Team urged to fight for Olympic spot

Dubai: The Secretary-General of the UAE Football Association (UAE FA) has urged the national Olympic team to make the most of their big chance of qualifying for London 2012 after they were awarded full points for their November 27 match against Iraq, which they originally lost 2-0.

"This is great news for UAE football. You can say we now have a good chance at making it to London. We are tied with Uzbekistan on the same number of points and now it is up to our players to believe in themselves and go all the way with the conviction that they can do it," Yousuf Abdullah, Secretary-General of the UAE FA, told Gulf News.

Fifa decreed late on Tuesday that the UAE would be awarded a 3-0 win for their match against Iraq after the Iraqis had fielded an ineligible player — Faisal Qasim — in their 2-0 win against the UAE on November 27.

"Anything is possible from here with just two more matches to go. And if our players can rise to the occasion then this will be a historic moment for our country as they qualify for an Olympic competition," Abdullah added. "This is our best chance and I would urge our players to take it. We have two games and we have to win both."

Meanwhile, the UAE FA General Assembly has ratified the rules and regulations for conducting the country's first-ever elections to the football governing body.

"The clubs have decided on the rules and regulations to govern the FA elections. They have selected an election committee and an appeal committee and the first meeting later will open the door for the start of the entire election process," Yousuf Al Sarkal, AFC Vice-President and Chairman of the FA Transitional Committee, told Gulf News.