DUBAI, 27 September 2006 — The 8th Sheikh Hamdan ibn Rashid Al-Maktoum Cup Football Championship for local government departments kicked off at the Dubai Municipality Staff Club stadium on Monday. The tournament will last until Oct. 10.
Eighteen teams from various government departments are entered in this tournament organized by Dubai Municipality during the holy month of Ramadan.
Two newcomers, the Roads and Transport Authority and Dubai Financial Market, have joined the event this year. In the openers, Dubai Municipality routed Development Board 6-0; Dubai Government Workshop blanked Emirates Airlines 2-0 and Islamic Affairs Department drew 2-2 with Department of Naturalization and Residency.
Earlier, a press conference was organized to announce the schedule of the tournament. The championship offers a number of prizes for top scorer, best goalkeeper, model team and best press coverage. Also, there will be daily raffle draw of prizes for the spectators during each match.
The matches will be played as per the league-cum-knockout system.
