Al Ain rally ‘loyal fans’ for Club World Cup
Al Ain midfielder Hussein El Shahat has said the club’s “loyal fans” will help drive their bid for success when the Arabian Gulf League champions take part in the 2018 Fifa Club World Cup in the UAE.
As domestic champions, Al Ain have earned their place in the tournament, which runs from December 12 to 22, where the winners of each continental competition will vie for the right to be named world champions.
The Garden City club will be joined in the UAE by Uefa Champions League winners Real Madrid, Concacaf winners Guadalajara and OFC champions Wellington.
The representatives for Asia (AFC), Africa (CAF) and South America (Conmebol) will be confirmed in November.
The matches will be held at Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi and at Al Ain’s Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, and Shahat is confident home advantage can play its part.
“It will be great playing in front of our home fans in Al Ain – they always support us home and away,” the Egyptian, 26, said. “It makes a huge difference to us as players to know we have this unwavering support from our loyal fans.
“We have great fans that support the team throughout the year, and this will give us huge support and a big boost in the tournament. Our fans are the best in the UAE, but we hope all UAE fans will support us because we are playing for all of the Emirates.”
Playing in front of home fans seemed to boost rivals Al Jazira when, as UAE champions, they took part in last year’s Club World Cup.
Jazira went on to reach the semi-finals, before narrowly losing 2-1 to Real Madrid, having held the lead before a Ronaldo equaliser, followed by a Gareth Bale winner with nine minutes remaining.
Al Ain manager Zoran Mamic echoed El Shahat’s sentiments and believes the club’s supporters can inspire his players.
“For the country and football fans in the Emirates, it is a big thing to see these international players in the flesh,” Mamic said from Al Ain’s training camp in Slovenia, where they are preparing for the Arabian Gulf Super Cup against Al Wahda in Cairo on August 25.
“But we know our loyal fans will create an atmosphere that drives our players to perform above and beyond themselves.”
Al Ain chairman Ghanim Mubarak Al Hajeri is also looking forward to watching his team test their abilities against some of the best sides in the world.
“There will be world-class clubs playing in this competition, and we will stand together and show the same strength that saw us win the double this season,” he said.
“The world will see how the sons of the desert perform. Al Ain fans and the UAE in general love their sport, love their football, and I know they will be looking forward to December 12 when the tournament starts – home support will be key to our hopes.”