As the best football clubs battle it out in the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup in UAE, Abu Dhabi has prepared for the latest moment of its year-round schedule in international sports events. The fans will be treated to an array of the world’s top football teams battling it out for the prestigious global honor.
The tournament comes to cement Abu Dhabi’s place as a world-class host of huge sports events. The Emirati capital has hosted several major sports events in the last six months, including the UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix, Mubadala World Tennis Championship, Abu Dhabi HSBC golf tournament, and the 2021 FINA Swimming Championships.
All the games in the FIFA Club World Cup tournament this year will be hosted in Abu Dhabi’s two international football grounds, the Al Nahyan Stadium and Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium. The competition featured the champions of UEFA (Chelsea), Concacaf (Monterrey), AFC (Al Hilal SFC), CONMEBOL (SE Palmeiras), and CAF (Al Ahly SC). This competition will also include UAE’s Al Jazira and OFC representative (AS Pirae).
Abu Dhabi is highly focused on maintaining the health and safety of the players and fans while enjoying games through the pandemic.
As such, the UAE government in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council has gone through meticulous planning to implement some of the most effective health protocols that have helped to host several events securely and safely.
Health and Safety Protocols
Even during the Pandemic, Abu Dhabi retained its status as the sports capital and hosted several events with odds available at www.oddsshark.com for punters to wager. Each event welcomed different teams, contestants, support staff, and other stakeholders from all over the world. This crowd also interacted with the city’s passionate sports community, with each tournament staged successfully and safely.
For the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup, the organizers have improved the health protocols to reflect the ever-changing Covid-19 challenges. These protocols are designed to guarantee the safety and health of everybody involved, ranging from players to fans and other stakeholders.
Masks are Mandatory
Working together with FIFA, the organizers are ensuring that the competition offers a seamless experience for club managers, players, and team officials from when they arrive in Abu Dhabi. That includes everything from their movements around stadiums and training bases. The move will create a ‘bubble’ familiar with different sports events to help mitigate the Covid infection threat.
The organizers have also meticulously organized the event alongside FIFA to ensure there’s appropriate physical distancing on the stadiums, as fans enjoy the action. It’s advisable for fans to arrive in the stadiums early enough ahead of a match to give the security sufficient time to inspect them and screen them for safety and health at the entry points.
While in the stadiums, the fans will also need to wear masks and maintain social distancing at all times. These measures are part of Abu Dhabi’s commitment to providing a schedule of world-class sports events all year long while guaranteeing the safety of everyone involved.
FIFA Club World Cup Continues Without a Hitch Despite Houthi Attacks
So Far the FIFA Club World Cup tournament has gone through without any hitches, despite Abu Dhabi being targeted by Houthi missiles twice this year. Late last month, UAE intercepted and destroyed two missiles above the host city, as the long-running war with Yemen’s Houthi rebels escalated. This incident came after a drone and missile attack in the city killed three civilians in January.
UAE’s security forces are still monitoring the situation in the host city during the Club World Cup competitions, but several games have been played without any hitches. During the first round, Al Jazira crashed AS Pirae 4-1 at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, with Al Ahly defeating Monterrey in the second round, while Al Hilal demolished Al Jazira 6-1.
The semi-finals will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, with Palmeiras taking on Al Ahly as Al-Hilal goes against Chelsea. The semifinals will be followed by the game for 5th place, where Monterrey will battle it out with Al Jazira. However, the Final and the game to determine the 3rd place will be played on the 12th of February, but no teams have been confirmed yet.
Other World Class Sports Events in Abu Dhabi in 2022
After hosting the HSBC Golf Championship in January and the FIFA Club World Cup, Abu Dhabi will also host NBA preseason matches for the first time in October 2022. These games will be the league’s first matches in the Arabian Gulf, but the exact teams and dates for the games are yet to be revealed.
The city will also host the Abu Dhabi Marathon for the fourth time, which might feature 2021 winners Judith Jeptum and Titus Ekiru. Additionally, Formula 1 fans will be treated to an exciting array of races in the Abu Dhabi F1 weekend hosted from 17th – 20th November at Yas Island, before the Mubadala World Tennis Championship hosted at the Zayed Sports City in December.