The stadiums of the UAE will be a destination for many European, Asian, and Arab teams in the coming days, coinciding with the winter break and the hosting of the Asian Cup and Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.
Starting with "Manchester City," the reigning English Premier League champion and recent winner of the FIFA Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia 2023, the team will hold a training camp in Abu Dhabi. Coach Pep Guardiola aims for this upcoming camp to be an opportunity to prepare his team and recover missing players, notably Kevin De Bruyne, ahead of the crucial phase in the Premier League, where City currently ranks third with 40 points, 5 points behind the league leader Liverpool, with one game less played (19 matches).
From the English Premier League as well, "Arsenal" will be arriving in Dubai for a week-long preparatory camp, during which the team will miss the services of international players Mohamed Elneny from Egypt and Takehiro Tomiyasu from Japan due to their commitments in the Africa Cup of Nations and the Asian Cup. Arsenal sits in fourth place in the Premier League table, with the same points as Manchester City (40 points) but with a higher goal difference and having played one more match (20 matches). Coach Mikel Arteta is counting on the Dubai camp, which the team traditionally holds annually, to help return the team to winning ways, as they have not tasted victory in their last four matches.
The English club "Wolverhampton Wanderers" has also chosen to hold its winter camp in Abu Dhabi, taking advantage of their break before facing Brighton & Hove Albion on January 22. The English team will conduct daily training under coach Gary O'Neil, along with playing friendly matches.
Abu Dhabi will also host training camps for two Russian teams, Spartak Moscow and FC Rostov, participating alongside Kazakhstan's FC Kairat in a friendly tournament that will see Sheikh Al Ahli participate from February 2 to 14.
Several Arab clubs such as Egyptian Zamalek, Saudi Al-Ettifaq, and Qatari Umm Salal will join Emirati Al-Wahda in participating in the Al-Wahda Club's friendly tournament scheduled to take place from January 18 to 24 at Al Nahyan Stadium. After this tournament, Zamalek will head to Dubai to participate alongside Saudi Al-Ahli, Moroccan Raja Casablanca, and Chinese Wuhan Three Towns in the Dubai Challenge Cup from January 26 to 28 at Al Maktoum Stadium, part of Al Nasr Sporting Club.
Additionally, several Saudi clubs have chosen to hold their winter camps in the UAE during the competition break due to the Asian Cup, including Al-Shabab, Al-Khaleej, and Al-Ettifaq. These teams will conduct a series of trial matches during their camps, expected to last for two weeks starting from the second half of January.
