His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, received members of the UAE national football team, winners of the Gulf Cup, at Za’abeel Palace on Sunday. Addressing the team, Shaikh Mohammed said he had followed their training since the beginning and their match in Khaleeji 1, especially their final match with Iraq. He added that he was pleased about the national coherence and concord among the players on the pitch as well as between them and UAE supporters. “This embodies the spirit of national belonging for this precious country.” Shaikh Mohammed received the Gulf Cup from the team’s captain Ismail Mattar and greeted the members of the team, administrative and technical committee members and mediamen. He congratulated them on this great national achievement, which not only swept the UAE with joy but also the Gulf at large. Shaikh Mohammed ordered an allocation of Dh50 million as a grant to the members of the UAE national football team, in appreciation to their achievement of winning the 21st Gulf Cup championship. Dubai Crown Prince Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum; Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development and head of the General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al Owais; Director of Dubai Ruler’s Office Lt. General Musabbah Rashid Al Fattan; Director of General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs-Dubai Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri; Chairman of the UAE Football Association Yousef Al Serkal; Dubai Director of Protocol and Hospitality Khalifa Saeed Suleiman and members of the UAE Football Association and other sports figures were present at the meeting. From KhaleejTimes