Abu Dhabi: The Asian seven-a-side Paralympics football tournament kicks-off on Sunday at the Military Sports Centre, near the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
The championship, which runs until April 6, is being held under the auspices of HH Shaikh Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Advisor, Deputy Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council.
National teams from six Asian countries, the UAE, Jordan, Iran, South Korea, Singapore and Australia, will be vying for honours in the six-day development tournament for the Asian and Oceania region games, which is being held under the supervision of the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA).
There will be an opening ceremony at 5pm, followed by the opening match on the main pitch between the UAE Paralympics team and their South Korean counterparts. Singapore against Jordan follows at the same venue, while pitch two will host Iran against Australia at 6.30pm.
The Higher Organising Committee has written to all local Etisalat Pro League clubs asking them to allow their star players and coaches to participate in a parade with the contestants in the opening ceremony.
Delegations from 13 Asian and European countries will grace the tournament as guests of honour. They include Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, FIFA Vice President for Asia, and delegations from Sweden, Malaysia, Holland, Uzbekistan, Spain, China, India, Oman, Bahrain, South Korea and Scotland.
Meanwhile, the technical team of the tournament held a meeting with managers of all the participating teams for a final review of all technicalities on Saturday.
