More than 50 teams came to Dubai to prepare for Olympics, other championships

The UAE continues to be the preferred destination of international teams, as they prepare for the upcoming Olympics and other major championships, with Dubai’s world-class stadiums and sports halls bustling with activity over the past few months, hosting some of the world’s top athletes in a safe environment, with gold-standard COVID-19 safety protocols in place.

Since the beginning of the year, Dubai has hosted training camps and friendly matches for more than 50 international teams in different sports, including swimming, synchronised swimming, modern pentathlon, cycling, tennis, football, badminton, cricket, rugby, golf, and more.

The first three months of 2021 have seen the Hungarian synchronised swimming team camp at the Hamdan Sports Complex, alongside the Tokyo-bound Czech national modern pentathlon team. The Denmark badminton team, led by their 2017 World Champion and current men’s world No 2, Viktor Axelsen, was also camping in Dubai, as well as a number of Arab, Asian and African football teams, who are preparing for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers and the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.

Asian and European football clubs have also had their camps in Dubai in the past three months, alongside a number of tennis and paddle players, who have regularly used the Emirate to prepare for events.

Joining the list are 14 Tokyo Olympics-bound rugby teams, who are arriving in Dubai for a friendly tournament later this month as they prepare for the Olympic games, which are scheduled to start July 23 and close on August 8.

The tournament, which will be hosted by the UAE Rugby Federation, in cooperation with the Dubai Sports Council, Emirates Airlines, and the International and Asian rugby federations, will feature seven men’s team – Spain, France, Japan, Canada, Argentina, Uganda, Chile– while teams from the United States, France, Kenya, Japan, Brazil and Canada will compete in the women’s event.

The tournament will be held at Emirates Airline’s The Sevens Stadium, which is home of the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens tournament, and the tournament will take place in a “bubble”, in accordance with all COVID-19 protocols mandated by authorities.

The Dubai Sports Council is in regular communication with various international bodies wishing to set up their camps or competitions in Dubai during the coming period, to facilitate their trips and ensure all COVID-19 precautionary measures are carried out to ensure the health and safety of athletes and staff.