• Home
• /
• Football

Al Istishariyya retain title

ABU DHABI — Defending champions Al Istishariyya pipped Statistics Centre by a solitary goal to retain the men’s five-a-side football championship title in the 14th AFOC Open Sports Festival at the AFOC premises on Monday night.

The 14^th AFOC Open Sports Festival was held under the patronage of Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Presidential Affairs.

Earlier, before the final, EMCO defeated Saif Balhesa 3-1 in the play-off for the third place to take the bronze.

Ali Al Humsi put EMCO ahead in the first half only for Ahmed Mahmoud to help Saif Balhesa to draw level before the break.

Qasum Qowsan scored a brace to ensure EMCO landed the bronze.

In the final, Statistics Centre dominated the first half but squandered a lot of scoring chances.

Defending champions Al Istishariyya bounced back in the second half and continued to probe for opportunities until the team’s top scorer, Hisham Rizq, scored the match-winner.

The match which attracted a large crowd was attended by a number of dignitaries, including H.E. Mohammed bin Hammam Al Abdullah, President of the Asian Football Confederation, Mohammed Khalfan Al Rumaithi, Chairman of the UAE Football Association, Yusuf Yakoub Al Sarkal, Deputy President of the Asian Football confederation, Lt. General (Rtd) Mohammed Hilal Al Ka’abi, AFOC Board Chairman and Chairman of the Higher Organizing Committee and other officials.

Al Istishariyya were richer by Dh 150,000, plus the gold medal and the championship trophy, while Statistics Centre took home a cash prize of Dh 100,000 and the silver medal.

EMCO got Dh 80,000 plus the bronze medal, while Saif Balhesa took home a consolation prize of Dh 20,000.

The Goal King title and a cash prize of Dh 5,000 went to Mustafa Ibrahim of Statistics Centre.

Ibrahim scored 10 goals in the tournament. Al Dhafra won the Fair Play Cup, dubbed Khalid Al Hammadi, the late Head of the AFOC Games Media Committee, who passed away about year ago.

A documentary film about the 14^th AFOC Sports Festival was shown at the end of the match, in a replay of all events from the spectacular opening ceremony to the final match to refresh the memory of fans before the award ceremony started.

The organizing committee honoured all the major sponsors of the festival, including Emirates Investment, Yahsat, Al Futtaim Motors, Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technology Co., International Golden Group, Al Khaleej newspaper, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Hilal Bank, National Center For Documentation and Research, Sofia Trading, Omeir Travel Agency, Al Jaber Company, Xerox UAE, Al-Ain Mineral Water, Etihad Airways, Baniyas and the Food Control Centre.

The champions of the Under-16 Youth PlayStation championship were also presented with their prizes. Rashid Salim Al Ghafli emerged champion in the event, while Omar Ali Al Zuyoudi finished second.

The bronze medal went to Abdullah Ali Al Zuyoudi.

In the Open PlayStation event, Hussein bin Abdullah Wahlan was crowned champion, while the silver went to Ibrahim Hassan Al Buloushi. The bronze went to Abdullah Mohammed Al Hossani.

james@khaleejtimes.com