid Foundation Football Academy also graced the occasion. "Real Madrid Foundation is delighted to work on promoting sports values as an educational instrument in the youth's development in the UAE. The coaches' training sessions that are currently underway are part of our endeavours to hold the supervisory, coordination and evaluation mechanisms which ensure functioning of Real Madrid Foundation Football Academy," Munoz said.

Training sessions of the academy will be held three times a week at the Dubai Municipality Club. The Real Madrid Foundation also conducted a three-day coaching programme for the trainers to enable them to provide the youngsters with the highest level of football coaching. Participants who will take part in the 12-week programme will get the chance to travel to Madrid and train with the Real Madrid third team.