Abu Dhabi: Zayed Sports City, which will host the 2019 Asian Cup football opening ceremony and the finals, underwent an inspection by Asian Football Confederation delegates last week.

The AFC organising committee had already agreed in principle to the proposal and the use of two other grounds in Abu Dhabi, the Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium and the Al Nahyan Stadium, along with the two in Al Ain, the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium and the Khalifa Bin Zayed Stadium.

In Dubai, it was proposed there be two venues – the Zabeel Stadium and the still-to-be-confirmed Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium. The eighth venue is Sharjah Stadium.

“We are extremely excited and nervous at the same time but we know that we have the capability of hosting such large scale events. We have done it with the Club World Cup. I have never seen the stadium as full as when we hosted Barcelona and Inter Milan in the final and we are happy to be working with the AFC,” said Maria Gedeon, director of Marketing, Zayed Sports City.

Before Asia’s biggest football showpiece in 2019, Zayed Stadium will get a chance to showcase their facilities when top teams from around the globe will make their way to the UAE to take part in the Fifa Club World Cup.

“ZSC will also be used as a practice venue for the Club World Cup in 2017 and 2018. We are not going to have Club Cup matches, though. This is still good for us as we want to get the stadium ready for the Asian Cup, which is a much bigger event,” added Gedeon, who added that Zayed Sport City surpassed all expectations in terms of revenue, events and spectator turnout in 2015.

“Last year, the world-class complex welcomed 1.3 million visitors from around the world participating in 32 sports within six facilities, increasing revenue by 21.9 per cent in 2015. Zayed Sports City hosted 222 events onsite in 2015, an increase of 18 per cent from 2014. A milestone for the year was the opening of Zayed Sports City’s largest indoor venue, The Domes, providing 1,100 sqm of column free indoor space, available for visitors to continue hosting events and sporting activities during the hot summer months,” said Gedeon.

Barry Bremner, General Manager of Zayed Sports City, said: “Our main focus at Zayed Sports City is to provide new and varied experiences for our customers. Our efforts have attracted major global and local events while introducing a wide array of new events and programmes. These offerings are perfectly aligned with our mission to bring health and fitness activities to Abu Dhabi, making a direct impact on the health and quality of life for UAE residents.”