Borussia Dortmund are to hold their winter training camp in Dubai as part of a policy of reaching out to new markets.
On Thursday, the 2013 Champions League finalists announced that after previously going to Spain they would visit Dubai in January to expand their "internationalisation strategy."
Dortmund will use training facilities at the NAS Sports Complex between Jan. 7 and Jan. 16.
"After several years of spending parts of January in Spain, we also wanted to provide new stimuli for the team," sporting director Michael Zorc said on the club's official website.
Dortmund addressed early criticism of the move by saying: "In spite of lucrative offers, BVB rejected several requests for friendlies from countries in which the human rights situation does not align with Borussia Dortmund's standards or an open discussion about human rights is not possible."
At the start of this year, Bayern Munich faced anger from fans, media and politicians for holding a training camp in Qatar amid concerns over the human rights situation in the Gulf state.
Dortmund said of the visit to Dubai: "In spite of lucrative offers, BVB rejected several requests for friendlies from countries in which the human rights situation does not align with Borussia Dortmund's standards or an open discussion about human rights is not possible."
Meanwhile, Bundesliga clubs including Hertha Berlin, Werder Bremen, Hamburg and Hannover are set to hold their winter training camps in Belek, Turkey, a one-hour flight away from the Syrian border.
Speaking to kicker, Hannover CEO Martin Bader said that the training camp would go ahead as scheduled despite the ongoing crisis in the region.
"To date we don't have any worries, but we are in constant exchange with the German vice-consul in Antalya," he said, adding that the club would abide by travel advice released by the German Foreign Office.
Bader said: "We would also swap ideas with the other clubs and, in the worst case, stay in Hannover."
In an interview with Bild, Bremen CEO Thomas Eichin said: "There is no plan B, and it's not possible. We have signed a contract.
"In case of a disaster beyond all expectations we have to stay here, we can't just book another hotel elsewhere. That's not how it works."