Football fans planning to travel to the UAE in December to watch Europe and South America’s best teams compete for Fifa Club World Cup are being offered special packages by Abu Dhabi’s sports authorities.
For just over US$60 a day, they can spend six nights in the emirate and attend three football matches.
“We have put together three tier packages that cater to all football fans’ pockets,” said Ahmed Al Qubaisi, director of marketing and communication for the Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC). Games will be played at Zayed Sports City stadium in the capital and at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain between December 6 and 16th. The UAE will also be the venue for the tournament next year after having already hosted the event in 2009 and 2010.
Mr Al Qubaisi said the ultimate aim is to have full stadiums for all the games.
“We have created packages for hotels and tickets to the game that all football fans can afford. We have learnt a lot from the recent championships that were held in Japan and Morocco. Football is the world’s greatest sport and we have its greatest teams playing here,” he said.
The winners of the Asia Champions League, the Africa Champions League, the North America Champions League, the Copa Libertadores in South America, the Oceania Champions League and the European Champions League compete in the Fifa Club World Cup. The current holders are Real Madrid who are still in contention to return to defend the trophy as they have reached the semi-final stage of the European Champions League this season. If they do play a part in this year’s tournament it is expected to boost attendances thanks to their stars Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and Gareth Bale.
The three packages, including hotel stay and match tickets, start at Dh1,380 (US$375) for 3-star accomodation, rising to Dh1,500 ($408) for 4-star accommodation and Dh2,100 ($572) 5-star accommodation.
“Sport creates such memories that all major cities want to be associated with it,” said Donal Kilalea, chief executive of Promoseven Sports Marketing. “If Lionel Messi is playing or Cristiano Ronaldo then just the viral social media alone is worth the price of holding the event. Sport, and especially football, creates an awareness and an attachment that few events can match. The fact that smaller teams play against the world’s richest, in this tournament, also creates its own piece of magic for fans and players alike.” Abu Dhabi will also be hosting the Asian Cup in January 2019.
ascott@thenational.ae
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