ABU DHABI 11 September 2018: The Local Organising Committee for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 is calling on all amateur footballers to play for the pride of their countries in a once-in-a-lifetime community tournament that will replicate the 24-nation AFC Asian Cup tournament in January.
Football fans are invited to get involved, ahead of the largest sporting event ever hosted in the Middle East, by signing up for the fun-filled seven-a-side tournament which offers players the added prestige of representing one of the 24 competing Asian nations.
With the tournament mirroring the group stage and knockout format of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019, football fans will come together throughout the country, as they battle to be crowned champions of the Asian Community Cup. Registration is now open to everybody aged 18 and older.
Teams and individual footballers can sign up for the tournament, selecting their home nation or country of choice to represent throughout the tournament, which will consists of 25-minute matches for squads comprising 15 players.
Taking place in a number of football venues across the four AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 cities – Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Al Ain and Sharjah – each team will also wear the official colours of their home nation, with complimentary kits provided by the tournament organisers.
Speaking at the launch of the tournament, amateur footballer, Mazen Omran, was the first player to sign up to represent his country, Saudi Arabia, in the Asian Community Tournament, commenting: “Football is a life-long passion for me so to take part in such a huge tournament is something that I cannot wait for. This tournament allows so many people to come together and share their love of football with the added pride of winning for our countries.”
Aref Al Hamed Awani, Tournament Director for the Local Organizing Committee, added: “The UAE is special in that we are a multi-cultural country, with residents from many different backgrounds throughout Asia. We are thus uniquely suited to bring all of these nationalities together to compete in the Community Tournament which I’m sure will be of huge interest to football fans throughout the UAE.”
The Asian Community Cup will take place on weekends in the build-up to the tournament before concluding in a fitting finale during the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019. The first round of fixtures will take place on the weekend of 26 & 27 October, followed by November 10 & 16. The finals of the competition will take place in January.
