Still the scene
The Under-20 World Football Cup is on and the UAE remains the site of the action. Nashwa Abdel-Tawab sees how the decision was taken and Egypt's preparations
War postponed the championship but did not do away with it altogether. The FIFA World Youth Football Championship will be played in the United Arab Emirates as was originally planned.
Having taken everything into account, FIFA and the UAE local organising committee decided to hold the championship from 27 November to 19 December this year. The three-week championship was originally scheduled to kick off on 25 March but was postponed because of the war in Iraq and subsequent safety concerns. The new date squashed speculation that FIFA was intending to shift the event to another country far from the region.
FIFA decided to suspend the championship even before the war broke out after several competing countries expressed concern about travelling to the UAE which is about 1,450 kilometres (900 miles) from Iraq.
The decision to keep the tournament in the UAE was taken by FIFA's executive committee which mandated FIFA President Joseph Blatter and his Asian Football Association counterpart Mohamed Bin Hammam to reschedule the tournament.
Consultations had taken place with the UAE Football Association and Jack Warner, chairman of the organising committee for the FIFA World Youth Championship.
"I am delighted that FIFA will be able to hold this major tournament in the UAE as originally planned," Blatter said recently. "The local organising committee has worked so hard to guarantee the success of the event that it would have been unfair to move it elsewhere. I would like to thank the United Arab Emirates Football Association and its president for their cooperation, understanding, trust and support in recent weeks."
Altogether 24 teams, divided into six groups of four teams each, will take part in the event. Group A consists of the UAE, Slovakia, Panama and Burkina Faso. Group B includes Argentina, Spain, Uzbekistan, and Mali. Group C comprises of Brazil, Canada, the Czech Rep, and Australia.
Egypt will play in Group D with Colombia, Japan and England. Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Mexico, and Côte D'Ivoire make up Group E while Paraguay, the US, South Korea, and Germany will play in Group F. Matches will be held in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Al-Ain.
Egypt's coach Hassan Shehata says he's satisfied with the team he will take to the UAE and is preparing to play 12 friendly matches as warm-ups. South Korea, Mexico and Uruguay have agreed to play, while Spain, Ireland, Greece and Slovakia have yet to reply to Egypt's request. "These teams belong to different schools of football than we will face in the UAE," Shehata said.
"I'll be gathering the players on 10 May. Until the end of June they will practice three times a week," said Shehata, a former Zamalek midfield star. "Then we'll head for Germany where we'll play the German youth team twice. Such meetings are important for us."
Concerning the draw, Shehata described it as a tough group whose countries employ diverse tactics "from the beauty of the South American game to the fast soccer of the Asians to, of course, the tough English way of playing. But with determination and perseverance we can achieve results. You have to work hard and hope for the best."
In another development, Sheikh Said Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has resigned as president of the UAE Football Association. Sheikh Said will remain head of the local organising committee of the World Youth Championship.
"Quitting the association doesn't mean that I will give up my responsibility as head of the local organising committee, especially after FIFA ruled in our favour to hold the event as planned," Sheikh Said told reporters.
