All set for Fifa U-17 World Cup Official Draw in Abu Dhabi

Fifa and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) were full of optimism at the Fifa U-17 World Cup pre-draw press conference on Sunday as they look ahead to what is set to be a spectacular tournament this October.

During the conference, Fifa expressed their confidence in the UAE as a host nation of world-class football events.

Rafael Salguero, Chairman of the Fifa Organising Committee for the event, said: “I would like to thank the Emirates for opening its doors to welcome one of our biggest tournaments – the Fifa U-17 World Cup is where football’s stars of tomorrow are born. This is not the first time we have chosen to host a Fifa tournament in the UAE so we have great confidence that this event will leave a great football legacy that will remain even after the Fifa U-17 World Cup is over.

"I am looking forward to November 8 where we celebrate the winners of this tournament, and where we will have a great sense of accomplishment. Undoubtedly, this tournament will not only add great value to the UAE but also to all the 24 qualifying nations preparing to compete this October.”

All of the 24 qualifying nations have arrived to Abu Dhabi to attend one of the biggest events during the build-up to the Fifa U-17 World Cup UAE 2013 – the Official Draw – to find out which football giants they are up against when the tournament kicks off on October 17.

The LOC and Fifa also revealed the configurations for Monday’s Official Draw and confirmed that the UAE team will avoid playing all continental champions during the group stages (Argentina (CONMEBOL), Uzbekistan (AFC), Côte d'Ivoire (CAF), Mexico (CONCACAF), and Russia (UEFA)).

The Whites will also avoid playing the other teams in their draw pot - Iran, Iraq, Japan and New Zealand.

This will be good news for the UAE U-17 team, although the hosts could still face football powerhouses Brazil or Italy in the opening stages.

Rashid Amir, UAE U-17 team coach, believes that besides the familiar football ‘number one’ countries, there are two other nations they need to look out for this autumn.

“I believe Venezuela will be one of the nations to surprise everyone at this tournament. I have been following the team closely in the qualifying stages of CONCACAF and they are definitely ones to watch out for.

"Japan is another country that is set to turn heads this October. We’ve played a number of friendlies with the team and the players have great potential to make it big at the Fifa U-17 World Cup.”

As approved by the Organising Committee for the Fifa U-17 World Cup, for promotional and ticket sales reasons, the LOC has requested that the UAE as host shall be assigned to position 1 of Group A (Abu Dhabi) and that one continental champion be assigned to each of the remaining five venues.

Thus, Pot 1 has a red ball representing the UAE, and five white balls representing the continental champions of AFC (Uzbekistan), CAF (Côte d'Ivoire), CONCACAF (Mexico), CONMEBOL (Argentina) and UEFA (Russia) can be found in their respective pots.

As a general Fifa principle no group has more than one team from the same confederation drawn in to it.


 

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