City made welcome by Dubai Police Sports Club

Words: ACFC Media

Monday 4 December 2023

DUBAI, UAE - Auckland City FC have been made welcome to Dubai by Lt. Colonel Abdulbasit Ali, Director of Sports Affairs for the Dubai Police Sports Club in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) today.

Auckland City FC have made their training base in Bur Dubai where use of the impressive Dubai Police Club Stadium has been harnessed by the club in prepearation for the forthcoming FIFA Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia next week.

The club has trained at the state of the art venue with use of the Police Sports Club gym which features two anti-gravity machines, each worth $250,000.00 USD,a state-of-the-art gymnasium replete with ice room, weights and boxing gym.

The Police Sports Club Stadium has hosted the England national team as well as English Premier League highflyers Newcastle United in recent times with a grassroots Middle East and North Africa grassroots tournament taking place during UAE's national day celebrations.

Lt. Colonel Abdulbasit Ali has strong ties with football but has a detailed knowledge of cycling, one of many sports the Police Club excels in.

"I enjoy my role as Director of Sports Affairs here because we see a lot of local and international athletes use our facilities regularly to better themselves.

"The Sports Club has hosted many famous teams in the past and offers great facilities and also privacy for coaches who wish to undertake tactical decisions far from home.

"My favourite club is Real Madrid and I am big admirer of Cristiano Ronaldo, but I also have a keen interest in cycling.

"We are honoured and proud to host Auckland City FC as they prepare for the FIFA Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia next week," he told www.aucklandcityfc.com.

Auckland City FC chairperson Ivan Vuksich praised the hospitality of Lt. Colonel Abdulbasit Ali, his staff and also the facilities.

"There is nothing like this available to clubs back in New Zealand and we feel both grateful and fortunate to be welcomed with such warmth and generosity by Lt. Colonel Ali.

"We enjoyed a very fruitful discussion about football, life in Dubai and sport in general and should we find ourselves back in this part of the world in the future, would not hesitate to explore the possibility of setting up a training base here," he said.

Also present for the luncheon were Major Abdulla al Amari and Osama Kandil who have ensured everything is just right for Auckland City FC on a daily basis, while from the Navy Blues, general manager Gordon Watson, project manager Chris Kemp, assistant coach Ivan Vicelich, Nardo Yugovich, board member Colin Cook and media manager Attila Mosonyi were also present.

Auckland City FC remains in Dubai until the morning of December 7 when the squad departs for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to prepare for the opening match of the FIFA Club World Cup with Al-Ittihad.

The club has one more training session at the Police Officers Club Stadium today before turning its focus toward its final friendly match of the UAE base camp against United FC on December 6.

Ends