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SoccerYouthDec 17 – 20, 2026Researched by us

Gulf Cup Youth Football

Al Mamzar Academy Fields — Dubai, Dubai (AE)

GameVoyaGradeD38/100
Know Before You Pay

Ours, from the published record

Attendee Rating

4.2/5

3 reviews · 100% would return

Theirs, from the teams who went

Organizer page

GameVoyaGrade

Know Before You Pay

D · Weak on paper38/100

The published terms work against the team: dear per game, refunds that keep your money, a mandatory hotel block, or some combination. This is what the organizer states, not what teams reported.

Grade components

Value for money10.3 / 41
Terms and transparency17 / 37
Exposure for players11 / 22
How this is calculated

How much of this is published

Fully published4 of 4

This organizer publishes all four terms facts, so the grade rests entirely on stated figures.

The four gradeable facts are the entry fee, the refund policy, the hotel requirement and the guaranteed game count. Anything the organizer leaves out is priced at the middle of its range rather than counted against them — most operators quote on application, and a grade that punished silence would be reporting our own missing data as their failing.

  • Credit only+2
  • Stay-to-play enforced0
  • 5 games guaranteed+7.5
  • Organizer verified by us+7.5
  • Exposure not published+11

Attendee Rating

Positive4.2/5

Reliably good. Reviewers would return, with one or two caveats worth reading.

What attendees rated

Organization4.7
Officiating4.0
Value2.7
Venue5.0

100% of reviewers would bring a team back

Attendee Rating

4.2/5

3 reviews · 100% would return

Coaches, managers, parents, players, officials and scouts who attended. Never the organizer.

Reviewers here averaged 4.4 out of 5. The published figure is 4.2 because a rating from a handful of reviews is pulled toward the directory average until there are enough of them to stand on their own — which is what stops one glowing review putting an event at the top of the table.

Coaches, managers, parents, players, officials and scouts who attended. Never the organizer.

Organizers may answer a review in public, and their responses are labelled and shown. They are excluded from every average, count and return rate here, so an operator cannot move their own rating.

What to expect

Purpose-built academy pitches, evening kick-offs to avoid the heat, and one of the better-run events in the region on the evidence of reviews. It is also expensive per game once the mandatory hotel block is counted, and refunds convert to credit inside thirty days.

What it costs

Team entry feeAED 6,200AED · $1,674 USD equivalent
Games guaranteed5Group stage + placement bracket
Cost per guaranteed game$335 USD35% above the median for youth soccer
Hotel blockAED 395 / nightMandatory — stay-to-play enforced. About AED 1,185 per room for 3 nights.
Refund policyCredit onlyFull refund to 30 days out, then credit only.
Registration deadlineNov 13, 2026Closes Nov 13, 2026

What a player gets seen doing

Not published

11 / 22 exposure points

The organizer publishes nothing about scouts, streaming, video or stats. That is normal for a house or in-season tournament and is not held against the event.

Not stated by the organizer

  • Scouts and college coaches attend
  • Showcase format
  • Advances to a championship
  • Games streamed
  • Game video for teams
  • Live stats and standings
  • Professional photography

Silence is scored as an unknown, not as a no. Nothing here is deducted for a feature the organizer simply did not mention.

Format and divisions

Age brackets
U12U14U16
Competitive tiers
AcademyClub
Field size
64 teams
Pitches in play
8
Included
  • Neutral referees
  • floodlit evening kick-offs
  • air-conditioned team rooms
  • medical staff on site

3 reviews from teams that went

Attendee Rating 4.2 / 5

  1. Evening kick-offs are the right call

    Yasmin Al-Habtoor · Team manager · Dubai Falcons U14 · attended 2026

    4/5

    Nobody plays youth football in Dubai at midday in December and the organisers know it. Every game after four, floodlit, air-conditioned team rooms between fixtures. Extremely well run. The mandatory hotel block is the reason the value score is what it is.

    Organization
    5
    Officiating
    4
    Value
    3
    Venue
    5
    Would return

  2. Best organised event we entered, and the dearest

    Stefan Vandersteen · Coach · Antwerp Rovers U16 · attended 2026

    4/5

    Punctual to the minute, neutral referees, medical staff visible. Also 335 US a game once the block is counted, which is more than double what we pay at home for the same number of games. Justifiable as a once-in-a-cycle trip, not annually.

    Organization
    5
    Officiating
    4
    Value
    2
    Venue
    5
    Would return

  3. Strong regional field, watch the refund clause

    Karim Bensalah · Coach · Casablanca Academy U12 · attended 2025

    4/5

    Good standard across the U12 groups and the pitches are excellent. We nearly withdrew inside thirty days and would have received credit rather than a refund. Read that clause before you commit deposits.

    Organization
    4
    Officiating
    4
    Value
    3
    Venue
    5
    Would return

Review this tournament

You attended Gulf Cup Youth Football. Tell the next team what to expect.

This is the Attendee Rating — the half of a listing we cannot work out ourselves. It is filed by people who were at the event: coaches, managers, parents, players, officials and scouts. Organizers cannot file one, and the GameVoyaGrade never reads reviews at all.

Overall *

Your verdict on the weekend as a whole.

Organization *

Schedule accuracy, communication, on-site staffing.

Officiating *

Standard and consistency of the crews.

Value *

What you got for the entry fee and travel cost.

Venue *

Facility, playing surface, spectator space.

Moderated before publication. We never publish your email, and this form does not ask for one. info@gamevoya.com is where a question about a review goes.