16 teams to take part in Al Habtoor tournament

Sixteen teams will be vying for top honours in the second Al Habtoor Football Championships that kicks off at the Emirates International School grounds on April 22. Held under the patronage of Khalaf Al Habtoor, Chairman, Al Habtoor Group of Companies, this year's competition will be held over a two-week period. The event was announced at a press conference last Sunday and tournament director Atef Mousa announced that the grand final on May 6 will witness a lucky fan drive off with a Mitsubishi Lancer car. The draw for the competition was also held in which the teams were divided into four groups. The teams will play a round-robin format and the top two sides from each group will advance to the quarter-final knock-out phases. "All matches will be supervised by three international referees," Mousa said. Mohammad Al Habtoor, Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Al Habtoor Group, said: "We were very pleased with the positive feedback we received after last year's championship, both from the participating companies and the spectators. We decided to organise it again this year as part of our commitment in supporting sports-related events of all kinds in the UAE." The winning team will receive the championship trophy and cash prize of Dh30,000, while the runners-up will get a trophy and a cash prize of Dh 20,000. The third-placed team will get a trophy and a cash prize of Dh 10,000.