Club World Cup draw: Al Jazira to face Auckland City
UAE champions get favourable draw for tournament to take place in Abu Dhabi next year
Zurich: UAE champions Al Jazira will face Auckland City, with Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal to play the winner, in the Fifa Club World Cup draw, which happened on Monday.
The tournament takes place between February 3 and 12 in Abu Dhabi for the fifth time. The UAE capital previously hosted the event in 2009, 2010, 2017 and 2018.
African champions Al Ahly take on the Mexican side Monterrey for the chance to progress to a semi-final meeting with Copa Libertadores winner Palmeiras, while Chelsea have been drawn to face Auckland City, Al Jazira or Al Hilal in the semi-finals.
Fifa had intended to expand the Club World Cup in 2021, and start playing it every four years, with the first to be held in China. But the impact of the coronavirus pandemic saw those plans shelved for the time being.
After the expanded format was postponed, the original host was to be Japan, until the ongoing coronavirus concerns saw them withdraw and the UAE stepped in.