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ALL eyes are on Bahrain’s national football squad as they attempt to make a giant step in reaching the finals of the AFC Asia Cup with a home match against Chinese Taipei at the National Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Coach Miroslav Soukup is calling on supporters to show their support as the table-topping players bid to keep on course to qualify for top tournament to be hosted by the neighbouring UAE in early 2019.
The 51-year-old Czech, said: “We need your support! I urge all our fans to come and bring along their families and friends to cheer us on.
“It’s an important game. We are currently sitting in top position in our qualifying group and if we can win this one then we will have made a giant step towards our goal of reaching the finals.”
The countdown to Asia’s largest football event has begun in earnest. Less than 500 days are left until the opening game of the much-anticipated world-class tournament.
Returning to the UAE for a second time – the last was in 1996 - the finals will be the biggest-ever in the history of the competition as it will involve 24 teams – eight more than in 2015.
Bahrain currently sit on top of their qualifying Group E with four points, one ahead of Turkmenistan, who they beat 2-1, with next week’s opponents Chinese Taipei on two points and Singapore holding up the table with one, a point they gained in an away draw against Bahrain.
Bahrain tuned up for Tuesday’s match with a friendly fixture last night against Jordan following a tough training camp hosted by Soukup.
It has been a challenging time for the coach who had to start with only eight men on the first day of the camp last Wednesday because many senior players were unavailable because of commitments to clubs preparing for the start of their own domestic season.
Last weekend leading club sides Manama and Malkiya were concentrating on the pre-season Bapco Super Cup played at Khalifa Sports City Stadium with many of the Bahraini stars likely to feature in Soukup’s plans.
The capital side took the trophy after beating the villagers 4-2 on penalties after the game ended 1-1, with concern over goalkeeper Ashraf Waheed who was injured after pulling off a great save and had to be substituted.
The top two teams of each group qualify for the final tournament and Bahraini AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has praised the preparations underway by the host nation as the local organising committee enters the next phase of the tournament preparations.
“The AFC Asian Cup is the crowning jewel of the AFC’s competitions and this was underlined in Australia in 2015 when the world witnessed a truly world-class event,” said Shaikh Salman.
“With the expansion of teams able to experience the atmosphere of the finals, the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 will set new benchmarks and will help bring to life the AFC’s vision and mission by ensuring the success of Asian teams and players and confirming football as the Number One sport throughout the continent.
“I thank the LOC for its commitment and hard work in ensuring that in 2019 we witness a true spectacle befitting of Asia’s finest talents – a tournament that will live in our memory for many years to come.”
With more countries involved and more fans engaged, the expansion will not only reinforce the AFC Asian Cup position as the continent’s leading competition but also underline its ambitions, under the banner of One Asia, One Goal, to captivate hundreds of millions of fans across the continent.
A total of 51 matches will take place in eight stadiums across four host cities - Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai and Sharjah - over 28 days of action from January 5 to February 1, 2019. The Zayed Sports City Stadium, one of three stadiums in Abu Dhabi, will host the opening as well as final match.
The AFC and the LOC have been working closely to prepare for the competition and with just 16 months before the UAE takes centre stage, the AFC will be visiting at the end of this month to inspect stadiums across the host cities. Launch plans and fan engagement programmes are also in development to engage the world’s largest population of football fans and kick off the celebrations in 2018.
Major General Mohamed Khalfan Al Romaithi, a member of the AFC executive committee and vice chairman of local organising committee, added: “Football unites us and reaffirms our solidarity in values of fair play, sportsmanship and equality that it imparts.
“The AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 supports our nation’s vision towards unity and societal development and will be a major catalyst on this journey for the United Arab Emirates.”
“We are proud of our multi-cultural society and are delighted to play host to the rest of Asia during this celebration of football,” added His Excellency Aref Hamad Al Awani, general secretary of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC) and LOC tournament director.
Meanwhile, the race for the final 12 spots in UAE is also heating up with the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Qualifiers Final Round reaching its midway mark as the remaining 24 teams prepare to face-off on Tuesday.
They will be joined by the other 12 teams, including defending champions Australia, China PR, Iraq, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Korea Republic, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Thailand, Uzbekistan and hosts United Arab Emirates - who have already qualified to the final competition through the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia and AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2.
