DUBAI SOCCER STARS

Kieran Geldenhuys, a 16 year old South African student at Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS) in Arabian Ranches in Dubai, has earned a professional apprenticeship with the English soccer club Notts County. The two-year contract was signed at Meadow Lane in April. Kieran has lived in Dubai since the age of three, with his parents, Carol and Tony. He leaves Dubai for Nottingham in July, when he'll start a pre-season training programme, and higher education. He was coached by Mick Leonard at the Jebel Ali Centre of Excellence. Mick subsequently left Dubai to become Notts County’s head of youth development. Another South African in Dubai, Wahid Ali (16) has been invited to join Belgium's KAS Eupen. Wahid has been living in Dubai since the age of five.