• Jordan youth team prepares for qualifying rounds of AFC U-20 Youth Cup
• Volleyball and basketball sides from Bahrain and Saudi Arabian clubs make presence felt in Dubai

DUBAI: Dubai continued living up to its name of being the ‘Sporting Capital’ of the world with the national futsal teams of France, Saudi Arabia and Turkmenistan voting in favour of training camps before the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup to be held in Uzbekistan later this month.

As many as 24 teams including hosts Uzbekistan will be in the fray for top honours when the inaugural match is played at the Bukhara Universal Sports Complex in Bukhara on September 14.

The three national teams not just went through their training regimen at the indoor stadium of the Shabab Al Ahli Club, but were also involved in friendly matches during the course of their training.

The 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup will be held at three venues in Uzbekistan, namely Tashkent, Bukhara and Andijan, from September 15-October 6.

Meanwhile, the Jordanian U-20 national football team is also holding its training camp in Dubai from September 14 to 21. The team is preparing for the AFC Asian Youth Cup qualifiers, where the side is expected to play a few friendly matches during the course of its preparation. Through this training camp, the young Jordanian team is expecting to be among the handful of sides qualifying for the 2025 AFC Asian Cup, that is scheduled to be held in China.

Jordan has been placed in Group J of the qualifiers that are scheduled to commence from September 25 in Doha. Singapore, Hong Kong and Qatar are the three other teams in the group.

Bahrain’s Al Riffa Al Sharqi team is also holding its training camp at the Al Wasl Club in Dubai in preparation for the upcoming competitions with an ambition and hope to put up better positions for the new sports season.

In other team sports, there are quite a few volleyball and basketball teams from Saudi Arabia who have been in Dubai preparing for the start of the new season. Saudi Arabian giants Al Hilal team, champions of the the Saudi Premier Volleyball League and opponents Al Nasr have both been holding their training camps prior to their new season starting from September 14.

Saudi Arabia’s Al Fateh basketball team is also holding its training camp at Al Nasr Club in Dubai. All teams have been involved with a number of friendly matches with local clubs during the course of the week.

International teams and clubs have been regulars in Dubai as part of the city’s ambitions in being one of the most preferred venues for such activities. Dubai’s international air connectivity has been constantly evolving, and this has helped a lot in furthering the cause of international and national teams preferring Dubai as a sports destination.

Along with this are numerous top-class hotels, sports infrastructure and facilities, medical back-up and a wide range of tourism activities to combine sports and recreation for all types of visitors to the city.

The Dubai Sports Council has always shown a keen desire to work in close cooperation with various institutions from inside and outside the country, and with the organizers to facilitate the attendance of international teams and athletes for training camps.

Image caption: France and Turkmenistan were involved in a friendly futsal match during the course of their training camp held in Dubai.