Fireworks and stars to shine on Al Jazira's night

In a memorable season of gongs, glory and gimmicks, Al Jazira were never going to end their historic campaign in quiet fashion.

Jazira's final league match at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on Sunday will include fireworks, international singers and one fan guaranteed to win a Dh1 million Ferrari.

Phil Anderton, the Al Jazira chief executive, yesterday confirmed a list of musical acts including the American writer/rapper Timbaland, the Lebanese star Haifa Wehbe and local favourite Hussain al Jamsi. They will perform live before, during and after the match.

Rahul Dravid, the former Indian cricket captain, will also be at the game.

The team will be paraded soon on an open-top bus through the capital, Anderton said.

The event has been dubbed "A Celebration of Champions" and commemorates Jazira's league and President's Cup double. The club had never before won either trophy. "We expect it to be a memorable evening," Anderton said.

He said the league-leaders in attendance had counted fans from 43 nations among their league-record crowd of 28,164 on October 22. "It's been a great season for crowds at the stadium," he said.

The club's approach to widening its support is to entice fans into the stadium with the idea that they will return. "It has been important for us to get this fan-base of people who are passionate about Al Jazira and passionate about sport," Anderton said. "We have tried a lot of things this season, many of which have worked, and we will continue to come up with new ideas."

Jazira can now claim to being the best-supported team in the UAE, and they want to continue to build their brand and profile.

"We want to establish a major support base in the country and then look to strengthen our name abroad," Anderton said. "But I think we first of all have to build up our popularity here.

"We have 8,000 names on a database of supporters from this season and it's now up to us to continue to attract them to the matches.

"However, our long-term goal is to attract major support outside the UAE. We want Al Jazira to be famous for our achievements on the field as well as off it."

Entrance is free and tickets are available in Abu Dhabi malls and at the ground, including on Sunday. Gates open at 4pm, the show starts at 6pm and the game kicks off at 7.55pm.

ncameron@thenational.ae