Uzbek supporters struggle for seats in UAE

On June 5, the Uzbekistan national football team will play a crucial match against the United Arab Emirates as part of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying round in Abu Dhabi. Tickets allocated for Uzbek fans at Al Nahyan Stadium have already sold out. This information is available on the only official ticketing platform: "Ticketmaster.ae".

Sectors 24, 25, and 26 of the 15,894-seat Al Nahyan Stadium were designated for Uzbek fans. To purchase tickets for these sections, fans were required to provide passport details. Orders placed by visiting team supporters who purchased tickets in home-team sections will be canceled. Such tickets will not grant entry to the stadium, and the cost will be refunded within 5–10 business days.

In a controversial move, the platform—typically available in English and Arabic—added a Russian-language notice explaining this new rule. This has sparked dissatisfaction and heated debate among Uzbek supporters.

“If it is true that Uzbeks residing in the UAE have tickets that are ‘void,’ then this is a huge deception. At the very least, this should have been clearly stated before the ticket purchase. If this rule had existed from the start, we wouldn’t have bought tickets,” wrote the author of the Telegram channel “Sabitov.”

Many fans claim the tickets sold out almost instantly after sales opened.

“They were gone the same day ticket sales started. We didn’t even have a chance—they sold out immediately,” one fan said.

Jamshid Sunnatov, a representative from a travel agency, stated that $5.50 tickets were likely purchased in bulk. Meanwhile, fan zone tickets reserved for members of the Uzbek national team’s fan club cost $100 and can only be distributed by “a well-known blogger.” Tour packages to the UAE, which usually cost $300–$400, have surged to $650–$700 in anticipation of the match.

Previously, the Uzbekistan Football Association warned fans not to purchase “guaranteed match ticket” packages offered by various tour companies. The Association stressed that due to high demand for this match, some travel agencies were making misleading offers.

The UAE–Uzbekistan match will kick off at 21:00 Tashkent time. The Uzbekistan national team currently sits in second place in Group A with 17 points from 8 matches. The UAE follows with 13 points, while Qatar ranks third with 10 points. A draw against the UAE will be enough to secure Uzbekistan's historic first-ever qualification for the World Cup.