Vietnam to play with fan presence at World Cup qualifiers in the UAE

The Vietnamese national football team will receive a big psychological boost from the overseas Vietnamese living and working in the United Arab Emirates, as their remaining Group G games in the second round of the 2022 World Cup Asian qualifiers, to be hosted at centralised venues in the West Asian country, will take place with spectators in attendance.

Vietnamese fans will have the chance to directly cheer on the national team in their World Cup qualifying mission in the UAE. (Photo: VFF)
Vietnamese fans will have the chance to directly cheer on the national team in their World Cup qualifying mission in the UAE. (Photo: VFF)

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After a working session with the representatives of the hosts’ organising committee and the participating teams on June 1, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) decided that stadiums will be opened to fans at a 30% capacity.

Regarding matches without the presence of hosts UAE, the aforementioned volume of tickets will be equally distributed to the two participating teams. As for the UAE’s clashes, fans of the away side will be allowed to purchase a maximum of 10% of the total tickets issued.

Representing the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) at the meeting, Standing Vice President of the VFF Tran Quoc Tuan said the decision brings joy to Vietnamese fans in particular and football fans as a whole.

Playing with spectators in attendance will be a source of motivation for the Vietnamese team to better promote professional issues, he stated.

Standing Vice President of the Vietnam Football Federation Tran Quoc Tuan.

Tuan added that, as stipulated by the AFC and the UAE organising committee, in order to be admitted into stadiums, fans must be vaccinated and carry a negative report from their RT-PCR tests, which must be done no more than 48 hours before entry to the stadium.

In addition, fans aged below 16 will be excluded and those vaccinated must have a certificate E in the AlHosn UAE app.

All fans will have their temperatures checked before entry and must keep a distance from one another in the stands and wear face masks during the match.

Vietnam will play their remaining Group G games against Indonesia, Malaysia and the UAE on June 7, 11 and 15, respectively. All these matches will take place at the Al Maktoum and Zabeel Stadiums in Dubai.

Earlier, on May 31, Park Hang-seo's troops earned a 1-1 draw with Jordan in a friendly match at Khalid Bin Mohammed Stadium in Sharjah. The whole team are now having a day off before being back to training on June 2.