Dubai Business News — The organisers of European football’s junior Champions League, the NextGen Series, have confirmed they are in talks to hold the knockout stages of the competition in the UAE in January.
The Emirates has become the destination of choice for European clubs looking to enjoy warm weather training over the winter months with AC Milan, Tottenham and Shakhtar Donetsk among the teams to head to Dubai earlier this year.
And now the cream of the continent’s emerging talent look set to join them as part of the NextGen Series, a new competition for Under-19 club sides featuring the likes of Ajax, Barcelona, Internazionale, Liverpool and Manchester City.
The tournament, which kicked off on Wednesdday evening with games in Marseille, Liverpool, Amsterdam and Basel, sees 16 teams compete in four groups with the top two teams from each pool qualifying for the knockout stages, to be held in a neutral, most likely Middle Eastern, country.
When Sport360° contacted the organisers in London yesterday we were informed that negotiations on where to stage the knockout portion of the competition were ongoing with interested bidders in the UAE, as well as other Middle Eastern countries and Europe. A decision on where the latter stages of the series will be held is expected by early October.
The tournament has been designed as a bridge between youth and first team football for aspiring young footballers across Europe and gives the players the chance to take part in a challenging six-month international competition at a level they wouldn’t experience playing reserve team football.
Should the finals take place in the UAE football fans in the country may also be treated to a glimpse of the next big things in football. All 16 competing teams are regulars in European competition while Sporting Lisbon produced Cristiano Ronaldo, Marseille gave Samir Nasri his first taste of football and the youth system at both Ajax and Barcelona are routinely heralded.
Reports from Sports360.com.
The Emirates has become the destination of choice for European clubs looking to enjoy warm weather training over the winter months with AC Milan, Tottenham and Shakhtar Donetsk among the teams to head to Dubai earlier this year.
And now the cream of the continent’s emerging talent look set to join them as part of the NextGen Series, a new competition for Under-19 club sides featuring the likes of Ajax, Barcelona, Internazionale, Liverpool and Manchester City.
The tournament, which kicked off on Wednesdday evening with games in Marseille, Liverpool, Amsterdam and Basel, sees 16 teams compete in four groups with the top two teams from each pool qualifying for the knockout stages, to be held in a neutral, most likely Middle Eastern, country.
When Sport360° contacted the organisers in London yesterday we were informed that negotiations on where to stage the knockout portion of the competition were ongoing with interested bidders in the UAE, as well as other Middle Eastern countries and Europe. A decision on where the latter stages of the series will be held is expected by early October.
The tournament has been designed as a bridge between youth and first team football for aspiring young footballers across Europe and gives the players the chance to take part in a challenging six-month international competition at a level they wouldn’t experience playing reserve team football.
Should the finals take place in the UAE football fans in the country may also be treated to a glimpse of the next big things in football. All 16 competing teams are regulars in European competition while Sporting Lisbon produced Cristiano Ronaldo, Marseille gave Samir Nasri his first taste of football and the youth system at both Ajax and Barcelona are routinely heralded.
Reports from Sports360.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment