Courtesy: Gulf News


Dubai prepares for Futsal championships

Competition to be held from May 25-June 1 at Al Wasl and Al Shabab indoor halls

by Alaric Gomes

May 23, 2012

Dubai: The stage is set for the hosting of the AFC Futsal Championship UAE 2012 to be held simultaneously at the Al Wasl Club and Al Shabab Club indoor halls from Friday.

The organising committee of the competition, accompanied by the AFC delegation that arrived in Dubai last week, conducted a detailed inspection of the venues before giving it the green signal.

The organising committee visited both the venues at Al Wasl and Al Shabab and the training facilities for the teams at Al Ahli and Al Nasr to ensure that everything is in order to play host to the 16 competing teams in the May 25 to June 1 event.

One of the major highlights during the inspection was the successful laying of new flooring at Al Wasl and Al Shabab, the main match venues of the competition. The flooring for the venues was specially brought in from South Korea as it is the most advanced type following world specifications to ensure easy mobility and safety of players.

As many as 16 teams are participating in this continental competition with the Islamic Republic of Iran the hot favourite to win yet another title. The draws were conducted earlier this year in Dubai and as the hosts UAE have been placed in Group A along with Turkmenistan, Thailand and Kyrgyzstan.

"I am overjoyed to see the utmost efforts being exerted during the last few weeks by all the members of the organizing committees in ensuring the success of this competition," stated Dr. Ahmad Saad Al Sharif, Secretary General, DSC.

"The UAE sets a standard while hosting such competition and this partnership with the Sharjah Sports Council has further enhanced the status of this championship that is bound to get due mileage for the UAE," he added.

Meanwhile, Kuwait was among the last teams to land at the Dubai International Airport where they were welcomed by working team members from the organizing committee.

The South Korean team arrived in Dubai last week and has been going on with their final preparations for this competition with a couple of friendly matches against Lebanon and Tajikistan.

"We have been placed in one of the most competitive groups that include Australia, Qatar and Iran, one of the top favourites for the title. However, we are here to give a good account of our capability through our performances as we see the game making extreme progress in South Korea since the past few years," noted coach Lee Chang-Hoon.

The AFC Futsal Championship UAE 2012 is being jointly organized by the Dubai Sports Council and Sharjah Sports Council under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman, DSC.

The four teams making it to the semi-finals of this competition will automatically qualify for the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup to be staged in Bangkok, Thailand in November.




Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com