Bahrain’s football supporters will have the opportunity to cheer their national team next month when they travel to the UAE for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
Next month’s 17th edition of the tournament is scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi from January 5 to February 1 with 24 teams from across the continent in the fray.
Fans from around Bahrain will be able to transport all the way to the UAE capital free of charge in buses to support the nationals who are to compete in a tough group ‘A’ alongside Thailand, India and host nation the UAE.
Other groups will see defending champions Australia grouped with Syria, Palestine and Jordan in Group ‘B’, South Korea will play in China, Kyrgyzstan and the Philippines in Group ‘C’, while Group ‘D’ features Iran, Iraq, Vietnam and Yemen.
Campaign
According to Supreme Council for Youth and Sports assistant secretary general and Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) secretary general Abdulrahman Askar, the transport campaign has been arranged by the BOC in collaboration with the Bahrain Football Association.
Buses will be made available on the days of Bahrain matches. They are scheduled to move in early morning towards Abu Dhabi and back to Manama right after each game, with details on the mechanism of this campaign is yet to be confirmed.
“We are keen to fully support the national team at the Asian Championship. We shall provide all that would help the team put in their best performance and one way of doing that is by facilitating the transport of Bahrain’s football fans to the tournament venue,” said Askar.
He noted that this initiative is in line with the directives of Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, His Majesty the King for Charity Works and Youth Affairs representative, Supreme Council for Youth and Sports chairman, and BOC president, to offer support to national teams at various regional and international competitions.