Having had one of their most successful performances in the AFC Asian Cup in recent decades, with Al Ain making it to the final of the Club World Cup against Real Madrid, and with the national-level game in the UAE gaining more commercial interest than ever, is this a golden era for football in the country?

In this episode of The Big Listen, we chat about the national and domestic level of football in the UAE after recent times of unprecedented success, and bring in Chris Brown from It’s Just Football to join resident footy fans Tim Skinner (Head of Video Content) and Dean Wilkins (Editor, Time Out DXB).

The three talk about the international success of the UAE after hosting the AFC Asian Cup in 2019 and how it can translate a semi-final appearance to a tournament-winning team in years to come. They also chat about youth football in the UAE, coaching at grass-roots level and how Dubai residents can, firstly, go to watch the big Dubai teams in the UAE Pro League and, secondly, how to go about getting involved with football at an amateur level.