The UAE Football Association has submitted its bid to host the remaining World Cup qualifiers for Group G in Dubai, with two stadiums identified to stage matches.
The deadline to lodge the proposal, initially set for Friday by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), has been revised to March 8, with the FA putting forward Al Wasl’s Zabeel Stadium and Al Nasr’s Al Maktoum Stadium as host venues. The governing body will announce its decision by March 15.
The AFC decided last month that all outstanding Group G fixtures would be played in June, with the two match days scheduled for the end of this month postponed because of the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The AFC later confirmed the majority of second-round matches would be pushed back to June. Only three qualifiers, including the Group D tie between Saudi Arabia and Palestine on March 30, will be played this month.
Should the FA bid prove successful, Dubai will stage eight qualifiers in all, with the matches taking place from June 3-15. Despite the extension to the deadline, the FA tendered its proposal on Thursday, with general secretary Mohammed Hazzam Al Dhaheri saying the federation is convinced it has presented a strong case to host. Thailand, one of the other teams in Group G, is expected to also bid to stage the fixtures.
“We are confident,” Al Dhaheri said. “I believe everything is moving very well. As you know, in the past we have organised a number of major sporting events in general and football in particular, with the most recent being the 2019 Asian Cup, which for the first time included 24 teams. The UAE is a hub for major football events.
“Also, we have demonstrated already during the pandemic our ability to handle the situation perfectly, as we hosted more than 20 national teams in that time."
Al Dhaheri said the FA has coordinated with the relevant authorities in the country regarding hosting the qualifiers, and underlined the UAE's approach to handling the pandemic as another reason it makes for an obvious choice as host. This month alone, Oman, Kuwait, Lebanon, Jordan and India will hold training camps in the country.
The UAE are currently fourth in Group G, five points off leaders Vietnam, although they have played a game less than each their rivals. Three of the national team’s remaining fixtures were to take place at home, another factor that would appear to strengthen the FA’s case.
Given the revised timetable, the UAE resume qualification on June 3 against Malaysia, then play Thailand four days later and Indonesia on June 11. They round off their campaign on June 15 against Vietnam.
The eight group winners progress to the final round of qualification, together with the four best runners-up. Round 3 is to begin in September and must be concluded in April next year. The World Cup begins in Qatar in November 2022.
Asia has four guaranteed places at the tournament alongside hosts Qatar, with one other spot available through an intercontinental play-off. The UAE have only once previously qualified for a World Cup, in 1990.
