FOOTBALL – AL Najma were last night crowned champions of the 2024-25 National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) Under-21 Youth Football League.
Najma secured the coveted title with a resounding 2-0 victory over 10-man Al Ahli in their concluding tournament fixture played at the Al Ahli Club Stadium in Mahooz.
Ali Hussain Mansoor Abdulkarim and Yousef Mohammed were on target for the victors, both in the second half.
Najma claimed their sixth win in seven matches to wrap up their championship campaign with 18 points, edging Riffa for the crown after their chief title rivals also finished on 18 points.
Riffa eked out a late 1-0 win over East Riffa in another league game yesterday on the final match day. Najma won the title based on the league’s tie-break rules.
Taking third place overall were Al Ettihad.
“We won the league and now we have to train more for the cup – inshallah we can win,” Najma’s Mohammed told the GDN post-game.
“We tried so hard and we played so well in our games. We deserve to win.
“We have great players and we have our future in this team. Inshaallah, we can keep winning.
“I’m so happy I scored the second goal tonight.”
Following the match, the top three sides were awarded their respective trophies and medals in a ceremony attended by NBB chief corporate communications officer Hisham Abu Alfateh and other officials from NBB and the Bahrain Football Association (BFA).
Abu Alfateh expressed his delight in NBB’s impact on this season’s youth league.
“We genuinely left a fingerprint on this league,” he told the GDN. “It was a point where we had to make a decision in terms of making a difference – we wanted to leave a fingerprint, and I think that we did.
“We are so excited and delighted to have been able to uplift this league and put it under the spotlight, give it the limelight and every light possible, and I’m so happy to see all the faces of all these players that we made a difference in their lives, and we made a difference in the clubs that participated in this.”
Also during the awards presentation, a number of individual accolades were presented. Two Najma players were honoured for their individual play, including Ali Humood Al Doseri for Best Player and Hamad Ali for Best Goalkeeper.
Najma came away with prize money of BD15,000 to go with their title triumph.
In last night’s contest, Najma enjoyed a man advantage heading into the break after Ahli’s Ali Hussain was sent off in the 34th minute for a harsh challenge on Al Doseri.
After the re-start, Abdulkarim put Najma ahead in the 55th minute with a goal from close range off a lobbed pass into the box. Najma then sealed their win with Mohammed’s goal five minutes from the end of regular time. He slotted in from close range following a low cross from the left of the area.
The NBB Under-21 Youth Football League was held in cooperation between NBB and the BFA.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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