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Abu Dhabi will soon play host to the Carlton Football Club, one of Australia’s most distinguished sporting teams, who have chosen the UAE as their training base for a week-long high performance, pre-season camp.
The club, which is based in Melbourne, is the most successful team within Australia’s largest and most popular domestic sporting organisation - the Australian Football League (AFL).
In its first ever visit to the region, the club is spending two weeks based at the ASPIRE Academy for Sport Excellence in Qatar with the delegation of 50 players, coaches and fitness staff then set to arrive in Abu Dhabi on November 3.
The team will utilize the world-class training facilities at the Emirates Palace and will have the opportunity to experience a vast array of recreational activities across Abu Dhabi for team development and bonding.
“We are honored to be part of this event and to host Carlton Football Club at Emirates Palace and in Abu Dhabi which is certainly becoming the region’s sports city and hub,” said Bugra Berberoglu, Emirates Palace General Manager. The club will find all it needs with the wealth of facilities and services the Palace will offer especially with our sports facilities that are second to none.”
Top of the team’s agenda will be hosting a unique community sporting event on Friday November 4 at the Emirates Palace.
The day will include an open training session aimed at educating the public about AFL, followed by an introductory youth training session held by the players for children aged five to 12.
Former AFL premiership player, now Carlton’s Senior Coach, Brett Ratten said the team was very excited about their first visit to Abu Dhabi and was looking forward to spending time introducing the concepts of AFL to the locals.
“Our time in Abu Dhabi will be divided between our pre-season training commitments as well as promoting our team and our game within the region,” Brett said.
“There is a lot of interest in our trip from our members and supporters, so we are look forward to experiencing all the gifts the UAE has to offer and promoting this back to Australia.”
Carlton’s visit has already generated much attention from Australian media and will provide a direct boost in promoting Abu Dhabi tourism opportunities into the Australian market.
The visit was a direct outcome of a previous Emirati delegation trip earlier this year to Australia, by the Department of Municipal Affairs, who were looking at infrastructure management and world’s best practice.
“As a football team we are looking for every advantage to ensure that we can move to the top of our game, which is why we decided to hold our first overseas pre-season training camp here,” Brett said.
“With a wealth of training and leisure facilities, Abu Dhabi is a top international sports hub for elite sporting clubs across the world, who are looking to push the benchmarks of their pre-season training.”
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