If, like me, you’ve watched those videos on YouTube or social media of people calmly cramming into the Japanese metro like sardines, you’ve probably wondered: “How on earth do these people live like this every day?” This summer, like most football academies in Dubai, we looked to recover our income through holiday camps. We did […]
Michael Douglas said it a long, long time ago. “Greed is good.” Greed works. Greed clarifies. Greed built America. Of course… That was Wall Street. Gordon Gekko. A fictional character. But almost forty years later, I find myself asking a very simple question. Was he right? Is greed actually bad? Or have we confused greed […]
TFA is 10 years old today.Ten years of lessons. On 01/01/2016, we started The Football Academy Dubai.On 01/01/2026, TFA turned ten. In that time, we’ve gone from a handful of kids on a pitch to: Hundreds of players Two strong competitive leagues A growing YouTube channel International football tours This isn’t a history lesson. It’s […]
The battle never stops between local academies, private ones, and international academies in Dubai. It’s an ongoing debate that every parent in Dubai’s football community eventually finds themselves caught in: Who provides the better service? At first glance, the answer seems obvious. Big-name international academies in Dubai carry global prestige, iconic branding, and the promise […]
“Piacere, Mr. Pirlo.” The football world did a double take when Andrea Pirlo, the maestro of midfield elegance, arrived in Dubai to take charge at FC United. At first glance, it looked like another exciting headline for a city accustomed to attracting global icons. But Pirlo Dubai football represents something far more meaningful. It marks […]
For years, Dubai football leagues have been searching for structure and a competitive system that could truly test young players and raise the bar for local talent. That structure has finally arrived — and it’s come in the form of two powerhouse leagues that now define the city’s football landscape: the YFL (Youth Football League) […]
If women’s football in Dubai has evolved at all over the past five years, it’s been in slow motion. While men’s football has expanded rapidly, women’s football still lags far behind. It’s not a controversial question—but it’s a necessary one. Over the years, several initiatives have tried to give women’s football in Dubai a home […]
Where are the UAE football transfers? After five years of investment, new leagues, and ambitious plans, the silence is hard to ignore. Millions of dirhams have gone into building Division 2 and Division 3, yet the number of players moving up into the Pro League remains the same: zero. This isn’t how it was supposed […]
Something exciting is brewing in Abu Dhabi, and it could change Al Jazira UAE football forever. Al Jazira Football Club, quietly but powerfully, has partnered with the Manchester City Group to build a development program that very few are paying attention to. But they should be. Al Jazira FC, owned by the same Sheikh who […]
Why do so many young players risk everything to chase the dream of becoming a professional footballer despite knowing the odds are brutal? Only a tiny fraction of the 1% of the 1% ever makes it to the professional level. Yet every year, millions of hopefuls train, sacrifice, and stake their futures on football. The […]
