UAE Football Association have pledged their backing to Fifa president Joseph Sepp Blatter who will stand for a fifth term as chief of the world football's governing body.
Yousuf Yaqoob Al Serkal, president of the UAE Football Association said: "We have heard the news that Blatter has confirmed to enter the elections as candidate for a fifth term in office, and we will support Mr Blatter who has always backed UAE football. We will spare no effort to stand behind him,” he promised.
Speaking to newsmen at the association's offices in Al Khawaneej on Tuesday morning, Al Serkal thanked the wise leadership of the President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Their Highnesses, Members of the Supreme Council and Rulers of the emirates, and General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
"I would like to convey the greetings and good wishes of Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Advisor, Deputy Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Honorary president of the UAEFA,” he said.
"We are approaching an exciting season considering the crucial commitments of the national teams.
"The players of the senior football national team have just returned from a successful tour in Austria and they are looking forward to retain their Gulf title in Saudi Arabia in November and stamp their mark in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia in January 2015.
"To start with, nobody will accept any attempt from our side to downplay our objectives as defending champions of the Arabian Gulf Cup. The first target will be to reach the semis and then of course anything can happen.
"The Gulf Cup is a very special tournament because of the social links of its people and the geographical proximity between the member countries,” he said.
Regarding the AFC Asian Cup, Al Serkal said that this time the UAE will be among the top teams in the continent's premier championship.
"UAE is among the front runners for the title and we must live up to the expectations. The same boys who are going to Down Under are the U-16 Gulf Cup champions who have also qualified for the Fifa U-17 World Cup and claimed the AFC U-18 Cup before finishing fifth in the Fifa U-20 World Cup before making history by qualifying for the 2012 London Games.
"It's true that they were out of the group stage of the competition in Qatar, but this shall not be the case after four years of hard work,” he said.
"The Olympic and youth national teams will be facing tough challenges in the 17th Asian Games and the AFC U-19 Cup. The news is promising and there's great hope to see the two teams doing well,” he said.
Al Serkal said the governing body will always work hard to develop the game in order to become the number one.
"Our current strategy up to 2018 is to reach the Fifa World Cup finals in Russia. We are setting our targets and the road map to achieve them. We are working on developing the game for all members of the society with transparency, excellence and team-work.
"We will be facing many challenges and hopefully with the national spirit and desire for success, we will be able to overcome them,” he said.
UAEFA and AFC elections
Al Serkal confirmed that he has no intentions to continue as vice-president for the AFC, while he kept his options open to be re-elected as UAEFA president.
"Yes, I have no plans to stand in the elections of the AFC, and my decision is final in this respect,” he confirmed.
"But, regarding the 2016 elections of the UAEFA, I know the people are divided on me though it's premature to talk about it at this stage and I hope both my supporters and opponents would be patient enough and wait for few months to know my final decision,” he added.
Overspending
Al Serkal warned the managements of the pro-league clubs to be careful pointing out that overspending and exaggerated contracts of the players will cause great harm for the country's football in the very near future.
"We have two clubs that have pulled out of the competitions of the first division national league and unless we manage to control the unnecessary expenditures on the players' contracts, more damages should be expected in no more than five years,” he said.
2019 AFC Asian Cup bid
According to Al Serkal, the UAE's has a very good to chance to win the bid to host the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
"This is what we feel from the indications we have got from the executive committee of the Asian Football Confederation,” he said. "We have the best venues coupled with the most advanced infrastructure besides the other attractions,” he said.
"UAE has always been the most preferred host for the Fifa and AFC events and there's no doubt about this. So, we are confident that UAE's bid will be the right selection for the AFC executive committee for hosting the 2019 version of the competition,” he confirmed.
Source: WAM