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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
John Duerden

Football’s unlikeliest global brand: how Fleetwood made it big in the UAE

Fleetwood United players and staff celebrate on 6 April 2024 after winning the United Arab Emirates second division
Fleetwood United players and staff celebrate on 6 April 2024 after winning the United Arab Emirates second division. Photograph: fleetwoodunitedfc/instagram

Fleetwood United’s celebrations on becoming second division champions in the United Arab Emirates could not be dampened even by a freak thunderstorm in Dubai. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” the captain, Ben Pringle, told the Guardian. “It was the most rain they have had for 75 years. Cars were underwater on the motorway.”

This is not supposed to happen in the glittering city of skyscrapers and excitement but then Fleetwood Town, a club that have just dropped into England’s fourth tier, are not really supposed to be at the head of a stable of international clubs that also includes Waterford FC in Ireland and Western Cape Fleetwood in South Africa.

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