Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh decided to encourage Yemenis to attend the opening ceremony of the Gulf Cup and watch the first soccer match soccer 'free of charge', state media reported late Monday. The opening ceremony and the first match is scheduled on Monday between Yemeni national team and their Saudi counterpart in May 22 Stadium in the southern city of Aden. Eight teams from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Iraq and host Yemen have arrived in Aden to take part in the tournament to be held from Nov. 22 to Dec. 4. Around 30,000 troops have been stationed across the southern province of Aden and Abyen to protect stadiums, hotels and audience from any possible terrorist attacks from al-Qaida and armed separatist groups. Due to growing fears of possible terrorist attack, thousands of football fans prefer to watch the tournament via televisions rather than venturing to enter the stadium to cheer their favorite teams. 