AFC Asian Cup: No journalist denied entry to UAE

By Rajive Singh

ABU DHABI 9 January 2019: The Media Committee of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup has dismissed as untrue reports about refusing journalists entry to the host country, the UAE, to cover the championship.

In a statement released yesterday to Wam, the committee said that the authorities had provided facilities to over 2,000 journalists from all over the world to cover the championship.

“The UAE has a long track record of organising major international events and has never refused entry to any journalists to perform their job,” the committee said.

The statement noted that some journalists had minor problems, confusing visit visa with the mission or work visa. The journalists contacted the committee and the misunderstanding was resolved in less than 24 hours. They were then provided with all required facilities to enable them carry out their journalistic duties.

The Media Committee of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup urged all journalists to contact them if they encountered any issues related to the type of entry visa.

“The committee will coordinate with the concerned authorities to facilitate issuance of the visa as per the laws and regulations of the UAE,” it added.