Leader Sport narrowly defeated Al Bayan in a tense 4-3 thriller on the opening night of the Sharjah Ramadan Football Championship (SRFC) yesterday (Friday), while a star was born in Rich Target’s convincing 6-2 win against Wasit in the opener of the tournament’s first ever Under-14 category.

The championship which is being held under the patronage of Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, began with a spectacular opening ceremony where hundreds of spectators descended on Sharjah Sports Club to raise the roof in celebration of the world’s most popular sport.

Organised by the Sharjah Sports Channel for the third consecutive year, the two-week tournament features 16 adult teams playing in a four-group knockout competition, and four Under-14 sides competing head-to-head. Running until June 1, the event is taking place at Sharjah Sports Club’s indoor stadium.

The opening ceremony was attended by Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman of Sharjah Media Council, Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairman of Sharjah Sports Council, HE Dr. Khalid Omar Al Midfa, Chairman of Sharjah Media City, HE Mohammed Hassan Khalaf, Director of Sharjah Media Council, HE Nada Askar Al Naqbi, Director General of the Sharjah Women Sports Foundation, Amer Al Ghaithi, Events Manager at Sharjah Sports Channel, as well as a number of prominent sports personalities and representatives of Sharjah government entities.

Parading young talent to the region

Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi said: “The championship reflects Sharjah Media Corporation’s ongoing efforts to provide a platform for talented young sportsmen and women to show their ability at a high level of competition.

He added: “Through organising and broadcasting SRFC we are able to show regional audiences that Sharjah is an excellent sporting destination, flying the flag for healthy competition at the highest national standards.”

Rashid Al Obaid, Director of Sharjah Sports Channel, said: “The championship has got off to a strong start, which bodes well for future matches. We have seen extremely hard-fought opening matches that have shown the strength of these teams and the quality of the tournament. We are proud of playing such an important role in the country’s football scene, especially in organising events such as this in Ramadan every year.”

He added: “Already we have seen some extremely talented individuals as the third edition kicks off, which is another great aspect of the tournament as local and regional clubs look for promising youngsters to join them.”

High competitive spirit

In the opening match of the junior tournament Khalid Al Obaidli netted the first goal for Rich Target in the third minute before Rashid Darwish scored an equalizer for Wasit in the fifth. The reprieve was short-lived however, as Al Obaidli scoring his second shortly afterwards. He went on to clinch his hat-trick in the 11^th minute and Saif Al Hammadi netted a fourth, ending the first half with a 4-1 lead for Rich Target.

Things looked no better for Wasit in the second half as Ali Abdul Qader slotted in a fifth for Rich Target, although Mohammed Ahmed pulled back a token goal to score Wasit’s second.

But it proved to be Al Obaidli’s night as scored his fourth to mark up a 6-2 victory.

Senior competitions

The first senior match saw Leader Sport face Al Bayan in a much tighter match. Moroccan player Sofian Al Mesrar put Leader Sport ahead in the sixth minute only to see that wiped out when Ahmed Al Suwaidi scored an equalizer for Al Bayan in the 13^th minute.

Just a minute later, Al Bayan went ahead and in a frenzied end to the first half, it was less than 60 seconds later that Bilal Baqali scored Leader Sport’s second goal to go into the break at 2-2.

A tense end-to-end second half, the crowd had to wait a full 11 minutes until the deadlock was broken in the form of Sofian’s second and Leader Sport’s third. Things soon looked beyond Al Bayan’s reach as Bilal Baqali scored Leader’s fourth.

Al Bayan’s Spanish professional Leman Lecor clawed back a third for Al Bayan in the last minute of the match, but with a 4-3 win for Leader Sport it was just too little too late.

During the opening, valuable prizes including smartphones, flight tickets and cash were given away to the supporters. The Organising Committee of SRFC has also allotted daily prizes for the rest of the championship.

Monday, day two of the competition will see La Magica play against Al Forsan, while defending champions Al Embrator will face SDI Club. On the same day, Al Bayan will face Sport Forever, and Lenasi will meet Leader Sport.