Less than a year has passed since the FIFA World Cup, and Qatar is preparing to host another major tournament – the Asian Cup. The continental championship starts on January 12, 24 teams will take part in it, including the national teams of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Sports expert, football manager Alisher Nikimbaev, who is involved in organizational issues of the upcoming Asian Cup, told Fergana about his expectations from the next football festival. — Qatar is becoming a cult place for football.
How comfortable is this place for players and fans? “This is a very comfortable place for players and fans. The tournament takes place in one city – Doha, where everything is Sports expert Alisher within reach. Even in the UAE, where the roads are good, between Abu Dhabi and Dubai it is an hour and a half drive. Of course, it is theoretically possible to watch all the matches of the tournament, but you will have to travel from city to city. In Qatar, this is much easier, as it was at the World Cup last year.
Football players always Sports expert Alisher
Getting from one stadium to another from the stadium in the 40-minute interval between matches is quite possible, including using public transport, the Sports expert Alisher metro, for example. Fans are unlikely to be able to see so much football live anywhere. Qatar is also a developed country where there is a lot of interesting things besides sports. — Football players don’t always have time to visit sights. — It’s convenient for Country Email List Qatar teams because they live in the same hotel throughout the tournament, train on the same fields, and don’t move anywhere. For example, the Uzbekistan national team, which arrived
on January 2, will spend 11 days in the hotel before the start of the tournament. So he will have time to settle down. I remember in Australia in 2015, the Uzbekistan team played three group stage matches in three different cities. And each movement took 5-6 hours, including the flight. You don’t have to spend so much time in Qatar. — The Asian Cup will be held for the second time in an expanded format with.
Three Central Asian teams will take
The participation of 24 teams. Pros and cons of expanding the tournament? “ Increasing the number of participants not only allows weaker teams to take part in the tournament, but also attracts fans to the stands. Let’s say in the UAE these are the numerous diasporas of the Philippines and Yemen. There are many Indians in Qatar, but the Indian team would hardly have made it to the Asian Cup if not for the expansion. Matches involving the Palestine national team, which also has plenty of fans in Qatar, will be of great interest. WS Database PH On the other hand, expanding the number of participants means eroding the quality of football. The group stage, by and large, turns into a formality. I think the 12 participants in the playoffs can be predicted now –
these are the teams from the first two pots. — Three Central Asian teams will take part in the tournament. Do you deserve it? – Of course, they deserve it. The Uzbekistan national team has not missed a single Asian Cup. Kyrgyzstan will play for the second time in a row. Tajikistan – for the first time, but last year the Tajiks were very close, but did not get in due to some ridiculous coincidence of circumstances.
