Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Manama: Bahrain Football Association (Bahrain FA) President, His Excellency, Shaikh Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa has declared that Bahrain is ready to host the AFC U-19 Championship Bahrain 2016, which will be held in Manama from 13 to 30 October 2016. He added that all the logistic and administrative preparations have been finalised, as the Gulf nation prepare to host one of their biggest football tournaments in history.
"The AFC’s trust doubles the responsibility of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) to work hard,” Shaikh Ali told the-AFC.com in an exclusive interview. “We are enthusiastic to prove the capability of the Kingdom in hosting this tournament, and present it in a way that reflects Bahrain's reputation in hosting major sports events and also to reflect the reputation of Asian football, which has made major steps in terms of development."
Commenting on the preparation details, he shared: "The different committees of the LOC have been striving to reach the highest level of competition readiness. We have made big steps in the arrangements for accommodation, hospitality, transportation, stadiums, media and public relations.
“We also have fruitful partnerships with official local authorities like the Civil Defence, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Olympic Committee, Ministry of Health, Tourism Authority and other government bodies, who are considered important partners to ensure the success of this tournament."
The Bahrain FA President also expressed his happiness with the level of cooperation between the AFC and Bahrain FA to finalise the finer preparation details, adding: "We are delighted with the coordination between us and the AFC. There is continuous communication about all related issues for hosting, and we feel that there is a great response from the AFC in all issues.
“I think the close collaboration has helped to make the job of the LOC much easier, and we are confident that we share similar ambitions and goals with the AFC to showcase the tournament in the best possible way."
Shaikh Ali also revealed that the LOC has put in place a comprehensive plan to engage with fans to attend the Championship matches: "We started a promotional campaign to encourage Bahrainis and Asian fans to come to the stadiums and support the participating teams.
“We are optimistic that we will be successful in encouraging the participation of fans as we have multi-racial communities in Bahrain, including our friends from other GCC countries. Bahrain is strategically located and it is an easy commute for our neighboring GCC countries.
"More importantly, Bahraini people love football and they want to make this event a success.”
Stressing on the important role of the media, the Bahrain FA President said: ”The LOC have made it a priority to ensure that members of the media have access to the best infrastructure and facilities in order to help them showcase the tournament in the best possible light.
“We have around 300 accredited media for this tournament, which is a reflection of the huge interest surrounding this event, so it is imperative that we feature the event in the best possible way on all media platforms.”
Shaikh Ali also elaborated that the AFC U-19 Championship Bahrain 2016 represents a good opportunity to promote Bahrain’s appeal as a tourist destination: "Bahrain has a strategic location, with many historic landmarks. We have prepared a good programme for the participating delegations to see these landmarks, and discover the historic and heritage of Bahrain.
“We want to show the development of Bahrain at all levels, and we are confident that our guests will have a memorable experience in the Kingdom of Bahrain.”
Shaikh Ali also reiterated that the continental spectacle was a crucial part of a long-term plan that the BFA has established to strengthen the foundations for future generations of aspiring footballers: “As we have observed from the previous editions, this tournament has produced many emerging talents in Asia. Similarly, we expect this edition to showcase the continent’s finest youth players, who will hopefully, go on to raise the standard of football in Asia."
The Bahrain FA President concluded that he was looking forward to highly competitive and quality performances as Asia’s best aim to secure their places in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which interestingly, will also be held in Asia, to be hosted by Korea Republic next year.