DUBAI — Saudi Arabia will travel to next month’s AFC Asian Cup 2019 as one of the favorites to lift the title come Feb. 1 in the UAE. The Green Falcons are no strangers to tasting Asian Cup glory having triumphed three times in their history. Ironically, their last title came in 1996 when the UAE were hosts, and given their strength and experience, Saudi Arabia will be one of the teams to beat.

Head coach Juan Antonio Pizzi will have plenty of quality at his disposal including Salem Al Dawsei. The 27-year-old attacker, who spent six months on loan at La Liga’s Villarreal last season, has gone from strength to strength since making his debut and his versatility to play across the midfield, speed and creativity is something that opponents should be wary of.

He is just one of the exciting players that Saudi Arabia fans can look forward to watching in Dubai. Saudi Arabian open their campaign against North Korea on Jan. 8 at Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium and then face Lebanon at Al-Maktoum Stadium on Jan. 12.

Elsewhere, there will be some drivers looking to fly the Saudi Arabia flag high at the Hankook 24HR Dubai. Between Jan. 10 and 12 at Dubai Autodrome, Abdulaziz Al Faisal and Saud Al Faisal will team up with Germany’s Hubert Haupt and Yelmer Buurman of Netherlands for Black Falcons.

Mohammed Saud Fahad Al Saud will be the only Saudi driver for WRT, which includes Michael Vergers (Netherlands), Sheldon van der Linde (South Africa) and Dries Vanthoor (Belgium).

In the New Year, the countdown to the one of the most significant events on the Dubai sporting calendar begins with the Dubai World Cup Carnival at Meydan on Jan. 3.

Twenty-four hours later, all eyes will be on the UAE as the country hosts the AFC Asian Cup for the second time in their history from Jan. 5. Twenty-four nations including hosts UAE, regional heavyweights and three-time champions Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain will be hoping to get their hands on the biggest prize in Asian football come Feb. 1.

Dubai will play a big role in the competition with the refurbished Al-Maktoum Stadium and Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium staging 11 matches in total. Those include Bahrain’s Group A clash against Thailand on Jan. 10 and Saudi Arabia’s Group E match against Lebanon on Jan. 12 at the Al Maktoum Stadium.

Saudi Arabia will also be the only GCC nation to play at the 12,000-capacity Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium when they open their campaign against North Korea on Jan. 8.

For motorsport enthusiasts, the Dubai Autodrome will be the place to be from January 10 to 12 for the Hankook 24HR Dubai. The event never fails to disappoint and 2019 will be no different as more than 90 teams from 40 countries will take to the track in their bid of standing top of the podium.

Away from the track, the iconic Emirates Golf Club will again host some of the world-class golfers who will be teeing off at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. It promises to be a special occasion considering it will be the 30th edition and given the strength of the field in previous year, there’s guaranteed to be plenty of drama on the greens between Jan. 24 to 27.

There will another milestone when the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon returns for the 20th edition on Jan. 25. Billed as the richest marathon in the world, it has become a prominent event in the Emirate and always attracts the very best elite athletes. And given the number of running community events in the country, there will be no shortage of numbers when it comes to entry numbers.

The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium will once again be a bee-hive as the world-class venue hosts a fortnight of thrilling tennis. The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships will begin with the women’s event on Feb. 17 followed by the men’s action with the winner lifting the title on March 2. The line-up has yet to be revealed but with big names Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer taking to the court before, spectators can expect to see plenty of top stars over the two weeks.

There will be a first for Dubai when the Emirate hosts the WSF World Snooker Championships. From March 28 to April 7, the event will begin with the Mixed Gender tournament and then World Women’s competition. This will be followed by the main WSF championship which will see the top eight players battle for top honors at Dubai World Trade Centre. It will be the first time Dubai will stage the event after Malta hosted the inaugural edition last year.

The iconic Meydan race track will be at the center of attention on March 30 when the UAE’s horse racing season comes to a conclusion with the Dubai World Cup. Godolphin’s Thunder Snow triumphed in the main race of the night to delight the home fans earlier this year and with the world’s best horses and international celebrities in attendance, the Dubai World Cup is certainly one not to miss. — SG