Athletes and technical experts have identified six technical and administrative reasons behind the failures of the senior age teams during their official participation in the recent period, especially the junior, youth and Olympic teams, after these teams had an early farewell to the foreign tournaments in which they participated, the most recent of which was the failure of the Olympic team and its early exit from the AFC Asian Cup finals. 23 years, which is currently being held in Doha, and before that he also failed in the West Asian Championship, which was held in Saudi Arabia last March, and at the youth team level, he failed to qualify for the AFC U-20 Cup, which was held in Uzbekistan last year, after competing in the qualifying rounds within the group. Tenth, and it finished third, knowing that the group included Iran, Brunei, and Kyrgyzstan. The junior team born in 2008 also bid farewell to the tenth West Asian Championship, which was held in Oman last December, after losing to Yemen by two goals in the semi-finals.
Athletes pointed out that the most prominent reason for the decline in the results and levels of the national teams at the various age levels is the clubs’ lack of interest in the age sector, whether at the level of football schools or academies, as these clubs have become dependent on the ready-made player, in addition to the lack of a plan and vision. There is a clear joint agreement between the Football Association and the clubs to develop the youth stage sector, despite its importance, in addition to the large numerical increase in the category of resident players who participate in the age group competitions, which negatively affects the citizen player, and thus is reflected in the national teams, and the lack of good preparation, in addition to Most of the players in these teams are not given the opportunity to participate primarily with their teams in the various local competitions, in addition to the lack of stability in the technical staff, the constant changes of the coaches of the senior teams, and the absence of a technical committee in the Football Association, so that it is responsible for these teams, contrary to what was previously. It happened in the past, when there was a technical committee that included personalities known for their experience and competence in the technical field.
They told «Emirates Today»: “The failure of the Olympic team during its last participation in the AFC U-23 Cup finals, and its exposure to three successive defeats against South Korea, Japan and China, and before that, the significant decline in the results of the youth and junior teams, must be a new starting point for this. The national teams, through the Football Association’s careful study, knowing all the reasons that led to these failures, and working to find the necessary solutions to them from all aspects, so that they are not repeated every time.”
The athletes pointed out that the decline of the senior national teams, especially the Olympic team, which is considered a auxiliary to the first team, will reflect negatively on the first team during its upcoming participations, which requires intervention, correcting mistakes, and developing realistic solutions that will help the national teams recover.
The failures of the Olympic team and its early exit from the AFC U-23 Cup finals, which were held in Doha, represented a great shock in sports circles, as its exit dashed hopes of qualifying for the next Olympic Games (Paris 2024), and thus not repeating the scenario of the historical achievement achieved by qualifying. To the London Olympics in 2012 for the first time in the history of UAE football.
A series of failures
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Fujairah Club, Nasser Al-Yamahi, described what happened to the Sunni teams in football during the past periods as a series of continuous failures, indicating that the reasons for these failures are shared between the Football Association, the clubs and the teams, and that radical solutions must be found for them, considering that… The most prominent of these reasons is the large increase in the number of players in the resident category who participate in the age-level competitions, which deprived the national players of the opportunity to participate mainly with their teams, and this matter was negatively reflected on the age-level teams during their foreign participation.
Al-Yamahi, who previously served as a member of the Football Association’s Board of Directors, said: “The Football Association must reorganize the competitions of the age groups, by reducing the number of players from the resident category, so that their presence does not negatively affect the citizen player, and that is through the presence of a special committee that supervises On the competitions of the age levels, or a subcommittee of the national teams committee in the Football Association, so that it is concerned with developing the age levels, provided that a technical committee consisting of coaches of the teams and clubs is also formed to develop the competitions.
Al Yamahi pointed out that the Olympic team in particular suffered from this problem, as most of its players are reserves in the league, and do not play as starters for the first team, with the exception of only one or two players, and thus this matter reflected negatively on the Olympic team.
Lack of interest
In turn, sports commentator and technical analyst Ali Hamid confirmed that there are several reasons behind the failures of the Sunni teams during their recent participations, foremost of which is the clubs’ lack of interest in the Sunni level sector, whether at the level of football academies or the different age groups, because these clubs have become dependent on the player. The ready player comes at the expense of the citizen player, in addition to the large numerical increase in the category of resident player at the expense of the citizen player, and the clubs in recent times have no longer served the national teams, by presenting talented players who can provide the required addition to these teams, in addition to the preparation periods. It was not enough for the teams of the age groups, and as an example of this is the Olympic team that participated in the recent Asian Cup finals in Doha, where its preparation was not at the required level, even though Uruguayan coach Marcelo Broli, who took over the task of coaching the team a short time ago, tried to make his mark. But the time in front of him was short, and it did not help him to convey his ideas to the players.
Ali Hamid added: “Among the things that also caused the failures of the Sunni national teams was the lack of stability in the technical staff and the constant changes at the level of the coaches of these teams, the most recent of which was the change of the coach of the Olympic team last February, shortly before the start of the Asian Cup finals.”
He stressed the importance of implementing regulations that suit the interests of these teams and putting them first.
Ali Hamid warned that the results of these teams will decline to the worst in the coming period if these reasons are not remedied, stressing that there was no clear and unified vision by the Football Association and the clubs to create strong teams at different age levels.
A technical committee follows up the teams
For his part, national coach Rashid Amer confirmed that one of the reasons for the decline in the results of the Sunni teams in the recent period is the lack of a technical committee in the Football Association, which supervises these teams, follows up their work, and evaluates the work of the coaches, in contrast to what was happening previously, as there was a committee. It includes personalities known for their experience and competence in this field, and this committee is the one that directly follows up and evaluates the work of the coaches and technical staff, supervises the teams and their needs, and provides the required administrative and technical support.
He pointed out that the preparation of teams in previous years was significantly different, as special training centers were established to prepare these teams, noting that the talented players in these teams were gathered two days every week, so that they trained with each other, and after that matches were held to select them. Prominent players, then external preparation camps are held in the summer for these players to gain experience and exposure.
Rashid Amer added: “For me, I experienced these periods during which the teams of the Sunni stages were prepared differently, as I was then responsible for the training centers in the Football Association, then responsible for the Sunni teams, and my last period in the Football Association was director of the teams’ administration. These teams constantly participated in international tournaments, in which the most prestigious European teams participated, and they had a significant positive impact in raising the level of players and improving the teams’ results.”
Rashid Amer considered that the main reason for the Olympic team’s exit from the last Asian Cup, and its failure to qualify for the Olympic Games (Paris 2024), was its lack of adequate preparation, in addition to the fact that the team played in a very difficult group, which included South Korea, Japan, and China. The national team coach was changed with a new coach who took over the task shortly before the start of the tournament, and he had a negative impact, considering that time also did not allow coach Broly to prepare well and establish his philosophy as a coach.
Double the preparation time
For his part, technical analyst and former Al-Nasr team manager, Khaled Obaid, confirmed that the Olympic team and its players missed playing many matches, as most of the players did not participate with their clubs in the professional league, with the exception of one or two players, and he pointed out that this means fewer playing minutes. In matches, which greatly affects the level of players in a negative way when they join the national team and participate in continental tournaments.
He said: “In addition to the lack of players participating in the matches, there is a noticeable weakness in the preparation period, as the competing teams have been preparing to participate in the Asian Cup for at least two years, while the Olympic team was prepared a few months before the start of the tournament, specifically when it participated in the tournament.” The final West Asian Cup is in Saudi Arabia, and then travel to Doha to participate in the Asian Cup.
Khaled Obaid added: “You cannot compete with strong teams in a continental championship with such weak preparation, which affected the modest appearance of the players and the team, and caused these negative results, early exit from the tournament, and the loss of the dream of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics.”
He continued: “The preparation of the teams must be from a young age, starting with the juniors and juniors, then the Olympic team. Unfortunately, this situation will be repeated with the rest of the teams, as long as the preparation and planning is done in this way.”
• 3 consecutive losses suffered by the Olympic team during its last participation in the AFC U-23 Cup.
• The failure of the Olympic team and its early exit from the Asian Cup finals was a major shock in sports circles, as its exit dashed hopes of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
9 defeats for the Olympic team in 2024
Official statistics monitored by Emirates Today revealed that the Olympic team has suffered nine consecutive defeats since the beginning of this year, the last of which was the three defeats in the Asian Cup qualifiers, and before that it suffered various defeats during friendly and official matches, while the last victory achieved by the Olympic team was on January 20. Last, during a friendly match against the Saudi national team, the Olympic Whites won with two goals to none.
The team lost to: Egypt (two matches), Iraq (two matches), Thailand and Indonesia, and finally to South Korea, Japan and China in the Asian Cup.