Al Nasr will play a friendly against German side Hamburg at the Maktoum Stadium on January 9 from 7.45pm, it was announced on Monday.
The friendly will be known as the Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Challenge Cup, named after Al Nasr’s chairman, Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance.
Hamburg’s top names include the likes of Croatia and former Barcelona striker Alen Halilovic and former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Lewis Holtby.
The one-time European Cup winners are currently second from bottom in the Bundesliga and will use their winter break in Dubai to try and prepare for a battle against relegation this season.
Al Nasr are also underachieving. The Blue Wave are ranked eighth in the Arabian Gulf League after losing four out of the first games of the season, but since Dan Petrescu took over from Ivan Jovanovic in October they have mounted a resurgence, winning five of the last seven matches.
Entrance for the friendly is free and on a first come first serve basis, but VIP seating is invite only.
Al Nasr vice-chairman Ahmad Al Khoury said the club are looking to make the Challenge Cup an annual occasion, expanding to more teams from areas other than just Europe, with Indian clubs also muted as a possible option.
“His Highness [Shaikh Hamdan] wants to make this not just a match but a social occasion where families, children and the community can come together, unfortunately this year we could only bring Hamburg but next year there will be more clubs.
“It’s the vision of His Highness to bring top European clubs but we will also look to Japanese and Korean clubs if they are free.
“We would also like to target Indian clubs, we saw Atletico Kolkata beat Kerala on Sunday night and there was a massive crowd of 70,000, so maybe India might be another option, but we will leave that to the committee to decide.”
Asked if Al Nasr would be making any new signings in the January transfer window in time for the friendly, Al Khoury replied: “Anything is possible. This match is very important for Al Nasr. We have Wanderley who has been suspended (for playing on false documents) and injuries to other players, so this is the ideal time for a big test for Al Nasr. Hopefully everything will work out positively from today onwards.
“We want to bring Wanderley and all the injured players back together for this match to give a good example of ourselves before the second half of the league.”
The match clashes with the semi-finals of the Arabian Gulf Cup on January 9 and although Al Nasr are no longer in that competition Al Khoury said they tried their best to change the date so as not to distract the crowds from other matches.
“Hamburg already had some commitments while they are here and so we felt January 9 was the ideal date to stage the match despite the fact it clashes with the Arabian Gulf Cup semi-finals. We tried to manage this properly but on the days either side there were also clashes with other events. We will try to do more advanced planning in the future.”
Along with Hamburg in the UAE, fellow German side Frankfurt will be training in Abu Dhabi in January, while Scottish sides Celtic and Aberdeen will be on camp in Dubai.
