FIFA have every intention of using December’s return of the Club World Cup to the UAE as another test bed for the Video Assistant Referees system, according to the organisation’s Chief Competitions & Events Officer Colin Smith.
The replays were utilised during last year’s edition, and were used for the first time when a penalty was awarded in the first half of the semi-final between Atletico Nacional and Kashima Antlers. They have since gone on to be successfully used in Spain’s 2-0 friendly win in France last month, when the hosts were twice correctly foiled by it.
In the next two Decembers, the tournament which brings together the champions of Europe, Asia,
It is now looking increasingly likely that VAR will help decide this winter’s contests at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Sports City and Al Ain’s Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.
“We were testing the VAR at the Club World Cup last year and in the meanwhile, we are evaluating
the testing process,” said ex-Pro League Committee chief executive Smith, who was speaking yesterday
at the official unveiling of this year’s emblem and match schedule in the capital.
“Certainly the tests have gone well and it is very much possible that it will be used here at the Club World Cup.”
The upcoming event will run from December 6-16, with the opening game set to see the 2016/17 AGL champions – which looks almost certainly to be Al Jazira – battle the winners of the 2017 OFC Champions League at Al Ain’s resplendent 22,717-capacity Hazza.
The final is to be played at a renovated ZSC, which can currently hold 43,000 fans. In the previous editions in the Emirates, Spanish giants Barcelona beat Argentina’s Estudiantes 2-1 after extra time during 2009. A year later, Italy’s Internazionale thrashed Democratic Republic of Congo’s TP Mazembe 3-0.
Inspections were carried out by the world governing body last month to adjudge the readiness of the stadiums, training pitches and other facilities related to the next competition.
This centred on everything from camera positions to the media zone, as well as VIP areas and security
perimeters. For Major General Mohamed Khalfan Al Romaithi, chairman of the Local Organising Committee
for the Club World Cup UAE 2017, the readiness of the country showed a continued commitment to put on premier sporting events despite reports of an economic downturn in the region.
He said: “People are talking about an economic crisis because of the lower oil price, but this is the answer from the UAE. We are saying we are committed to all agreements we have signed and everything is going on perfectly.
“This is how we can gain the trust of FIFA when we request in future to hosts more events.”
The previous outings in the UAE saw several games played at well-below capacity. UAE Football Association president Marwan bin Ghalita wanted the drive to attract supporters to both begin immediately and be wide-ranging.
He said: “Every time I talk about any tournament, I would like to see more engagement from the citizens of
the UAE, more attendance. I need them to enjoy the game, more and more.
“We need to attract and engage a lot of citizens and different nationalities. We have more than 200 nationalities in the UAE, we need to engage a lot of them. They love football and the challenge is to attract them all here. This will be a startup for the 2019 Asian Cup, in the UAE.”
