Inspiratus - du Football Champions

Task: Identifying the need for a professionally organised and managed youth football tournament in the UAE. A tournament can act as a scouting platform to identify young talent early, nurture them technically, physically and mentally, and develop sportsmanship & leadership qualities as future pros. Accordingly, Inspiratus in partnership with LaLiga technical team, conceptualized and created the UAE Schools Cup, UAE Streets Cup and UAE Girls Challenge for youth aged 10 to 17. The tournament allowed both schools and community groups to compete across the country and be crowned as UAE Champions.

Next, Inspiratus approached potential sponsors. Seeing the value of the project and an enticing youth engagement, du came on board as a title-sponsor to give rise to duFC - du Football Champions. Nike and Chevrolet followed suit as category sponsors.

What we did: Launched in 2015 in partnership with LaLiga, the world’s strongest league, duFC became the UAE’s first regional youth scouting football platform. And through its partnerships with du, ADEK, KHDA, MOE, Dubai Sports Council, Abu Dhabi Sports Council and Sharjah Sports Council, it became UAE’s gold standard for youth football championship - played in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the Northern Emirates.

Inspiratus managed the project end to end. Running the tournament over 5 seasons, with registration drives and the summer scouting camps in Spain which were organized every year for over 100 young footballers. The program was promoted through rich content, integrated 360° marketing campaign delivered - online, in cinemas and on the ground. Inspiratus staged the duFC Finals at Dubai Mall - Ice Rink – bringing the tournament to the community, a first for a youth football tournament.

Inspiratus won several awards for duFC including the 5-star event rating by the Sports Events Ranking System Results ratified by HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashed Al Maktoum. duFC also took home the gold for the only local event in the 5-star event category, joining the ranks of only four other events, all global in nature. Recognized by the UAE sports authorities for elevating the level of football and by the sports industry, Inspiratus won 3 SPIA Awards for Best Youth Development Project, including 2 gold awards in 2016 and 2018 and a silver award in 2019. In addition, Inspiratus was recognized for its sponsorship excellence and was the Gold Winner for Best Sponsorship of a Sports Event at the SPIA Awards in 2019.

Through its scouting platform and youth development program the duFC has delivered over 34 professional footballers, men and women, playing in teams across the UAE, Middle East, and Europe.