Gharafa land in Abu Dhabi for AFC Champions League match

The Al Gharafa football team landed in Abu Dhabi yesterday ahead of their opening AFC Champions League Group A match against Emirati Pro-League champions Al Jazira tomorrow.
This is the first instance of a sports team from Qatar travelling to the Emirates since the unjust siege imposed on the country by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt in June last year.
Al Gharafa, however, were stranded at the Muscat International Airport for several hours as their connecting flight to Abu Dhabi was delayed due to fog in the UAE capital.
The team eventually landed in Abu Dhabi more than 12 hours after they started their journey in Doha on Friday night, having had to spend the entire morning yesterday at the Muscat airport.
Al Gharafa coach Bulent Uygun cancelled a scheduled training session yesterday because he wanted the players to rest following their travel ordeal.
Saad al-Shammari, Al Gharafa’s head of delegation, posted a video from Muscat in which he said: “We were supposed to leave Muscat at 2.30am but due to bad weather in Abu Dhabi, we couldn’t travel. We sat in the plane for 45 minutes after which we talked to the cabin crew and told them we would rather spend time inside the airport.
“They agreed to our request and now we are at the airport and as you can see the players seem to be tired. But God willing we will leave for Abu Dhabi at 8 in the morning as we have been informed.”
Al Gharafa President Sheikh Jassem bin Thamer al-Thani earlier gave a pep talk to his players at Hamad International Airport in Doha.
“This being the first match of the championship is very important for the team. Playing outside the country needs lots of concentration and calmness,” he said.
He added it was a “very positive development that we are the first club playing an away game this season”.
“I am sure not only Al Gharafa fans but the whole of Qatar will watch the match and support you.”
Al Gharafa are making their first appearance in the AFC Champions League since 2013, securing qualification this year by beating Uzbek giants Pakhtakor in a playoff in Doha earlier this week.
Al Jazira have exited at the group stage in the previous two years and will be looking to improve, while all eyes will be on Al Gharafa’s former Real Madrid and Internazionale midfielder Wesley Sneijder who will be making his AFC Champions League debut.
Meanwhile, Qatar champions Al Duhail will take on Iran’s Zobahan in a Group B match in Doha tomorrow, while Al Sadd will travel to Dubai to take on the UAE’s Al Wasl on Tuesday in Group C.
Another top Qatar team, Al Rayyan, will meet Iran’s Esteghlal in a Goup D clash on Tuesday.