Hundreds of UAE football fans are expected to take full advantage of a free-flights directive from The President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and fly to Bahrain on Tuesday to cheer on the country’s players in their Gulf Cup semi-final against reigning champions Kuwait.
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has set aside seats on up to 20 return flights from Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai and Sharjah, with passenger take-up anticipated to be high as Mahdi Ali’s men go gunning for glory.It’s believed those travelling to the Gulf kingdom on the day will swell numbers already there for the pool phase of the competition and the UAE Football Association are confidently predicting that 7,000 supporters will be in attendance inside the Bahrain National Stadium in Riffa.
The UAE is one of two teams still boasting a 100 per cent record in the competition having already overcome Qatar (3-1), Bahrain (2-1) and Oman (2-0) in their three Group A games.As the outright group winners, they now face the runners-up from Group B, 10-time Gulf Cup champions Kuwait, in Tuesday’s first last-four encounter (Kick-off: 5:15pm).The victorious team from that semi showdown will then face either unbeaten Iraq or hosts Bahrain in Friday night’s final. – KahleejNews
