On Tuesday at the "Qasr Al Watan" stadium in Abu Dhabi, the official opening of the 12th edition of the "Mansour bin Zayed Cup for Football 2025" tournament took place in the presence of a member of the Cabinet for Strategic Affairs of the President of the country and the chairman of the sports committee Rashid Al-Amiri. The opening was also attended by members of the Cabinet for Strategic Affairs of the President's Office, the Executive Director of the President's Office Sultan Al-Hamiri, the chairman of the United Arab Emirates Professional Football League Abdullah Al-Junaibi, the General Secretary of the Football Federation OAA Mohammed Khazaan Al-Zahiri, as well as several officials from the President's Office administration and representatives of sponsor companies.
In the tournament, 16 teams will participate, which will continue until March 20 and will go through the group stage system. The teams are divided into four groups, from which the first two teams from each group will automatically advance to the quarter-finals. Rashid Al-Amiri assessed the participation of various structures in this tournament, which bears the name of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, highly appreciating support and work on the sports and youth sectors of the country.
Congratulating on the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, he wished success and well-being to the leadership of the country, which has declared 2025 as the year for community development, and also praised the ongoing successes achieved in previous editions of the tournament. He emphasized the importance of events in strengthening the sports culture in society for the administration of the President's Office and participating organizations, the development and promotion of talents, strengthening social ties, and ensuring their sustainability among the employees of the administration.
Al-Amiri and Al-Hamiri watched the concluding exhibition match, as well as the match between the "General Secretary's Office" and the "Office for Special Affairs" and the match between the "Office for Educational Missions" and the "Office for the Development and Affairs of Widows and Orphans". In the exhibition match, the stars of the OAA team "Galactica 18" led by Ismail Matar faced the stars of "Galactica 21" led by Omar Abdulrahman "Amouri", and the match ended with a score of 2:2.
After the match, the stars of the OAA team were photographed with fans, finding themselves in the "Fan Zone", organized in collaboration with the "Professional League of OAA". Within the framework of the second group stage, the General Secretary's Office started the tournament with a victory over the Office for Special Affairs with a score of 3:1, while the Office for Educational Missions earned the first three points, defeating the Office for the Development and Affairs of Widows and Orphans with a score of 2:1.
In the tournaments, international referees from the Football Federation OAA also participate, as well as professional referees from different countries of the world. Each team, according to the rules of the organizing committee, can have in its list 13 players over 18 years old, including at least three nationals.
