Dubai: The UAE will be playing host to seven Asian football teams who are camping here as they prepare for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers and the Asian Cup 2023 as well as an Israeli-American cycling expedition. A number of English, German and Chinese football teams will also be here for their winter training camp.
Dubai is preparing to host more athletes and teams during the coming months as part of their preparations for the Tokyo Olympics 2020, which will be held in the summer of next year, after it was postponed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Dubai Sports Council is in contact with a number of sports federations and National Olympic Committees of a number of countries wishing to set up training camps in Dubai for their athletes as part of their preparation programme for the next Olympics, and the Council will provide all the necessary facilities for the camps, including entry visas and training in advanced sports facilities in Dubai.
European countries are at the forefront of the list of those wishing to set up training camps for their athletes in Dubai to benefit from the ease of travel and mobility, and a safe and open atmosphere for all areas of life in accordance with precautionary measures and safety protocols, in addition to the availability of modern and integrated sports facilities, foremost among which is the Hamdan Sports Complex, Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex, and other stadiums and clubs, as well as sports medicine facilities and safe cycling tracks.
The Executive Council of Dubai and the Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management in Dubai, meanwhile, has given the green signal to Dubai Sports Council for the return of spectators to sport events at a maximum of 30 per cent of capacity.
Last week, spectators were allowed into a number of events, including boxing, golf, cricket, basketball, polo, the Red Bull Car Park Drift and bodybuilding. A statement from the council says that work is underway to prepare for the return of spectators in the upcoming sports tournaments and they are in touch with organizers and sports federations to discuss the possibility of the return of fans to matches.
