Two countries sign co-operation deal

DUBAI // The UAE Football Association have signed a co-operation deal with their German counterparts to help develop football in the Emirates. Yousuf Abdullah, the general secretary of the FA, and Wolfgang Niersbach of the German FA penned the deal through which UAE will benefit from German expertise, on both technical and administrative levels. The Germans will assist in the development of various sectors, including coaching, refereeing, administration, media and public relations, marketing and sponsorship, sports medicine and youth training programmes.

Niersbach said: "German coaching experts have a long history here in the UAE. They assisted football when the sport was still in its infancy in this region of the world. We want to strengthen this association. "If there was one thing that told us that Germany simply cannot remain within Europe, it was the 2006 World Cup where we were suddenly immersed in a global community of football. "Looking back, we are particularly grateful to our colleagues here in Asia. It is no secret how the voting for the 2006 World Cup went. Eight votes from Europe and all the four votes from Asia brought us the necessary votes to host the contest.

"So we are also grateful to our Asian colleagues and here in the UAE for having supported us." [e-mail]