The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sports Council has purchased all of the tickets that have not been bought yet for the 2019 Asian Cup semi finals and is offering fans those tickets for free, so they come to support their national UAE football team in its playoff with Qatar on 29 January and fill up the stadium, in a match that promises to have everyone on the edges of their seats

Now that the host team is playing in the semi finals on its home ground at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi and vying for a spot in the finals to be held on 1 February, a huge turnout of UAE supporters are expected at the match, especially with these free tickets.

This move likely comes with the motive of having as few Qatar team supporters in the audience as possible, and will ensure that anyone wishing to support the country will not have access to tickets for the semi finals through official channels.

Overall, the 2019 AFC Asian Cup has seen very little Qatar fans due to the blockade of Qatar in 2017 which has put travel restrictions on people from Qatar into the UAE, and those that have turned up to support Qatar have mostly been Omanis and Kuwaitis along with some other expat communities.

Qatar and the UAE will be pitted against each other in the semi finals of the football tournament after the Qatar vs Korea Repubic quarter final ended in a 1 – 0 win for Qatar, and UAE won against Australia with a 1 - 0 score in the quarter finals.

What do you think of this move by UAE? Do you think it's the right thing to do? Are you excited about this match? Do you think Qatar will win this exciting match? Do let us know your thoughts in our Comments section. Share and like the article - it keeps us going!

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ILQ Staff

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