At midday on June 3, the Chinese men's soccer team embarked on an exclusive chartered flight of China Eastern Airlines from Shanghai Pudong International Airport, destined for the faraway Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. They will arrive at 7 p.m. local time on June 3, and then immediately get into a series of intense matches - the last three rounds of Group A of the Qatar World Qualification Asian Round of 40 tournament. The team will arrive at the four-star Four Points by Sheraton hotel in the Sharjah tournament area by bus in about an hour.
In order to ensure the safety of the team's training, competition and traveling in a foreign country, the CFA has specially chartered an entire hotel. At the same time, in order to meet the dietary needs of the players, Chen Xuyuan, the president of the CFA, utilized his personal connections to contact a local Chinese restaurant for the team. If the meals supplied by the hotel are not to the players' taste, they will adjust their diet by ordering take-out.
According to the established plan, the national football team will depart from the tournament's epidemic-proof red zone at the Taimei Xiangguli Hotel in Suzhou's Taihu Lake early in the morning of June 3 and take a vehicle to Shanghai Pudong International Airport. The whole team is expected to depart for Dubai on a 1:00 p.m. flight, with an estimated flight time of nine hours, and the arrival time will be around 7:00 p.m. local time on the 3rd.
Although AFC did not finalize moving the tournament to the UAE until May 31, the CFA and its preparation and protection team finalized the details of the schedule, kick-off time and venue in just 48 hours. The Chinese team's travel arrangements for the tournament were also quickly finalized. Upon arrival in Dubai, the team will travel by car to the Sharjah tournament area and stay at the chartered Four Points by Sheraton Hotel.
Compared with the domestic competition environment, the preparation conditions for the national football team in Sharjah appear to be more difficult. However, the FA still tried its best to create favorable conditions for the team. For example, the 3-day chartered flight not only carried all members of the national soccer team, but also included the rival Guam team, referees and some AFC officials. In order to provide a comfortable rest environment for the players and coaches, the Association did its best to ensure that they were given priority access to high-level berths.
Considering that the global epidemic situation is still serious, CFA asked the whole team not to leave the hotel at will during the game, and either eat collectively in the hotel or satisfy their personal taste by ordering takeout. In addition, Chen Xuyuan also solved a series of practical problems for the team through his personal circle of friends.
It is worth mentioning that as early as in April this year, when the Chinese women's football team went to South Korea to prepare for the Tokyo Olympic Games Women's Football Qualifying Tournament Asian Zone Play-offs, Chen Xuyuan had contacted COSCO Korea through his personal circle of friends to help the team to understand the status of the game and training venues, and to understand in detail the team's personnel's dining tastes. This time, after the change of the venue of the national football team, he also contacted through his circle of friends to the Chinese restaurant of a local branch of a Chinese enterprise in Sharjah, to solve the problem of the team's meals.
Chen Xuyuan was personally present at the front line, not only to command the team, but also to solve the actual problems the team faced. His efforts have undoubtedly added confidence and strength to the Chinese team's overseas campaign.
