SHARJAH 4 June 2018: In their debut appearance, SDI have been crowned champions of the third edition of the Sharjah Ramadan Football Championship (SRFC) with a convincing 4-1 win over Sharjah Police in front of a packed stadium at the Sharjah Sports Club.
In the climax to what has been an intense competition, SDI drew first blood when Brazilian player Tiago Teles opened the scoring in the second minute but the early lead was wiped when Mohammed Obeid scored a brilliant free-kick for Sharjah Police to level the scores.
The respite was short-lived as Taher Obeid scored SDI’s second shortly before half time and snatched another seconds before the break to leave Sharjah Police trailing 3-1 at half-time.
Despite an impressive period of possession and pressure early in the second half, the police side sealed their own fate through the sending off goalkeeper Jaber Mohammed, and it didn’t take long for Williams Oliveira to take advantage by heading home goal number four, effectively closing the door on any hope for Sharjah Police. Ultimately it was a convincing 4-1 for SDI who always looked in control of their own destiny.
SRFC 2018 was organised by Sharjah Sports Channel under the patronage of Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah.
Sheikh Sultan Bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Media Council, honoured the winners, runners-up and the third place winners of the senior category and the champions of the first-ever under-14 competition of SRFC. He also presented the individual awards to the best player, best goalkeeper and top scorer of the championship. The awarding ceremony was attended by HE Mohammed Hassan Khalaf, Director General of Sharjah Media Corporation and Rashid Al Obaid, Director of Sharjah Sports Channel.
SDI’s Brazilian player Tiago Teles was recognised as SRFC’s top score, while teammate Hassan Al Hantoubi won the best goalkeeper award. Sharjah Police’s Brazilian Rodrigo Xavier was named the best player of the tournament.
During the ceremony, SDI were honoured with the trophy and cash prize of Dh200,000, while Sharjah Police received the runners-up trophy and Dh100,000. Third-placed Al Inthar were awarded Dh50,000.
Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi presented gold medals and a cash prize of Dh50,000 to Rich Target, winners of the under-14 tournament and runners-up Wasit, who received Dh30,000.