Dubai: Abu Dhabi’s fourth Fifa Club World Cup hosting this December will further amplify the UAE’s international credentials for supporting world-class sporting events, according to Major General Mohammad Khalfan Al Rumaithi, General Commander of the Abu Dhabi Police, Deputy Chairman of Abu Dhabi Sports Council Board of Directors and Head of the Higher Local Organising Committee for the Fifa Club World Cup.
Having hosted the tournament in 2009, 2010 and 2017, Al Ain and Abu Dhabi will again join forces between December 12-22 to host eight matches featuring club champions from six continents; Europe, Oceania, Africa, Asia, South America, North and Central America and the Caribbean, and host team Al Ain, in an 11-day tournament to crown the club champions of the world.
“The Fifa Club World Cup is now intrinsically linked to Abu Dhabi because the emirate has hosted three previous editions and we’ve done a good job as far as FIFA, sponsors, teams and fans are concerned,” said Al Rumaithi. “All of the feedback from previous years has been overwhelmingly positive.
“For our fourth hosting in December, the European representative will be Real Madrid. This club is a global institution and they have a wonderful team — they will bring a lot of fans from Spain and be of huge interest locally and regionally.”
With tournament representatives from Africa, Asia and South America due to be finalised in coming months, Al Rumaithi is eager for qualifiers to resonate with the local population.
“Personally, I would love to see a really popular team from Africa — perhaps an Egyptian team — because it would really boost attendances in specific matches at the start of the tournament. In terms of Asia, we’re hoping for a confederation champion that corresponds with a large community living in Abu Dhabi. This is key to maximising attendance from fans living in the UAE.
“We also have Al Ain this year and they have a huge fanbase, so we are very optimistic that this will generate big numbers at the tournament, especially for the games at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain.”
Ahead of a Fifa delegation visiting the Emirates in September to assess key tournament infrastructure such as stadiums and training pitches, Al Rumaithi insists the local organisation team is ahead of the game.
“At this stage, we’re waiting for the final teams to qualify, but we remain very confident that Abu Dhabi will deliver another flawless Fifa Club World Cup that proves to be a world-class sporting spectacle for the UAE, the Middle East and the entire world to enjoy.”
Tickets are now available online via www.fifacwc.ae
