Brazil may play in UAE

ABU DHABI — The FIFA Club World Cup is still three months away but football fans in the UAE could be in for a real treat as five-time World champions Brazil will play Iran in a friendly game in Abu Dhabi.

By James Jose

Published: Wed 29 Sep 2010, 11:43 PM

Last updated: Mon 6 Apr 2015, 4:45 AM

The UAE Football Association (UAE FA) confirmed to Khaleej Times that they had received a letter from the Iranian Football Federation (IFF) asking if they could play Brazil in a friendly in Abu Dhabi. The game is slotted for October 7 and could be played at the 50,000 capacity Zayed Sports City.

“We received a letter from the Iranian Football Federation asking us that they wanted to play against Brazil in a football friendly in Abu Dhabi. We don’t have the full details yet and we need to approve it,” Yousuf Mohammed Abdulla, general secretary of the UAE FA told Khaleej Times on Tuesday.

“There are a lot of things involved like logistics, security and we need to make all the arrangements in such a short time. Firstly, it will require approval from the Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC) as well,” Abdulla added.

Abdulla said they would get a clearer picture within the next two days.

Asked whether there was a likelihood of the UAE National team playing Brazil, Abdulla replied in the negative and said: “We wouldn’t be able to play because our schedule has already been drawn up. We will be playing Chile and Angola in friendlies.”

The Iran Football Federation president Ali Kaffashian was quoted as saying that Brazil would bring all their stars for the friendly. The ‘A Selecao’ are the only National team to have played in every World Cup.

Iran are preparing for the Asian Cup to be held in Qatar in January. Iran only previous friendly game against a world champion side was against Germany in 2004. The match was held in Tehran.

james@khaleejtimes.com