Fifa World Cup: Mall in Dubai converts rooftop into stadium for fans

A mall in Dubai has refurbished its rooftop to give families looking to enjoy the world cup football vibes together the perfect spot to catch all the excitement.

The City Centre Etisalat by E& Mirdif Stadium, located on the roof top of City Centre Mirdif was buzzing with excitement on the opening day of the world cup. The zone features a dual-match screening zone, food and beverage zones, football themed activations, kid friendly activities and shisha lounges.

With games and ceremonies being broadcast in Arabic, most of those attending were Arab families living in Dubai. Khaleej Times spoke to some of the football enthusiasts attending the opening ceremony and first match on Sunday.

Waseem Duba and his friend Loay Hamami came to the zone straight after work. “We saw the ads and decided to come to check it out. The vibe here is great!” said Waseem. They were both rooting for Qatar on the opening night.

Younis Salim who was there with his friends said that they are happy to be watching the games with others in an exciting venue instead of watching at home. “We’re also planning to go watch some games in Doha, we have tickets for games taking place during the national day holiday,” he said, proudly showing a picture of his Hayya card.

Inas Sedky, a Libyan living in Dubai was there nearly two hours before the start of the opening ceremony, with her family of four children. “We are all rooting for different teams. We often come to the mall and we love this zone. We are very happy to be witnessing and event like this organized by an Arab country,” said adding that they are still waiting for more family members to arrive.

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Another family from Sudan, who are Dubai residents, said that before coming to the fan zone, they signed up their older child with Al Nasr Club. “We are all football enthusiasts rooting for different teams,” said the mother, Abrar Mohammad.

From Jordan, Nadia Al Shobaky and her husband Damen Al Shobaky said they were there with the entire family. “We are rooting for Qatar because we can see the amount of effort that was put into organizing this event. It really does make us all, as Arabs, very proud,” said Nadia adding that, time permitting, they plan to return to the stadium to watch future games. “We will always root for the Arab teams,” she said.

The City Centre Etisalat by E& Mirdif Stadium will be open from 1 pm to 1 am daily between November 10 and December 18. The entrance is free till December but will be ticketed for the matches from Round of 16 (December 3) onwards. The premium lounges fit up to 8 people and are available for reservation for Dh150.

To access the stadium, visitors can park their car in the mall and head to the rooftop from Entrance C.

• Sports
• Dubai