Authorities have issued travel advice for cricket fans planning to attend the ICC Champions Trophy final between India and New Zealand at Dubai's International Stadium on Sunday.
The eagerly awaited clash is expected to attract a capacity crowd of 25,000 to Dubai's Sports City, not least among the Indian community in the UAE, which is around the four million mark. India clinched their berth in the final by defeating Australia in the semi-final in Dubai on Tuesday.
The emirate's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has advised fans to take public transport or a taxi to the ground because parking spaces close to the stadium are limited. Fans planning to attend the game are asked to leave early to give themselves plenty of time to get to the match, which is scheduled to begin at 1pm.
How to get there
The RTA has a number of designated routes for the game despite the fact there is no direct Metro line to the Sports City community. Fans are instead advised to take the Metro line to Jumeirah Golf Estates Station, where they can take free shuttle buses to the ground from 10am.
“Park at Centrepoint, e& or Jebel Ali Metro stations and take the Dubai Metro to Jumeirah Golf Estates Station to catch the free public buses for a hassle-free trip to the event venue,” the RTA wrote on the X social media platform.
If you want to travel to the match by bus there are a number of options. The F34 can be taken from Dubai Internet City and takes about 20 minutes to get to the bus stop close to the ground, which leaves you with a walk to the stadium that takes about seven minutes.
If you don't mind walking for a little longer, the F37 from Mall of the Emirates takes about 35 minutes to reach the Arena Tower stop, which then leaves a 20-minute walk to the ground.
You can park at the ground, with motorists advised to approach from Hessa Street, via Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road. However, parking spaces are limited with only 130 places for those with premium tickets entitling them to special access, 250 spots for those with VIP (Grand Lounge) tickets and another 250 spaces outside the stadium, which will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. The gates open three hours before the match begins.
Fans are also advised to be aware of traffic updates through the course of Sunday morning and early afternoon.
