Abu Dhabi’s Al Wahda Club to drop out of Asian Champions League due to suspected Covid case

Abu Dhabi’s Al Wahda Club will be not be participating in the Asian Champions League set to begin next week in Qatar after a staff member is suspected to have contracted the Covid-19 virus.

“The Abu Dhabi Sports Council, in cooperation with the Department of Health and the Abu Dhabi Public Health Center, applies precautionary and preventative measures after a suspected case of infection with Covid-19 among Al Wahda Club’s staff,” the Abu Dhabi Media Office said on Twitter.

“Those in close contact were placed on a 14-day quarantine, with testing to be conducted as per approved protocol.

“Accordingly, the team will not be able to travel to participate in the AFC Champions League in order to complete the quarantine period, which overlaps with the tournament’s matches,” it added.

Accordingly, the team will not be able to travel to participate in the AFC Champions League in order to complete the quarantine period, which overlaps with the tournament’s matches

— مكتب أبوظبي الإعلامي (@admediaoffice) September 10, 2020

The Asian Champions League, initially slated to take place in March, moved to a new schedule due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Along with Al Wahda, three other UAE sides are slated to take part in the preliminary West Asia matches including – Shabab Al Ahli, Sharjah and Al Ain.

The group stage matches will begin on September 14, with the semi-finals scheduled for October 3.