The Manchester United Soccer Schools (MUSS) in Abu Dhabi, which offers coaching in football, has announced the latest top 10 skills challenge winners from its third programme which ended recently.

Children who completed the third MUSS module, which focused on mastering the skills required by modern strikers, using Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez and Dimitar Berbatov as examples, celebrated the end of the season and received certificates and player evaluations from their coaches.

The top 10 point scorers in the skills challenge competition, which tests the players’ dribbling, short passing and ball control techniques, were also announced.

The latest winners join those from the previous two modules to take part in the Abu Dhabi Skills Final in October, which will see 30 players from 18 different countries involved.

The top two highest point scorers will receive an all expenses paid trip to Manchester to represent Abu Dhabi at the World Skills Final at Carrington, Manchester United’s training ground as well as play on the famous Old Trafford turf in front of 75,000 supporters.

“All of the skills challenges are age-handicapped so the seven year olds can compete fairly against the 16 year olds and they really test the technical abilities of the players,” said Andy Dixon, head coach at MUSS Abu Dhabi.

“Over the last ten weeks, the standard of competition has been very high and all of the children should be proud of their achievements.”

More than 700 children between the ages of seven and 16 have participated in the MUSS programme’s inaugural season, which launched in October 2010 following a partnership with Abu Dhabi-based developer Reem Investments, and comprised three modules focusing on developing skills on and off the pitch the Manchester United way.

MUSS has also introduced a new summer programme, which will take place in the one-of-a-kind indoor air conditioned football facility the Dome@Rawdhat. The four one-week intensive courses start on July 3 and run from Sunday to Wednesday with each day themed around a different technical area of the game. – TradeArabia News Service