Abu Dhabi, UAE, 24 October 2011: Two Abu Dhabi-based boys have returned from a dream trip to the Manchester United Soccer Schools World Skills Final, where they represented Abu Dhabi in front of 75,000 spectators at Old Trafford, and met their Red Devil heroes.
Ben Rose, 15 from the UK, and Do Hyum Kim, 12 from South Korea, won their places by topping 28 other finalists at the inaugural Abu Dhabi Skills Final and went on to compete against a further 28 global finalists in the World Skills Final at the Manchester United Carrington training ground.
Their skills tests of dribbling, short passing and ball control techniques saw both boys finish within the top ten and they were rewarded with a coaching session with Manchester United first team coach, Rene Meulensteen, as well as a “meet-and-greet” with the entire first team squad.
“Meeting Ji-Sung Park was definitely one of Do’s highlights of the trip,” said Do’s father, Inki Kim. “He really had such an excellent time and was very happy with his performance. We’re all so proud of him and his achievements.”
Richard Rose, Ben’s father, added: “My wife and I feel strongly that the MUSS staff are great role models for Ben and have helped him to grow as a person as well as a footballer. He had a truly fantastic experience at Old Trafford and it was an incredible moment to see him on the pitch. Gaining a place in the World Skills Final and the trip to Manchester was the perfect ending to a great season for him.”
World Skills Final 2
More than 800 seven to 16-year-olds took part in the first season of MUSS football programmes in Abu Dhabi which were launched by Reem Investments at the Dome@Rawdhat in October last year.
The second MUSS season is now underway, with themes reflecting the dynamic styles seen from players like Danny Welbeck, Tom Cleverley, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling in United’s brilliant start to the 2011-12 Premiership campaign. To learn more about the MUSS programme visit www.manutdsoccerschools.ae or call 02 449 8480.
Captions:
1. Ben Rose playing in the World Skills Final at Carrington, Manchester United’s training ground.
2. Do Hyum Kim performs one of the skills test challenges at the World Skills Final.
3. Ben Rose meets Ji-Sung Park during the Manchester United Soccer Schools World Skills Final.