São Paulo – The International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) awarded the United Arab Emirates the right to host the Fifa Club World Cup in 2017 and 2018, according to information published this Friday (20th) by the Emirates News Agency (WAM), the country’s official news agency. The decision was announced after an executive committee meeting in the association’s main office in Zurich, Switzerland.
The UAE already hosted the tournament in 2009 and 2010, with the competition then going to Morocco, the Arab country in North Africa. The host countries of 2015 and 2016 were not announced yet, but India and Japan showed to be interested.
The tournament traditionally occurs in December. The winners of the six tournaments of the continental confederations take part in it, plus a club from the host country.
In 2009, the winner was Barcelona, from Spain; and in 2010, Internazionale de Milano. In the editions of the tournament played in Morocco, the champions were Bayern Munich, in 2013, and Real Madrid, from Spain, in 2014.
In the two editions hosted by UAE so far, the local clubs that competed were Al Ahli, in 2009, and Al Wahda, in 2010.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
