The UAE’s growing relevance to global football was confirmed yesterday as FIFA announced the Club World Cup will return to the country in 2017 and 2018.

The Emirates was revealed as hosts for the event during a meeting of the sport’s governing body’s Executive Committee in Zurich, Switzerland. If the current format remains, this will see the champion sides from the six confederations plus the reigning Arabian Gulf League winners compete for glory.

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Matches were played at Abu Dhabi’s Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium and Zayed Sports City when the competition was previously held in the UAE in 2009 and 2010. 

No official annoucement has yet been made about which venues or cities will be used.

The news completes an exciting few weeks for UAE football, with the Asian Football Confederation on March 9 choosing the country as hosts for the 2019 Asian Cup.

Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed, National Security Advisor and Honorary Chairman of the UAE Football Association, said the acceptance of the UAE’s bidconfirms the county’s ability to organise and host major world sports championships.

“The UAE will take the world by surprise and beat all expectations when it hosts the three prominent world sports events, which will add another feather to the UAE’s cap,” he said.

The win, he noted, is a source of pride throughout the Arab World and its impact will go beyond the sports sector to underpinning international confidence in the UAE, its leadership and progress.

He also underscored the determination of the UAE leadership to provide the UAE sports sector will all resources to allow its athletes to participate in international competitions.