Hundreds of UAE supporters head to Jeddah on Emirates charter flights

Dubai: Emirates operated two charter flights, chartered by the UAE Football Association, to carry UAE national team fans to Jeddah for the Arabian Gulf Cup final against Saudi Arabia, taking place at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium at 10pm today.

The flights are part of a nationwide show of support for the UAE team, bringing fans to Jeddah to cheer them on in person.

Emirates flights EK2553 and EK2641 departed Dubai today at 1pm and 1.30pm respectively.

Both services were undertaken in Boeing 777 aircraft, each configured with 421 seats, including 35 Business Class and 386 Economy Class seats, in addition to being equipped with Starlink, allowing fans to stay connected throughout the journey in the build up to the final match.

The departures came two days after seats allocated to UAE fans across six chartered aircraft arranged by the football association were snapped up in less than 10 minutes, underscoring the demand among supporters to attend Tuesday night’s final.

Registration for the supporter flights opened at 1pm last Sunday and the allocation was exhausted within minutes.

The rush followed the UAE’s 1-0 semi-final victory over Oman on Saturday, when Ousmane Camara’s first-half goal sent the national side into its first Gulf Cup final since 2018.

Saudi Arabia reached the final after beating Qatar 3-2 on penalties following a goalless 120 minutes in the other semi-final.

The final will be played at Alinma Stadium at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, with kick-off scheduled for 9pm Saudi time, or 10pm in the UAE.

The UAE are seeking a third Gulf Cup title after previous triumphs in 2007 and 2013, while Saudi Arabia are chasing their fourth and their first since 2004.

The UAE entered the knockout stage after topping Group B, defeating Yemen 4-0 and Bahrain 3-0 before drawing 1-1 with Qatar. Saudi Arabia won all three of their group matches without conceding a goal before overcoming Qatar in the semi-final.