Al Orfi favourite to lead UAE Olympic team

Abu Dhabi: The UAE Olympic football team will take part in the 5th GCC Under-23 Championships in Bahrain from August 15 to 25, with Salem Al Orfi a candidate to coach the team.

The UAE Olympic side have been without a coach since Mahdi Ali was appointed as head coach of the country’s senior team following the great success he achieved with the team — including taking them to the 2012 Games in London.

The UAE FA is now looking for another local coach to take over and, with the success Al Orfi achieved as caretaker coach with Bani Yas, he is a leading candidate for the job. The Technical Committee of the UAE FA is expected to announce the new coach imminently, with only one month remaining to prepare the team.

The nation has a good record in the GCC Under-23 Championships, despite missing the first version in 2008. They won the second in 2009, finished second after losing a penalty shoot-out in the third in 2010 and came third in 2012.

UAE will compete in the first group with hosts Bahrain and Kuwait, beginning their campaign in the opening match against the hosts on August 15, before facing Kuwait on August 17. The two top teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals, which will be held on August 22. The third place match will be on August 25, followed the next day by the final. The second group features Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman.

Meanwhile, the UAE will also take part in the GCC Junior Championship in Qatar from September 3 to 12. They will compete in Group B with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, while Group A will feature hosts Qatar, Kuwait and Oman.