Dubai-based Egyptian boy, 8, aspires to join Man City

Jamil Khan, Senior Reporter

Aspiring Dubai-based eight-year-old Egyptian player Omar Sherif  is on his way to achieve his dream to be part of the top English football club, the Manchester City, soon as he just won the award for ‘best player in the Academies Championship’ and also received the highest number of votes in all stages throughout the year.

The event was organised recently by the Dubai Sports Council and attended by scores of children from different sports academies.

Sherif, who is part of Al-Ittifaq Football Club( IFC ), has been playing football since the age of four.

“I’m grateful to my fans who voted for me as I received the highest number of votes. This achievement will boost my sports skills in the game of football and my fans will enjoy to see me in the field with the top club,” he shared his excitement.

He started playing football at the academy of the Spanish star Michel Salgado, then he moved to the academy of the English Club Manchester City, and then the academy of the Wadi Degla Sports Academy Dubai. He recently joined the Emirati club Al-Ittifaq Football Club (IFC) under the technical director and head coach Amr Zakaria, who praised the skills and morals of Omar Sherif. Amr Zakaria said, “The young player, Omar Sherif, has high sports skills and also has remarkable physical strength and flexibility, which he showed during the training he underwent during the past stages and also qualified to be the best among his peers.”

He further mentioned that he (Omar) will through his professional training sessions throughout the year will rise to a level where he deserves to be as he showed his remarkable commitment. He also pointed out that the club has decided to give him the leadership of the team during the matches, because of his moral and literary commitment and high skills.

It is also mentioned that more than 2,000 people participated in the final voting for the best player award, where the votes were cast in favour of Omar Sharif, who was supported by a wide group of mainstream media and influencers through their social media handles.

The social media influencers who supported Omar included Dr. Hala Sarhan, who supported Omar through her accounts on Instagram, and the artist and programme presenter Wael Mansour, who emphasised through his accounts on social media the need to support the Egyptian player Omar Sharif and highlighted the importance of young talents in the field of football and various other fields.

Jamil Khan, Senior Reporter