Footballer, style icon and animal lover Abdulla Saif Belhasa has his eyes set on conquering the world
He was chasing his dream to become a professional footballer and made it into the Al Wasl Football youth academy just before his 14th birthday.
Emirati teenage sensation Abdulla Saif Belhasa is more than just your normal teenager. At the age of 13 most kids would be just playing with friends at a local park or just watching television. However, Abdulla was striving for something bigger by that age. He was chasing his dream to become a professional footballer and made it into the Al Wasl Football youth academy just before his 14th birthday.
His performances and consistency saw him represent the UAE youth squads the following years. Abdulla has always had huge ambitions and is very motivated despite of being born with a silver spoon. His father, Saif Belhasa and his mother, Sarah Belhasa are serial entrepreneurs and their family’s net worth is over 1.6 billion USD. The duo is also ranked among the top 10 most powerful business couples in the Middle East.
Abdulla recently concluded his mandatory Army training for the UAE armed forces; an experience he feels has made him a completely different person. Character building and interacting with people from different backgrounds has made him a much stronger individual. He says, “I am more tolerant and appreciate a lot of things. Our upbringing was still very humble and my mother made sure we were not spoilt for choices.”
Apart from a successful stint in football, Abdulla is also fashion-conscious and loves looking sharp all the time. He loves to go out shopping and refreshes his wardrobe, every 2-3 months. But he definitely believes in charity and likes to give away his old clothes to a charity organization he and his family are associated with. “Not everything needs to be put on social media. I feel the charity work done for public need not be mentioned,” he says.
Abdulla has over 119k followers on his Instagram. “For me Instagram followers don’t matter. I just like to connect with them and maybe make a difference in their life. I go through all comments and feel blessed that I am contributing to society. Some people wish me well for my football games and some just wait for new posts. It’s a great feeling for me. I’m overwhelmed by the support and love they show towards me. Social media is obviously a great tool to connect with people from all over the world says Abdulla and we should all use it wisely and responsibly,” he says.
His private zoo is also much discussed among fans and followers. Some of the world’s rarest breeds can be found in it and famous celebrities are always invited to spend time there. Most recently Leo Messi was the guest of honor along with his family. “We wanted to breed animals and make sure we provide a comfortable environment for them. It started as a rescue center when my brother and I agreed to adopt a lion cub in 2015. All animals are taken care like our own family. We have employed 21 people to look after the animals. Once the animals grow up and reach their full size, we hand them over to local authorities. Then, they look to find a suitable environment for them or release them in the wild, wherever they belong.”
Abdulla is currently training hard to break into the senior team at Al Wasi, a goal he feels is difficult but not impossible as he feels he has no limits.
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