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Breaking new grounds for a game of soccer

DUBAI — Playing a game of soccer or the Ultimate Frisbee with a group of people from different parts of the world sounds fun. It is indeed, if you ask those participating in the first recreational sports league in Dubai.

For the past one month, on every Tuesday, the grounds at the Metropolitan Hotel on Shaikh Zayed Road have witnessed fun-filled evenings with people from different communities flocking to play soccer and Ultimate Frisbee.

“We believe that sport is a universal language to communicate with people from different cultures. Dubai is a city where more than 150 ethnic communities are living together. Our aim is to give a platform to people to meet each other by participating in a healthy event,” says Ravi Bhusari, organiser of the league.

“Most of the youngsters in Dubai have a common desire to spend their evenings in a club or a pub. We want to change this and give them a new option to engage in a sports activity every week and meet new people,” he added.

Davinder Rao another organiser of the league, said, “Dubai is a city where 90 per cent of the people are expatriates. Our aim is to encourage a cultural interaction among expatriates as well as with locals.”

“When I came to this city, there was no organised sports league. So we decided to start this league that could bridge cultures and people,” Rao added.

“Currently the recreational club has 140 registered members. We already have soccer and Ultimate Frisbee. We will soon introduce basketball, beach volleyball, flag football, field hockey and touch rugby. Later, we have plans to introduce individual sports also,” Rao explained.

“The teams are mixed with both girls and boys. Any resident in Dubai can register in the league by just logging on to www.duplays.com ,” Rao said.

Danna Sherri, a school teacher in Dubai participating in the league, said, “The league opened a chance for me to develop my skills, fitness as well as my social network.”