Five teams of passionate amateur footballers are to take part in the thrilling final of this year’s Vodafone Cup in Abu Dhabi as part of the Laureus World Sports Awards 2011. For the firs t time, Vodafone are hosting the competition in partnership with Laureus to help raise funds for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. The finals of the annual competition will be held at the Abu Dhabi Armed Officers Club during the weekend of February 5-6, with the climax of the event just one day before the Awards Ceremony itself.

The five successful grassroots teams from Greece, Iceland, Spain, Turkey and the UK will each bring their passion for the game to Abu Dhabi for the two-day competition, following which they will sit side-by-side with sporting greats, whilst attending the glamourous Awards Ceremony at the Emirates Palace Hotel.

The teams have earned the opportunity to play in the Vodafone Cup in Abu Dhabi through several different routes, all of which have been backed by Vodafone. These have ranged from local football tournaments in Spain and Iceland, to sales based initiatives for teams from small and medium sized businesses in the UK.

Daragh Persse, Head of Sponsorship, Vodafone said: “At Vodafone we have a passion for and commitment to sport, so it is fantastic to be hosting this competition for footballers who play for the love of the game. We are particularly delighted to be hosting this year’s Vodafone Cup with Laureus, whose work supporting charitable sport projects throughout the world truly demonstrates the good that sport can bring to people and communities as a whole. As Global Partners of Laureus we look forward to another highly successful Laureus World Sports Awards.”

The Laureus World Sports Awards, which recognise sporting achievement, are the premier honours on the international sporting calendar. The winners, as voted by the Laureus World Sports Academy, the ultimate sports jury, made up of 46 of the greatest sportsmen and sportswomen of all time, will be unveiled at a globally televised Awards Ceremony staged at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi.

The Laureus World Sports Awards is returning to Abu Dhabi thanks to the support of Aabar Investments PJS, who will once again be Host Partner for the event. His Excellency Khadem Al Qubaisi, Chairman of Aabar, said: “The Laureus World Sports Awards is a unique event. It was magnificent, a great success for Abu Dhabi when it was held here last March. The whole event was really superb. We will certainly try to do something special for this year’s Awards.”

Kevin Spacey will once again host a glittering Awards Ceremony to be attended by leading sportsmen and women from around the world. In the audience at a packed auditorium at the Emirates Palace last year were Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow, British film stars Hugh Grant and Clive Owen and American actors Kyle MacLachlan and Michelle Rodriguez. Among the names of the winners of the 2010 Laureus World Sports Awards announced in Abu Dhabi were Usain Bolt, Serena Williams, Jenson Button, Kim Clijsters, Natalie du Toit and Stephanie Gilmore.