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Maldives' Club Teenage to Brazil for Neymar Jr’s Five world finals

18 July 2018, MVT 12:35
Club Teenage poses with Neymar Jr's Five Boarding Pass: the defending champions are flying out to Brazil on July 18, 2018 to participate in the tournament's World Finals. PHOTO: MOHAMED AHSAN/RED BULL MALDIVES
18 July 2018, MVT 12:35

Defending champions of the Maldives Qualifiers, Club Teenage, will be flying out tonight for the World Finals of Neymar Jr’s Five which will be held on July 20 - 21 at Instituto Projeto Neymar Jr in Neymar’s hometown of Praia Grande.

Club Teenage is composed of some of the elite futsal players in the country, including Ismail Fathih, Hussain Shareef, Riham Abdul Ghany, Mohamed Riffath, Ibrahim Nashid, Ahmed Ayas, and Ibrahim Mubeen Ahmed Rasheed.

Club Teenage represented Maldives last year in Praia Grande, beating Spain 5:2 and India, 5:1- making it all the way to the knock-out stages.

When asked about their strategy for this year’s finals, Fathih said, “We played on defensive last year. This time, we played on full attack; we found that playing on attack is very effective, so we’re planning to use the same strategy for the world finals as well. Together we can do this.

Fathih also went on to say, “Last year we couldn’t make it past round of 16, but this year we will do our very best to go further than that. We have seen how other teams played during the last world finals, so we think that we can give a good fight this time, God willing."

Neymar Jr's Five

Neymar Jr's Five is a five-on-five 10 minutes of intense action-packed football, where teams sans goalkeepers lose a player for any goals they concede.

The contest held between 62 participating countries sees Maldives face off against the likes of France, Germany, Italy and many other acclaimed names in football today.

It is held at Instituto Projecto Neymar Jr, a private non-profit association dedicated to social causes which was set up by Neymar Jr and his family. It is located in Jardim Glória, in Praia Grande, where Neymar Jr spent much of his childhood. The Institute is an 8,400 square metre education and sporting complex catering for 2,470 underprivileged children aged 7-14 and their families.

Regarding this year's tournament, Neymar Jr said, “What makes me really excited is that this edition brings more players from more countries so I’m glad to know that everyone wants to participate, and I feel happy to be part of it. More than that, I am excited to bring the joy of football and all the cultural diversity to the children here at the Instituto Neymar Jr that are attending the Neymar Jr's Five's third edition! The fact that the finals take place in the neighbourhood where I grew up fills me with energy at this moment."

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