10 teams from across the region went head-to-head at sixth annual Volkswagen Junior Masters Middle East football tournament

Muscat Grassroots team comes in second behind Kuwait Club, who secure place at world championships in Paris against 21 national teams from around the world

Qusai Salim Al Jaradi of Muscat Grassroots named Best Player

The Volkswagen Junior Masters regional tournament held an intense finale on 19 March, with Muscat Grassroots Kuwait Club crowned 2016 champions and winning the opportunity to represent the Middle East at the world championships in Paris later this year. Muscat Grassroots came in second; also bringing home the Best Player trophy.

Kuwait Club defeated Omani based, Muscat Grassroots in a heated battle, claiming the title of Volkswagen Junior Masters Middle East champions, snatching it from two-time reigning champions Al Jazira Club from Abu Dhabi. With impressive levels of skill on display from all participants, Muscat Grassroots’ Qusai Salim Al Jaradi stood out as the Best Player, Mobarak Aladwani from Kuwait Club was identified as the Best Goalkeeper, and Go Pro Sports, Martin Edwards Prado took home Goal Challenge Winner in the tournament.

The sixth regional final of the Volkswagen Junior World Masters - one of the world’s largest and most popular youth football tournaments – took place on 18-19th March at the Etisalat Academy Dubai, where 10 qualifying teams from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar competed for first prize.

On 13 – 16 May 2016, national teams from 21 other countries, along with regional champions Kuwait Club, will gather in Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines - France, for the Volkswagen Junior World Masters Tournament.

Commenting on this year’s championship, Thomas Milz, Managing Director, Volkswagen Middle East said: “We launched the Junior Masters programme in the Middle East in 2011 - to date over 4,000 aspiring footballers have participated and almost 50 young athletes have reached the international bi-annual final in Europe. It is inspiring to see football fans from across the region come together through the Volkswagen Junior World Masters championships. This has been another incredibly successful year for the regional heats, with almost 1,000 under-13’s participating from across the Middle East.

“I would like to congratulate the Muscat Grassroots Team on putting up such a stellar performance in Dubai and especially Qusai Salim Al Jaradi on being nominated as the Best Player. They have truly done the country proud. I would also like to congratulate the regional champions Kuwait Club on their success – we wish them the best of luck at the World Masters final in France!” added Andrew Squires, General Manager, Wattayah Motors.

The Volkswagen Junior Masters competition began in Germany over a decade ago, as part of Volkswagen’s commitment to support youth and sports around the world. This year, the teams participating from the Middle East included Al Jazira (Abu Dhabi), United Sports Academy (Abu Dhabi), FCBESCOLA (Dubai), Spanish Soccer School (Dubai), Go Pro Sports (Dubai), Kuwait Club (Kuwait), Al Jahraa Club (Kuwait), Muscat Grass Roots (Oman), SEK School (Qatar) and Dutch School (Qatar).

Volkswagen Junior Masters - Middle East Sponsors:

Adidas – Uniform partner and prize sponsor for winning teams. Including: Adidas football shows for regional finalists, water bottles, caps and other sports items

GAAST – supplying refreshments from Rauch, Coppenrath & Jelly Belly throughout the regional tournament.

About Volkswagen Middle East.

Established in 2005, Volkswagen Middle East, is an operating unit of Audi Volkswagen Middle East. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. The Volkswagen Group is one of the world's largest producers of passenger cars and Europe's largest automaker. Volkswagen Middle East operations in the region include retail network development, parts and vehicle servicing, workshop repairs, parts distribution center, sales, marketing and after-sales services. Volkswagen Middle East sells the Beetle, Beetle Cabriolet, CC, Golf, Golf GTI, Golf R, Jetta, Passat, Tiguan, Scirocco, Scirocco R and Touareg vehicles through an independent retail network across the Middle East and Levant.

Abu Dhabi and Al Ain             Ali & Sons Motors Co LLC

Bahrain                                     Behbehani Brothers WII

Dubai and Northern Emirates   Al Nabooda Automobiles

Iraq                                           D-Auto

Jordan                                       Nuqul Automotive

Kuwait                                      Behbehani Motors Company

Lebanon                                    Ets. F.A Kettaneh S.A.

Oman                                        Wattayah Motors LLC

Qatar                                         Q-Auto