Abu Dhabi, UAE: The second edition of the Mubadala Community Football League is set to take off this October and run until April 2018. The event is an initiative aimed at fostering community engagement and promoting healthy living by Mubadala Investment Company in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and is wholly operated by the UAE’s leading sports destination, Zayed Sports City. 

The League was formerly known as the Mubadala Football Tournament, but was expanded under an MOU between Mubadala Investment Company and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council last year. With registration now open and places limited, amateur footballers and enthusiasts aged 18 and older, are invited to lace up and kick-off in time for the competition. Consisting of 40 different teams broken up into four divisions, the League will see each team have a minimum of 7 players to a maximum of 20. The program aims to reflect professional football leagues whereby the season is split into two ‘terms’, and each team competes against their own group per term. Following last year’s format, all matches will take place on the Zayed Sports City pitches, with opportunity to play in the National Stadium as well.

Saoud Karmastaji, Assistant Manager, Outreach, Group Communications, Mubadala Investment Company, said: “We are very proud of the success the inaugural Mubadala Community Football League has achieved among our local athletes. Through our programs and partnerships, Mubadala is consistently committed to finding ways for community members to get active and keep fit.  We’re excited to see the results of this year’s competition given the outstanding team performances we’ve seen from the last. We are pleased the league has become a key sporting event that encourages friendly competition and healthy lifestyles.”

The competition encourages players to participate and stay fit through valuable prizes for the winning team and high performing players. Last year’s Mubadala Community Football League saw the Al Mafraq team titled champions after winning against the Yas team 2-0 in the final match. Players Mubarak Al Ketbi from the Al Zafarana team received the Best Goalkeeper Award, while Al Yahar’s Ibrahim Fathi received the Top Goal Scorer award for having achieved an impressive total of 36 goals.

Interested participants are urged to register immediately as places are limited and teams failing to register prior to cannot play. For registration, kindly visit Weyana.ae/mcflRegistration.