Abu Dhabi: The Arabian Gulf Super Cup — UAE football’s traditional season-opener — will be a “unique” and “historic” affair when it is held in Cairo next month, it was claimed in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
The Pro League Committee (PLC) said switching the clash between the 2016 Arabian Gulf League champions Al Ahli and the President’s Cup holders Al Jazira to Egypt would add “new fraternal dimensions” with the UAE.
It is the first time that the showpiece — which was originally due to take place next Sunday, but which will now be held on Tuesday, September 13 — will be played outside the Emirates since its inception in 2008.
“This will be a unique game and mark a new and historical stage in our football,” Abdullah Nasser Al Junaibi, Chairman of the PLC, said at a press conference at the St Regis Hotel on the Abu Dhabi Corniche.
The Egyptian-UAE footballing alliance was initiated last October when more than 25,000 fans crammed into Al Ain’s Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium to watch Egypt’s Super Cup between Al Ahly and Zamalek.
The same venue also hosted a friendly between Ahly and the Italian giants AS Roma in May.
The superb success of both games persuaded their organisers, the Egyptian marketing agency Presentation Sports, to approach the PLC about staging the UAE Super Cup in Egypt.
The PLC agreed and are paying Presentation Sports Dh2 million for the privilege, which will fund the two teams’ travel and accommodation.
The venue will be the Cairo Military Production Stadium, which has a capacity of 30,800, and Al Ahli and Al Jazira will be given an equal distribution of tickets for the game.
Cairo was chosen ahead of Munich and London, it was revealed by the officials at Sunday’s press conference, who also said that a game between the champions of the UAE and Egypt could be staged in the future.
“It’s the ideal place [to hold the match],” Al Junaibi continued, before praising Egypt’s rich sporting history, such as being the first African country to appear at the football World Cup in 1934.
“It is a dream come true to host a major UAE event in our country and a great opportunity for UAE football as it deserves its own attention as it is very close to us,” added Mohammad Kamel, President of Presentation Sports.
Ahmad Khalifa Hammad, the Chief Executive of Al Ahli, said he was “very pleased” to be returning to “our second homeland” of Egypt, 46 years after the Red Knights were the first UAE club to visit the country.
He pointed out that the club’s name was derived from the Cairo club Al Ahly.
“I hope we will reflect a beautiful image of UAE football,” Hammad added.
Al Jazira’s Chief Executive, Ayed Mabkhout, hopes the encounter “will be a great festival rather than a football game”, given that it will coincide with the Eid Al Adha holidays.
Ticket prices and other issues surrounding the match will be announced at a press conference on September 1.
Meanwhile, another Arab nation — Saudi Arabia — will hold its Super Cup overseas for the second time on Monday when Al Ahli and Al Hilal meet at Fulham’s Craven Cottage in London. The Saudi Super Cup was held at nearby Loftus Road, home of Queens Park Rangers, last year.
Meanwhile, as Gulf News revealed last week, the Saudi Pro League chairman, Yasser Al Misehal, has said talks about holding Saudi games in Dubai or Doha have arisen.
“What happened in London last year was a successful experience because [there was] more than 80 per cent occupancy of the stadium and we got a lot of positive feedback from the spectators and audience in general,” Al Misehal told The World Game website. “There was an idea of hosting one, or a few games, of the league in Dubai, because Dubai during the winter holidays has a lot of Saudis travelling there.
“We are doing quite a few things to expand the league abroad, but to be honest the main focus for us at the moment will be the Gulf countries.”
