I was thrilled by the news of the UAE national football team winning their way through to the London Olympics Games this summer. The fantastic 3-2 win over Uzbekistan in Tashkent takes the country where I live to the country I call home, with a common purpose that binds so many people in the UK and the UAE — enjoying a game of football. This will further increase the number of Emirati Olympians coming to compete in the greatest Games on earth, the London 2012 Olympics.
This is a proud moment for the UAE — the biggest win in the history of the UAE football — and I offer my heartfelt congratulations to the team. I was out "ambassadoring" on Wednesday evening, so had to catch the highlights of the game later that night — it was packed with excited fans and the excitement only grew after half time when the team came from 2-0 down to fire through and take the match with the stunning strikes by Ahmad Khalil and Haboush Saleh. It was the fairytale finish that this young talented team deserved and the buzz we felt in Abu Dhabi the day after will only increase as the team heads for London this July.
I am no athlete. I hurt my foot badly mid way through the Abu Dhabi Triathlon last year and was fairly pleased with myself to finish it a fortnight ago without injuring myself! So I can't really imagine what sort of training regime these young men have been going through. But from what I saw, it looked as though playing in Tashkent was as cold and slippery as London in winter, so I'd guess this is good practice for whatever the British climate throws at them later this year.
Exemplary job
It's also clear the UAE Football Association has done an exemplary job in investing time and effort into building the national team. Success like this cannot be achieved without a strong support-base made up of managers, coaches and of course friends and family — congratulations to them for coming together, just as the whole nation will come together to support their team in the Olympics themselves.
The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be the largest sporting event ever hosted in the UK. We are anticipating around four billion people to be watching worldwide, and 14,000 athletes from 205 nations to be coming to the UK to participate.
Wednesday's win will see a surge of interest in Emiratis wanting to travel to the UK to enjoy the thrill first hand — perhaps even at the grounds of Manchester City and Arsenal's Emirates Stadium — both of which I know hold a special place in the hearts of many from this country.
Getting tickets is a challenge — unlike earlier Olympics where some events had hardly any spectators, the London 2012 organisers have done a great job of allocating tickets early to ensure every athlete at every event will be fully supported.
Clear guidance
I understand that a further small batch of tickets is going to be opened specifically for the football fans going from the UAE to London through MMI Travels — my best wishes to the lucky few who manage to get tickets.
Getting visas early would make sense too; visas for those going to watch the Games will be issued with a start date that will cover them for the whole Olympic and Paralympic Games period. Clear guidance can be obtained from UKBA at: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/our-work/olympic-paralympic/
But it's not just sport that is being celebrated in the UK this year. 2012 is going to be a spectacular year on so many fronts — from the Diamond Jubilee marking 60 years of Queen Elizabeth II acceding to the throne, through the bicentenary of Charles Dickens to the largest modern day arts and culture festival in the world — the Cultural Olympiad.
Knightsbridge can feel a bit like Marina or Dubai Malls in the summer — you can't move without bumping into Emirati friends.
This year, we are extending an invitation to the world to rediscover the many other qualities that make Britain such a compelling destination — Edinburgh Castle, the mountains of Snowdonia and Stonehenge are just a start of an endless list that makes the UK a favourite for people from the UAE.
Whether you are a faithful football fan, or out to enjoy the tourism, shopping, creativity and culture, the UK promises the very warmest of welcomes.
The author is UK Ambassador to the UAE.