Abu Dhabi: The Fifa Club World Cup is to return to Abu Dhabi for the fifth time in 2022, it was announced on Wednesday.
The UAE capital hosted the Club World Cup twice in succession in 2009 and 2010, and again in 2017 and 2018.
Barcelona and Inter Milan emerged winners of the first two editions in Abu Dhabi, while Real Madrid were crowned champions of the next two in 2017 and 2018.
“We are absolutely delighted to host the Fifa Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi for the fifth time,” Aref Hamad Al Awani, General Secretary of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, said.
“It goes without saying the competition brings both the fan-favourite clubs and players from around the world.
“This is awesome and a tremendous honour for us. We would like to thank Fifa for the confidence and faith they have on us, based on the past successes of playing host to this immensely popular competition.
“We remain single-minded in our commitment to bringing world-class sports events to Abu Dhabi and making the UAE a central hub for sporting events.
“It is of the utmost importance to us to offer a safe environment for the event, especially after successfully hosting world-class sporting event that received praise for the organisation and for the best COVID protocols.
“We welcome fans to the Club World Cup with our traditional Arabic hospitality, state-of-the-art infrastructure and stadia, with world-class travel and leisure facilities.”
The joint announcement was made by Fifa, the UAE Football Association and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council.
