On the morning of the 3rd, China's men's soccer team embarked on their journey at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, with their destination being the faraway UAE for the follow-on Group A matches of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar Asian Qualifying Tournament Forty. The tournament, which was originally scheduled to be held in Gusau, was urgently announced to be transferred to the UAE on May 31 due to an epidemic and other factors.
It is reported that our men's soccer team took flight MU7119 at 1:00 p.m. Beijing time from Shanghai Pudong Airport and is expected to arrive in Dubai at 7:00 p.m. local time on the 3rd of the United Arab Emirates. Accompanying the team are 29 players, coaches and staff, totaling 58 people. After arriving in the UAE, they will go directly to Sharjah, the venue of the match.
It is worth mentioning that, in order to ensure the smooth running of the tournament, the China Football Association (CFA), led by Deputy Director and Party Secretary Du Zhaocai and President Chen Xuyuan, a protection team of more than 30 people including six working groups on competitions, business, epidemic prevention and media, also took the flight to the United Arab Emirates. Also on board were Guam players, staff and AFC competition officials.
China's Football Association announced on May 31 that due to the recent cases of epidemic infection in the Maldives and Syria, the two teams were required to undergo strict quarantine according to the regulations on the prevention and control of epidemics among inbound personnel in China and were unable to participate in the tournament on time. As a result, the subsequent matches in Group A of the Forty World Cup had to be changed from the original venue in Gusau to the UAE at the suggestion of the AFC. In the May 30th match in Gusau, our team thrashed Guam 7-0.
