UAEFA chief Marwan bin Ghalita looks at broader picture

UAE Football Association President Marwan bin Ghalita has said that they need to look at the "broader picture" by engaging the massive expat population and also added that it was vital to bring the love back to the beautiful game.

Marwan bin Ghalita, who was elected as the FA President in April this year, was also pleased to see an Emirati become the coach of the Jordan team.

"Football is not restricted to the locals alone. We should look at a broad picture. We have to change the concept that football is restricted to our own citizens. There are lot of communities in the UAE and we should engage them to make football even more popular in the UAE," Marwan bin Ghalita said on Tuesday.

The UAE is home to more than 200 nationalities.

Marwan bin Ghalita was speaking at the 11th Dubai International Sports Conference and was part of a three-man panel that included Portuguese Federation President Fernando Gomes and Italian Football Federation President Carlo Tavecchio.

The three spoke on 'Sharing the Best Practices of Good Governance in National Football Associations.'

"Previously we had people who loved football more than now. People like football but we want them to love football. I need those days to come back, those glory days of football in the UAE. The PLC (Pro League Committee) is doing a good job in attracting more fans but we need to work more. All the Sports Councils should work even harder to get more fans to the stadiums," said Marwan bin Ghalita.

Marwan bin Ghalita also said that there have been partnerships between the UAEFA as well as European clubs over the past few decades and have adopted various standards.