What a series of opportunities. The mind reels.
It was barely three years ago that the national Under 23 team qualified for the London Olympics and UAE fans were beside themselves with joy at such a rare success.
That was just the first rock down the hill in what is beginning to look like a landslide of football prominence.
London was followed by a senior championship in the 2013 Gulf Cup of Nations, the first away from home in that competition; an unbeaten 2013; a third place at the 2014 Gulf Cup; another third place at the 2015 Asian Cup, the UAE’s best performance in that tournament outside these shores.
And now?
Coach Mahdi Ali has a senior team good enough to play in the 2018 Fifa World Cup and strong enough to win the 2019 Asian Cup – the biggest staging, with 24 teams, of the continent’s biggest tournament, which the UAE will host.
It is all out there. Close enough to touch.
Before the UAE was chosen to host Asia’s best in four years, it looked as if the 2018 World Cup campaign, for which qualifying begins in June, might be the last big target of Omar Abdulrahman and his talented national teammates.
Instead, the Asian Cup opens that window of escalating opportunity for at least another six months. Not only can Mahdi Ali’s side aspire to make a mark in Russia 2018, they can aim to be champions of Asia in January of 2019.
What makes this broader and deeper is playing host to the continent. It will be a personal tournament for millions of people in this country, many of whom will have a chance to cheer for their compatriots inside UAE stadiums. Iran, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and maybe India as well, as part of the expanded tournament. The Philippines, China and Japan, all with a chance to see UAE planning and hospitality – and UAE football.
poberjuerge@thenational.ae
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