FIFA Club World Cup, scheduled for February in Abu Dhabi, may be subject to host change due to recent developments. Abu Dhabi was the target of two attacks by the Houthi movement.
The UAE detected and blasted two ballistic missiles over the capital on Monday. Yemeni Houthi forces launched the missiles, marking the newest intensification in the country’s seven-year conflict. The incident comes less than a week after A drone and missile attack on Abu Dhabi airport that claimed three.
Emirati officials the fragments of the deflected missiles landed in distant regions near Abu Dhabi. The defense ministry explained in a statement that it is willing to confront any attacks and adopts all required steps to safeguard the country.
The recent developments and threats against Abu Dhabi impacted all other spheres of societal and international spheres. Among others, the upcoming Club World Cup 2021 in Abu Dhabi may be subject to new decisions by FIFA officials.
Despite the intensification of war conditions, FIFA believes the Club World Cup 2021 will take place according to the schedules. If no changes occur in future days, the games will take place in February in Abu Dhabi.
The Club World Cup includes regional winners from across the world and teams from the host state. The 2021 games will start in 10 days and continue for 9 days.
The increase in military face-offs and the double assaults have cast suspicion on the game’s viability. FIFA, football’s international council, still insists that it would go as planned despite potential risks.
“When it comes to security at the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2021, FIFA is continuing to monitor the situation and working closely with the Local Organizing Committee, and other key stakeholders in the UAE, regarding security arrangements for the tournament,” a FIFA official asserted.
FIFA Club World Cup 2021; Consequences of a War
The AP revealed early on Monday that footages on social media depicted the sky over Emirati capital before dawn. The light beams raised suspicions about missile strikes, later confirmed by defense officials.
The UAE is suffering from the remnants of a war that it launched under the influence of Saudi Arabia. Seven years after the aggressions against Yemen, the Houthi forces are stronger than ever and can target points inside Saudi Arabia and UAE.
Yemen’s civil war started in 2014, when Houthi forces gained control in most regions including the capital. The popular uprising prompted then President Mansour Hadi to leave power
Violence spread months later in 2015, when Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, under the patronage of Washington policies, formed a military alliance. the alliance aimed to support of Hadi’s administration and was successful in driving the Houthi movement out of the country’s southern regions.
The exhaustive war in Yemen led the country into a humanitarian disaster, rare in human history. Neither Washington nor Riyadh were able to meet their aims while leaving hundreds of thousands of victims and millions homeless.
While the outcome of military alliance for Yemen was blood, famine, and insecurity, the assailants found no better rewards. Saudi Arabia spent millions in the war only to find its oil infrastructure exposed to threats. Losing Trump administration’s support, Riyadh meant to forsake the war but failed.
As with UAE, the country was in a war that would have no positive outcome for it. Abu Dhabi is paying the price for other counties’ war.
FIFA Club World Cup may prove a deflation for Abu Dhabi if any changes occur in coming days. The Houthi movement promised to keep the offensive against Abu Dhabi; Runners can’t stop running abruptly.
