Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Abu Dhabi: While United Arab Emirates are rightly proud of their achievement in qualifying for the FIFA World Cup Italy 1990, that is far from the only occasion on which they have graced a FIFA competition. The country’s beach soccer team has made four appearances at the sport’s world finals and is all set to make a fifth at FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017, which kicks off in a few days’ time.
The Emiratis made their FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup debut ten years ago in Rio de Janeiro. The 12 players that made up that pioneering squad were flying the flag for a new sport in a country that boasts many fine beaches on the shores of the Arabian Gulf. Though a whole decade has passed since then, the objective remains the same for three members of that team, who are still representing their country on the sand today.
The trio is made up of Mohamed Almazmi, who is now the team’s coach, Rami Almesaabi and Ali Karim Albalooshi (pictured above). Absent from the world finals since Tahiti 2013, UAE booked their return to the big stage at the 2017 AFC Beach Soccer Championship in Malaysia. That success meant a lot to their supporters, one of whom was famously photographed in tears during the semi-final with Japan.
Back in the big time
UAE went on to win that game, prompting their tearful fan to come down from the stands to greet the players. The supporter in question was none other than Ali Karim, one of the mainstays of the side, who had missed the game through suspension and was only too relieved that his absence had not proved fatal to their chances.
Granting an interview to FIFA.com a few weeks on from the qualifying competition, Ali Karim said: “I’ve never been in that situation before. I wanted to help my teammates in what was the most important match of all, just as I did in the 2013 qualifiers, when I scored two goals against Australia in the match for third place. I wasn’t on the pitch this time and things got so tense I couldn’t control my emotions. I cried with joy after we qualified. I knew we were going to make it because of all the effort we’d put into getting one of the three qualification places.”
He added: “When we got back home we didn’t rest. We stepped up our training for the World Cup, especially when we found out who we were playing. I think we’ll do well because of the skill levels we’ve got now. We can make it to the second round and we’ve got our hearts set on it. We’re excited at the idea of another major achievement.”
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/ali-karim-centre-no9_afcbs_jpg.html
