The UAE is unlikely to be impacted by FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s ambitious future plans for an expansion of the Club World Cup, according to a spokesperson for the governing body.
In December 2017 and 2018, the event which brings together the champions of Europe, Asia, South America, Africa, The Americas, Oceania and the local competition – Arabian Gulf League in this case – will return to the Emirates after a seven-year break. Inspections at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Sports City on Wednesday and Al Ain’s Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on Thursday are under way to gauge readiness ahead of this year’s running.
But Rhiannon Martin, group leader, FIFA tournaments, has stated Infantino’s proposal to grow the event to 32 teams will not at this moment have an impact on the next two runnings, with the existing seven-team format set to stay in place.
She said: “It is still in the discussion stage to know when these changes will be made, but certainly with the 2017 and we think 2018 editions, they will stay the same.
“These discussions are still going on at FIFA headquarters.”
The current checks have centred on everything from camera positions to the media zone, as well as VIP areas and security perimeters.
“We’re here now doing inspections of the stadiums, training sites and the team hotel,” said Martin. “On the whole, everything is looking very much on track.
“We haven’t faced any big issues. But if we do, we’ll work with the Local Organising Committee.”
The match schedule and the official emblem will be announced next month. After that, the draw is set to be undertaken in October.
