UAE Football Journey

Last week I was lucky enough to attend the UEFA Europa League Final between FC Porto and SC Braga in Dublin, Ireland and it was my first visit to the new Aviva Stadium. After a year of attending football here in the UAE it was an experience I had become unfamiliar with: seats with a back on them, a roof, food stalls, turnstiles, toilets, transport links, programmes and merchandise on sale, big screens, a general sense of organisation. Having visited seven stadia here in the Emirates, only Al Jazira’s Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium and the national stadium, Zayed Sports City, come close to providing a European match day experience. While I love the slightly archaic way of life at football games around the country with the ability to walk into a game without a ticket and choose any seat you want, the dash to the mosque at half-time and the Arab essence of things, UAE football needs supporters and the current way of doing things is not working.

Zayed Sports City from above

Dubai

Whenever there is a round of UFL games on it is likely that there will be a match taking place in Dubai. Five of the Etisalat Pro-League’s twelve teams ply their trade in the city: Al Ahli, Al Nasr, Al Shabab, Al Wasl and Dubai. Last week’s round saw three games played in Dubai, according to UFL figures 1200 people watched these games live. I have visited four of these clubs, Rashid Stadium (Al Ahli), Al Maktoum Stadium (Al Nasr), Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium (Al Shabab), and Zabeel Stadium (Al Wasl). Nothing, other than the colour of the seats, distinguishes these stadia from each other.

All four are contained within large compounds, with training pitches and facilities for other sports surrounding them. All four have a basic main stand. All four have a continuous oval structured stand completing the stadium. They are not fan friendly. While the main stand has adequate seating the rest of the ground is cheap and nasty. The areas behind the goals look designed for an athletic track yet none exist, the seats are uncomfortable with no back and there is no roof to contain the atmosphere. A few have screen to inform fans of the score and time played but catering is made up of a man selling nuts and water or running around exclaiming, “Pizza! Pepsi!”

Despite Dubai expending towards Jebel Ali and Abu Dhabi the football clubs have remained concentrated in older areas of the city. Al Ahli and Al Shabab straddle the border with Sharjah and are actually based on the same street. Al Nasr and Al Wasl are separated by a few kilometres of

Oud Metha Road

and Dubai Club is stranded out in Al Awir. These areas are not particularly accessible and clubs miss out on an opportunity to draw fans from new residential areas of Dubai like Jumeirah, the Palm or Dubai Marina which are not serviced by a football club. Only Al Ahli will be accessible by Metro when the Green Line opens and no club have discussed relocating. Most Dubai residents could not tell you where any of the football grounds are and would most likely be disappointed by their unimpressive nature when they get there.



Zabeel Stadium - Home of Al Wasl



Abu Dhabi

I have enjoyed some of my best UAE football experience while taking in games on the rare occasions I get to Abu Dhabi visiting Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium (Al Jazira), Al Nahyan Stadium (Al Wahda) and Zayed Sports City.

Al Jazira’s stadium is the perfect example of what a UAE football ground should be like and provides the most professional match day experience in the country. The stadium is square and close to the pitch both down the sidelines and behind the goal. Al Jazira have ventured into providing food and drinks as well as “match magazines” and advertises the matches on radio and in print. This has culminated in sustained high attendances from a broad demographic. The UAE champions have really excited everyone with their dedication to improving football in the country and it was a privilege to be at MBZ for their game versus Al Wasl earlier in the season.

Al Wahda’s Al Nahyan Stadium is similar in shape to those in Dubai and is slightly detached from the pitch due to the stand being elevated by a few metres. However I have special memories of watching Al Wahda play Al Nasr here. Unlike the clubs in Dubai, the Al Nahyan stadium is squeezed into a fairly residential area and feels like a proper football club in the heart of the city. Behind one stand is a narrow street filled with villas and this reminded me of football grounds in Scotland and Ireland surrounded by terraced housing. As the Al Wahda fans flooded out, the Al Nasr faithful were caught trying to move up the small street to find their cars and buses. It was a really great atmosphere with the Al Wahda fans gloating and Al Nasr fans waving their flags in defiance.

Last year’s President’s Cup Final was one of the first Emirati football games I attended. I distinctly remember pushing my way into Zayed Sports City with a genuine feeling of excitement as I anticipated the atmosphere within the ground. When the national stadium is busy on Cup Final today it is genuinely amazing as the Colosseum-like structure holds in the sound fantastically and it is a truly special occasion. While not as modern as Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Zayed Sports City has a certain touch of class about it and is a must visit destination for any UAE football fan.

Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium - Al Jazira