The Abu Dhabi Sports Council surprised Emirati fans on Sunday morning; they announced that they had bought all the tickets for the semi-final match of the Asia Cup and will be distributing them for free. In no time, UAE fans queued up in hundreds in Zayed Sports City shortly after 9 A.M.
On Tuesday, the semi-final clash will see the UAE against Qatar over a spot in the final. Fans and supporters lined up in the blazing sun to support their team in the upcoming challenge at Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Although the UAE national team did not perform well up to this point, the well-deserved victory over Australia in the quarter-finals gave fans hope of winning the Asia Cup, which on a side note is hosted this year by the UAE. On the other hand, their Gulf rival, Qatar, won 1:0 over South Korea, a considerable opponent. In addition, what makes Tuesday’s match challenging is the fact that
Nevertheless, fans did not have a moment of doubt and were thrilled to know that the government is giving away the tickets for free. More than 18,000 tickets were distributed all over the Emirates, with 5,000 alone in Abu Dhabi.
The National went to the streets and interviewed some of the fans queuing, here were some of their responses:
“Because nobody has scored any goals against Qatar this tournament they’ll be overconfident,” said Omair Al-Housni, a UAE fan. “That’s when our team will get them.”
“We’ll wait for as long as it takes,” said Ibrahim Moawia, 26, from Sudan, who was with two friends. “It’ll be the first time I see a football match in the UAE and it’s such a critical game that I want to show my support.”
In the upcoming match, Qatar will be missing two of its main players, Bassam Al-Rawi and
The Emirati national team has suffered from a few bruises during the quarter-final match against Australia. Nevertheless, the team looks ready and hungry to reach the finals, and now with fans getting their hands on free tickets to be present by their team’s side, it’s sure to make a difference; we’ll just have to wait and see.