Abu Dhabi: The UAE Football Association has officially applied to the AFC Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to host the finals of the 2019 Asian Cup.
The UAE organised the 1996 version of the continental competition and lost the final to Saudi Arabia after a penalty shootout at Zayed Sports City.
“We have applied to host the 2019 Asian Cup and we have a good chance of both winning the bid and winning the title with this generation of players, who have won many regional, continental and international titles in the past few years,” said Secretary General of the UAE FA, Yousuf Abdullah.
The UAE will face tough competition to win the bid to host the event, with Saudi Arabia, Iran, Lebanon, Bahrain, Oman and Thailand already lodging applications to do this.
But Abdullah feels confident the UAE should be strong contenders given the infrastructure.
He added: “We already have the facilities needed to host a successful competition. We have the grounds, telecommunication means and hotels that would guarantee an excellent Asian Cup.”
