Norwich, Newcastle and Melbourne City shine in 2024 Mina Cup

Gulf Today, Sports Reporter

Visiting Norwich City FC, Newcastle United FC and Melbourne City FC were joined by local outfits Forza FC and Barca Academy Dubai in clinching top honours at the end of the 2024 Mina Cup that was held at the Jebel Ali Golf and Shooting Club and Resort.

Norwich City FC triumphed in the U-12 category with a 2-0 win against local side Fursan Hispania, Newcastle United FC clinched the U-13 title with a 5-4 penalty shootout win against Chicago Fire, while Melbourne City FC will travel back to Australia with the U-14 trophy following their 2-1 win against Atlas FC.

The U-15 trophy went to Forza FC following a hard-fought 2-1 win against Dubai City FC and Barcelona Academy Dubai got past Dubai City FC for the U-16 crown.

The winners in all age categories were crowned by English star Teddy Sheringham, former England, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and West Ham United star striker in his capacity as tournament ambassador.

Joining Sheringham at the presentation was Adel Al Bannai, Head of the Football Companies Department at Dubai Sports Council, Chris Brown, founder of the Mina Cup and Stuart McMurdo from Jebel Ali Golf and Shooting Club and Resort.

Sheringham, who turned 58 on April 2, had two separate stints with Hotspurs wedged in-between his days at Manchester United, where he was part of the team that clinched the treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League in 1999.

Perhaps, the 6.1 ft striker will be best remembered for scoring the equalizer and then providing the assist for Manchester United’s winning goal in the second half injury period against Bayern Munich in that memorable 1999 UEFA Champions League final.

Meanwhile, the success of this annual event has galvanized the organizing committee to further expand this competition and take it to England, Saudi Arabia and the US. The winners of these competitions will eventually converge in Dubai to compete in the grand finals.

The JA Sports Centre is a purpose-built training facility which includes four fully floodlit international size football pitches.

The annual Mina Cup sees professional teams travel to Dubai from all corners of the globe. These teams compete alongside regionally based academies and clubs who are needed to qualify through a series of UAE qualifying rounds that were held in the last week of November 2023.

The vision behind the Mina Cup is to create a footballing legacy to champion the teams and players as part of their journey into professional football.

The Mina Cup returned this year for its third installment, boasting an expansion in both age groups and the number of participating teams, with a record-breaking representation from numerous countries.

Subsequently, the tournament unfolded over three days, spanning from April 4-6 at the Jebel Ali Golf and Shooting Club and Precision Football.

Across five age categories ranging from U12 to U16, 40 teams took part in the event. Teams from India, Qatar, Ethiopia, Mali and New York also participated in the tournament.