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Seven UAE Football Teams start GCC and AFC Champions League

 

Seven UAE football teams will face their latest challenge this week when they start their 2011 Club GCC Cup and AFC Champions league Competitions scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday this week. It is the first time in the history of UAE football that seven teams take part in official matches being organized at the regional and continental levels at the same time. Six of these participating squads namely Al Jazira, Al Wahda. Al Ain, Al Ahli, Al Shabab and Al Dhafra are playing in the Etisalat Pro-League with only Emirates belonging to the First Division "A".

Three teams will launch their title struggle campaign on Tuesday March 1st and three other encounters are due to kick off the following day with only Al Shabab  being the only team to start their mission on March 15 when they meet Al Salmiyah of Kuwait at the latters' pitch.

Al Jazira will battle it out tomorrow evening when they host Al Gharafa of Qatar at Mohammed Bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi. The home team are taking part in the Asian Champions League for the third successive time. They failed to come out with good results, but they are insisting to go to the final stages this time especially they enter the competition with high morals after maintaining brilliant results in the Etisalat Pro-League that put them on the top of the table. Al Jazira will miss the efforts of their midfielder Abdul Salam Juma'a due to injury. The Qatari team have arrived yesterday in Abu Dhabi and immediately started their training sessions. Both teams are playing in group "A" along with Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia and Foolad Sepahan from Iran.

Al Ahli and Al Dhafra will play also on Tuesday when they face Al Arabi of Kuwait at Sabah Stadium and Al Arabi of Qatar at Grand Hamad Stadium in the Club GCC League and Cup Competition. Dubai-based Al Ahli are playing in group "D" which also includes Al Ahli of Bahrain while Al Dhafra play in group "B" along with Saham of Sultanate of Oman.

Al Ain, the winners of the inaugural edition of the AFC Champions League in 2003, are to start their Asian match on Wednesday March 2nd at home when they meet FC Seoul at Tahnoon Bin Mohammed Stadium at 7:5pm. The visitors have arrived to Al Ain city on Sunday morning and trained yesterday at Khalifa Stadium. They will conclude their warm-up program with a last training session tomorrow at the match's venue. The home and the visiting squads are playing in group "F" along with Hangzhou Green Town from China and Nagoya Grampus from Japan.

On the other hand Al Wahda will face the Iranian team FC Bunyodkor on Wednesday at 8pm. They are likely to play their opening match without their injured midfielder Abdul Rahim Juma'a. The visitors were in Dubai for two days before they moved today to Abu Dhabi. The two teams are playing in group "C" besides piroozi of Iran and Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia.

Emirates will also play in the same day when they take on Zobahan of Iran at Tehran Stadium at 8pm.