The Famous Faces Still Playing In Dubai

GIS, in partnership with The Player, offers footballers the opportunity to study for a GIS university degree while still playing in Dubai.

The partnership allows players to train and play under UEFA-licensed coaches and sets them up for a future outside of football as well as inside it. The Player, co-founded by former Newcastle man Steven Taylor, offers degrees ranging from international sports management to communications and digital marketing.

Famous, well-known players are currently plying their trade in The UAE and could take advantage of these opportunities to be part of Study and Play.

Isaac Success

Isaac Success will be well known to EFL fans in England, having played over 50 games for Watford, especially after making a then-club record transfer for a reported £12.5 million, and helped the Hornets reach the 2019 FA Cup final.

Success has also spent time abroad, playing for both Granada B and Granada in Spain, whilst also spending some time in Italy with Udinese.

The striker, well known for his pace and ability on the counterattack, now finds himself playing for Al-Wasl in Dubai but is yet to make an appearance for them.

Paco Alcacer

Another player out in The UAE is Paco Alcacer. The forward worked his way up through Valencia’s youth academy, their B team, and eventually broke into their first team, making 93 appearances, and scoring 30 goals.

The Spanish international has also played for Barcelona, and Borussia Dortmund, winning La Liga once, and the Copa Del Ray twice with Barcelona, and he also won the DFL Supercup with Dortmund.

Alcacer did return to Spain, this time with Villarreal, and helped guide them to Europa League glory in the 2020-21 season, beating Manchester United on penalties in the final.

He has also featured for two sides in The UAE, initially for Sharjah, making 27 appearances, scoring nine goals, before moving to Emirates on loan, making 22 appearances and scoring eight goals.

Mohamed Elneny

One well-known Premier League player who is plying their trade in Abu Dhabi is the Egyptian international Mohamed Elneny.

The defensive-minded midfielder impressed in his stint at Basel, which piqued Arsenal’s interest.

The Egyptian featured just short of 100 times for The Gunners, helping them to an FA Cup victory in the 2016-17 season, whilst also winning the Community Shield the following season.

He also found himself in the final of a Europa League, but could only end the tournament as a runner-up during the 2018-19 season.

Elneny also impressed on the international stage, helping Egypt to the final of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations; the former Arsenal man performed brilliantly at the tournament and was named in the team of the tournament.

Nabil Fekir

The last, and arguably the most household name currently playing in The UAE Pro League, is Nabil Fekir.

The attacking midfielder spent his youth career at various clubs in France, including two stints at French giants Lyon.

After impressing in the youth team, Lyon took a chance on Fekir, introducing him to their B team, and after making 63 appearances for them, he made the move to their main team.

145 appearances and 54 goals later, Fekir swapped France for Spain as he made the move to Real Betis, helping the club win a Copa Del Rey in the 2021-22 season.

The Frenchman also helped his national side to the World Cup final in 2018, a final in which France were victorious.

Fekir now plays for Abu Dhabi side Al Jazira and has already scored for his new side despite making just two appearances so far.

What Degrees Are On Offer?

There are a wide range of degrees that Study and Play have on offer for footballers, which include:

• Certificate of higher education in football coaching

• MSc football business

• MSc football coaching and analysis

• MSc football communications and digital marketing

• MSc International Sport Management

• MSc performance analysis in football

• MA sports agency

• MSc sports marketing and media