RIYADH — A football team of Under-13-year olds represented Volkswagen Saudi Arabia at the Volkswagen Junior World Masters Tournament which took place from May 13-15 in Paris, where it competed against teams from 21 countries including Brazil, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
The Saudi team scored wins against Argentina and Japan. The tournament was held at the Centre National du Football Domaine de Montjoye,Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines, France, which is the training camp of the French National team.
The opening ceremony of the Volkswagen Junior World Masters Tournament took place on day one, May 13, followed by matches on day two and the final along with the closing ceremony on day three.
Adel Baraja, head of marketing and public relations, said: “Volkswagen is pleased to sponsor this national team of talented young players. To play in the Volkswagen Junior World Masters Tournament is a great motivational challenge for the children and they are so proud of having qualified for the final rounds of the tournament.
“They impressed everyone with their performance, especially by winning the two matches against Argentina and Japan. The enthusiasm and passion that was reflected during this tournament provoked Volkswagen to be more committed to contributing on developing the Kingdom’s youth.”
Adding to his comments, junior team coach Hatim Al Tuhami said: “In selecting candidates for the Volkswagen Saudi Arabia football academy we conduct tryouts to assess their skills. The most talented young players are then coached and their progress carefully monitored, while in addition we support their healthy growth and development of their academic and social skills.
“I have now been team coach at the academy four years and I can truly say that the future of the most promising young players is very bright since they have the potential to be competitive at international level.”
The Volkswagen Junior Masters is one of the world’s biggest and most popular youth football tournaments. National tournaments take place all over the world in more than 20 countries. Every second year the national champions come together for the world championship. The matches are played according to internationally recognized rules and regulations of FIFA.
More than 10,000 viewers watched the tournament live via Volkswagen official Periscope @VWSaudi.
Football is a major global sponsorship platform at Volkswagen and nowhere more so than in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where Volkswagen is already the Automotive partner and sponsor of Al-Hilal Football Club. Since Volkswagen started its operations in Saudi Arabia in 2014 the company has already hosted two friendly matches between Al-Hilal and Bayern Munich and the Finnish club SJK.
