Manchester City Women’s Esme Morgan hails Abu Dhabi Cup for inspiring young female footballers

ABU DHABI: The Manchester City Abu Dhabi Cup is set to feature 16 girls’ teams competing for trophies across two days of action on Feb. 18-19 at Zayed Sports City.

As the countdown to the event begins, Manchester City Women’s player, Esme Morgan, says that competitive football is vital to the progress of the sport for girls.    

“Competitive tournaments are so important,” she said. “When I was younger, I wasn’t aware of many large competitions outside of school that included many young female footballers.”  

“But nowadays it’s great that young girls are surrounded by opportunities to play football,” Morgan said. “Competitive environments are so much fun too. They give you a taste of winning and help you build special bonds with those you play with.” 

The defender, who joined Manchester City at under-15s level, also spoke about how much has changed in women’s football in the past few years. 

She added: “Women’s football has changed so much in recent years — when I was younger, I thought I’d just play with the men’s team and be there alongside the likes of Shaun Wright-Phillips. Nowadays, though, young girls can aspire to have a career as a professional footballer.  

“Having access to tournaments like the Abu Dhabi Cup from a young age is so important to helping to develop those girls as players and give them a competitive edge as early as possible to help them hopefully achieve their dreams in the future.” 

The fourth outing of the highly anticipated Manchester City Abu Dhabi Cup will feature more than 130 teams from across 15 countries.  

Morgan said: “Having a variety of nationalities coming together for a tournament like this is really special — it allows young players to learn from each other and share their