All-Dubai President’s Cup final in Al Ain could fall victim to warm weather and lack of fans

Hazza bin Zayed Stadium is without doubt a worthy venue for the President’s Cup final; but empty seats may yet prove that it was one match too far, or too late, for many Dubai fans for Al Ahli and Al Nasr, writes Ali Khaled.

Al Ahli players celebrate scoring against Al Ain during their Asian Champions League match at Hazza bin Zayed stadium in Al Ain on May 27, 2015. The Dubai club will return to the venue on Wednesday foShow more

Al Nasr and Al Ahli fans will barely have had time to catch their breath, let alone wallow in the joy of reaching the 2015 President’s Cup final.

On Saturday, the blue and red sides of Dubai beat Al Shabab and Al Dhafra, respectively, in the semi-finals of the country’s most prestigious cup competition.

On Wednesday, they must make the journey to Al Ain for the final at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.

If it is tough for fans, just imagine how the exhausted players feel.

The 2015 President’s Cup runs the risk of leaving a legacy of awkward scheduling.

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The domestic season has been dogged by delays and postponements brought about by the national team’s participation in the Arabian Gulf Cup in Saudi Arabia last November and the Asian Cup in Australia in January.

Some sympathy is due to the UAE Football Association and Arabian Gulf League, who were confronted with a jammed fixtures list and had to perform juggling acts to get their competitions played in an orderly manner.

The result was that the end of the AGL was brought forward to May 11, with the President’s Cup squeezed into three weeks starting from May 15. It is not a resolution that would have made many clubs happy.

That decision will have consequences for both fans and the quality of the country’s showpiece football match.

As chance would have it, both finalists have been overworked in recent weeks.

Apart from their President’s Cup matches, Al Ahli had to contend with the end of the AFC Champions League group stages and the victorious two-leg round-of-16 tie with champions Al Ain.

Meanwhile, Al Nasr – the Arabian Gulf Cup champions in January – reached and lost the Gulf Clubs Cup semi-final to neighbours Shabab in the middle of the President’s Cup schedule.

It is reasonable to expect that, once you factor in the heat and Saturday’s energy-sapping semi-finals, neither set of players will be in ideal physical condition Wednesday night.

Then there is the matter of attendance. Organisers of coaches that transport fans from Dubai free of charge may have anticipated all logistical preparations but that does not lessen the havoc that the scheduling would have wreaked on many supporters’ plans.

None from any of the four clubs contesting the semi-finals could have committed to a trip to Al Ain before Sunday morning.

Presumably, many supporters of Ahli and Nasr will not be able to attend the midweek match, which has a 6.20pm kick-off, while other casual football fans who otherwise would have planned ahead will not make the effort.

In Al Ain on Sunday, the Football Association played down fears that the attendance might suffer and dismissed late calls to move the match to Dubai to suit fans of both clubs.

“Holding the match at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium gives all the players the honour of playing on that stage and all the fans the chance to witness the match from inside this structural wonder,” said Mohammed Abdul Aziz, head of the President’s Cup organising committee.

“Fans from Al Ain also will no doubt be present at the final because it’s a football-loving city.”

It is true that few sporting events in the UAE attract the attention of Emirati men as much as the President’s Cup.

Hazza bin Zayed Stadium is a worthy venue for the President’s Cup final, but empty seats may yet prove that it was one match too far, or too late, for many Dubai fans.

Last season, the President’s Cup final between Al Ain and Al Ahli at Zayed Sports City was watched by more than 29,000 fans and the previous year’s match – a classic in which Al Ahli beat Al Shabab 4-3 – drew more than 20,000 to Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

The 2012 final at Zayed Sports City had more than 38,000 fans witness Al Jazira beat Baniyas 3-1.

In the past three years the President’s Cup final has taken place on April 23 in 2012, May 28 in 2013 and May 18 last year. The trend shows that the later the date, the warmer the weather, the smaller the crowd.

How great an occasion Wednesday’s President’s Cup final turns out to be and how many people are there to watch it, could well determine whether it will be the last June final for a while.

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