Having begun the internship in 2018 in the home changing room of Zayed Sports City Stadium, where they were treated to an inspirational team talk by no other than Dubai Eye talk show host, Chris McHardy, the interns spent three months from June to September travelling the country, inspiring people from all nationalities and cultures to unite behind the tournament.

Their experience saw them plan community activities, organise cultural days, attend workshops and lend support across all LOC departments with a unifying ambition in ‘Bringing Asia Together’.

The group, comprising five drummers of Emirati and Japanese heritage, thrilled fans in the beachside location with a traditional taiko percussion that filled the air with a pulsating beat.

Speaking after the performance a member of the band, Tayammum Al Katheeri said: “Being an Emirati, a lot of people ask me how I am related to Japanese music and why I do it. It was my brother who initially introduced me and then I came across this group, which is cross cultural, and it has been the best thing ever since.”

“The AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 is bringing people together from all over the world so what better way to showcase unity and togetherness through this music, which does exactly that,” he added.

Tayammum’s brother, Taryam, said Kharsha Drums aspires to promote a positive culture exchange between the UAE and Japan through their performance of the Japanese percussion art.

Four youngsters stepped up to showcase their musical ability on the beachside stage with the audience soaking up the chance to enjoy the magic of another culture against the backdrop of Asia’s biggest football tournament.

Sharing his insights, Dang Phuong Anh, one of the performing group’s members said: “I love playing music and doing it here in Abu Dhabi on the beach at this football fan zone is a great experience that me and my friends will never forget.”

Her music teacher Le Thanh Phuong added: “With football being played between 24 nations, we’re here to promote and teach people about Vietnamese culture. What better way to do that than through our music, which like football, is a great way to bring people together.”

With the Round of 16 fixtures due to get underway on Sunday, tournament regulations state: If no winner is determined at the end of 90 minutes, extra-time comprising two fifteen-minute periods shall be played at the end of normal playing time during the knockout stage.

The regulations go on to say, and in a first for the AFC Asian Cup, that one additional substitute may be used when a match goes into extra-time (whether or not the team has already used full number of permitted substitutes).

With the opening phase of the competition now complete, the-AFC.com looks at some of the statistical leaders, and numerical highlights of the AFC Asian Cup's opening two weeks.

The AFC's team, known as Technical Study Group (TSG), are an experienced group of technical analysts who will analyse all 51 matches of the largest ever edition of the tournament.

The AFC Asian Cup Technical Report is produced by coaches for coaches, but it is also a publication which has traditionally been of interest to officials, media and fans.

Jemala Yagmurova, who lives in the UAE but is originally from Turkmenistan, recruited a fan club of over 100 people to support her nation, ensuring that there was plenty of noise and encouragement for her country emanating from the stands.

She is one of the six hundred strong community group, dubbed the ‘Playmakers’, which was formed to spread awareness and excitement of the tournament across the Emirates. For months now, Jemala and her fellow Playmakers have attended events, functions, mobile roadshows, schools outreach programmes and more, in a wide scale effort to drum up support for their own countries.