UAE Pro League facts for kids

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Persian Gulf League

Organising body	Persian Gulf League Committee
Founded	1973; 51 years ago (1973)
Country	United Arab Emirates
Confederation	AFC
Number of teams	14
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	First Division League
Domestic cup(s)	UAE President's Cup UAE Super Cup
League cup(s)	UAE League Cup
International cup(s)	AFC Champions League Elite AFC Champions League Two
Current champions	Al Wasl FC (8th title) (2023–24)
Most championships	Al Ain (14 titles)
TV partners	Abu Dhabi Sports Dubai Sports Sharjah Sports Fanseat

The Persian Gulf UAE Pro League (Arabic: دوري المحترفين الإماراتي), known for sponsorship reasons as the ADNOC Pro League, is the top professional football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The first team to win the title was Al Orouba (Sharjah), whilst Al Ain has the record with 14 league titles to their name. Fourteen clubs compete in the League that operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the First Division League.

The League was founded in 1973 as the UAE Football League. The first 1973–74 season was a "trial" championship but was declared official by the UAE FA in 2001. In February 2007, the Pro League Committee was formed, and became the organising body of the League.

Name change
Ranking
Clubs
- Member clubs (2023–24)
- Seasons in Pro League
Managers
List of champions
Champions
Players
See also

Name change

Starting from the 2006–07 season the name was changed from UAE League to Etisalat League. And since the 2013–14 season, the name was changed from Etisalat Pro League to Arabian Gulf League, which was named after the Arabian Gulf as per the chairman of Pro League Committee. However, the name change has been viewed as a revival of the Persian Gulf naming dispute with Iran accusing the United Arab Emirates of bigotry, and the Iranian Football Federation barring the transfer of Javad Nekounam to a UAE club. After about four months of the name change a 70 million AED one-year renewable partnership deal was announced with Arabian Gulf Development to be named Official Title Partner. On 8 August, the Pro League signed a new partnership deal with ADNOC worth 80 million AED, from the start of the 2021–22 season, the league was renamed to the UAE's ADNOC Pro League.

Ranking

As of 26 May 2024

Ranking				Member association (L: League, C: Cup, LC: League cup)	Club points								Total	2025–26 Competition
2023–24	2022	Mvmt	Region	Member association (L: League, C: Cup, LC: League cup)	2015 (×0.3)	2016 (×0.4)	2017 (×0.5)	2018 (×0.6)	2019 (×0.7)	2021 (×0.8)	2022 (×0.9)	2023–24 (×1.0)	Total	ACL Elite	ACL Two	Challenge
1	1	—	W 1	Saudi Arabia (L, C)	15.250	9.500	18.600	10.000	26.350	20.950	19.075	27.100	103.148	3+0	1+0	0
2	2	—	E 1	Japan (L, C, LC)	15.250	10.500	21.850	13.850	21.800	17.875	20.088	21.350	96.999	3+0	1+0	0
3	3	—	E 2	South Korea (L, C)	16.750	20.750	9.950	18.350	13.600	22.750	15.800	22.350	93.600	2+1	1+0	0
4	6	+2	W 2	United Arab Emirates (L, C)	25.000	18.000	11.350	8.100	7.633	14.400	8.083	24.000	73.373	2+1	1+0	0

Clubs

Member clubs (2023–24)

Note: Table lists clubs in alphabetical order.

Club	Home city	Stadium	Capacity
Ajman	Ajman	Ajman Stadium	5,537
Al Ain	Al-Ain	Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium	22,965
Al Bataeh	Al Bataeh	Al Bataeh Stadium	2,000
Al Jazira	Abu Dhabi (Al Nahyan)	Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium	42,056
Al Nasr	Dubai (Oud Metha)	Al-Maktoum Stadium	15,058
Al Wahda	Abu Dhabi (Al Nahyan)	Al Nahyan Stadium	12,201
Al Wasl	Dubai (Zabeel)	Zabeel Stadium	8,439
Baniyas	Abu Dhabi (Al Shamkha)	Baniyas Stadium	10,000
Emirates	Ras Al Khaimah	Emirates Club Stadium	5,200
Hatta	Hatta	Hamdan Bin Rashid Stadium	5,000
Kalba	Kalba	Ittihad Kalba Stadium	8,500
Khor Fakkan	Khor Fakkan	Saqr bin Mohammad al Qassimi Stadium	7,500
Shabab Al Ahli	Dubai (Deira)	Rashid Stadium	12,052
Sharjah	Sharjah	Sharjah Stadium	20,000

Prior to UAE League's transition to the professional era in 2008, many clubs have competed in the country's top tier division from 1973–74 to 2007–08. The below list is clubs that have competed in the UAE top-tier league since the Pro League era starting in 2008–09.

Seasons in Pro League

15 seasons: Al Ain, Al Jazira, Al Nasr, Al Wahda, Al Wasl
14 seasons: Sharjah
13 seasons: Al Dhafra, Baniyas
12 seasons: Ajman
10 seasons: Emirates
9 seasons: Al Ahli, Al Shabab, Kalba
6 seasons: Dibba Al Fujairah, Shabab Al Ahli
5 seasons: Khor Fakkan
4 seasons: Al Shaab, Dubai, Fujairah, Hatta
2 seasons: Al Bataeh
1 season: Al Urooba

Notes:

Italtics indicates that the club no longer exists
Bold indicates that the club is still competing in the UAE Pro League as of 2023–24

Managers

Nat.	Name	Club	Appointed	Time in charge
Romania	Cosmin Olăroiu	Sharjah	10 November 2021	894 days
Serbia	Marko Nikolić	Shabab Al-Ahli	2 June 2023	325 days
Serbia	Miloš Milojević	Al Wasl	2 June 2023	325 days
Slovenia	Darko Milanič	Baniyas	8 June 2023	319 day
Italy	Fabio Viviani	Hatta	5 September 2023	230 days
Romania	Daniel Isăilă	Ajman	3 October 2023	202 days
Montenegro	Nebojša Jovović	Khor Fakkan	28 October 2023	177 days
Argnetina	Hernán Crespo	Al Ain	14 November 2023	160 days
Netherlands	Alfred Schreuder	Al Nasr	27 November 2023	147 days
Serbia	Goran Tufegdžić	Al Wahda	3 January 2024	110 days
Romania	Mirel Rădoi	Al Jazira	5 January 2024	108 days
Italy	Walter Zenga	Emirates	5 January 2024	108 days
Croatia	Goran Tomić	Al Bataeh	7 January 2024	106 days
Iraq	Ghazi Fahad	Ittihad Kalba	2 March 2024	51 days

List of champions

Source:

	No	Season	Champion	Runner up
	1	1973–74	Sharjah	Al Ahli
	2	1974–75	Al Ahli	Sharjah
	3	1975–76	Al Ahli	Al Ain
	4	1976–77	Al Ain	Sharjah
	5	1977–78	Al Nasr	Al Ain
	6	1978–79	Al Nasr	Sharjah
	7	1979–80	Al Ahli	Al Shaab
	8	1980–81	Al Ain	Al Nasr
	9	1981–82	Al Wasl	Al Ain
	10	1982–83	Al Wasl	Sharjah
	11	1983–84	Al Ain	Al Wasl
	12	1984–85	Al Wasl	Al Shaab
	13	1985–86	Al Nasr	Al Wasl
	14	1986–87	Sharjah	Al Wasl
	15	1987–88	Al Wasl	Sjarjah
	16	1988–89	Sharjah	Al Wasl
	17	1989–90	Al Shabab	Al Wasl
×		1990–91	Cancelled
	18	1991–92	Al Wasl	Sharjah
	19	1992–93	Al Ain	Al Wasl
	20	1993–94	Sharjah	Al Ain
	21	1994–95	Al Shabab	Al Ain
	22	1995–96	Sharjah	Al Wasl
	23	1996–97	Al Wasl	Al Nasr
	24	1997–98	Al Ain	Sharjah
	25	1998–99	Al Wahda	Al Ain
	26	1999–2000	Al Ain	Al Nasr
	27	2000–01	Al Wahda	Al Ahli
	28	2001–02	Al Ain	Al Jazira
	29	2002–03		Al Wahda
	30	2003–04		Al Shabab
	31	2004–05	Al Wahda	Al Ain
	32	2005–06	Al Ahli	Al Wahda
	33	2006–07	Al Wasl	Al Wahda
	34	2007–08	Al Shabab	Al Jazira
	35	2008–09	Al Ahli
	36	2009–10	Al Wahda
	37	2010–11	Al Jazira	Baniyas
	38	2011–12	Al Ain	Al Nasr
	39	2012–13	Al Ain	Al Ahli
	40	2013–14	Al Ahli	Al Wahda
	41	2014–15	Al Ain	Al Jazira
	42	2015–16	Al Ahli	Al Ain
	43	2016–17	Al Jazira	Al Wasl
	44	2017–18	Al Ain	Al Wahda
	45	2018–19	Sharjah	Shabab Al Ahli
×		2019–20	Cancelled
	46	2020–21	Al Jazira	Baniyas
	47	2021–22	Al Ain	Sharjah
	48	2022–23	Shabab Al Ahli	Al Ain
	49	2023–24	Al Wasl	Shabab Al Ahli

_{Notes

1. Competition cancelled due to Gulf war

2. Competition cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates}

Champions

Performance by club

As of 2023 following clubs are officially allowed to wear stars while playing in the League, Each country's usage is unique and in UAE the practice is to award one star for each five titles won. The number in parentheses is for League titles won.

Club	Won	Runners-up	Winning seasons
Al Ain	14	9	1976–77, 1980–81, 1983–84, 1992–93, 1997–98, 1999–00, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2017–18, 2021–22
Shabab Al Ahli	8	4	1974–75, 1975–76, 1979–80, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2022–23
Al Wasl	8	8	1981–82, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1987–88, 1991–92, 1996–97, 2006–07,2023-04
Sharjah	6	7	1973–74, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1993–94, 1995–96, 2018–19
Al Wahda	4	5	1998–99, 2000–01, 2004–05, 2009–10
Al Jazira	3	5	2010–11, 2016–17, 2020–21
Al Nasr	3	4	1977–78, 1978–79, 1985–86
Al Shabab	3	1	1989–90, 1994–95, 2007–08
Al Shaab	0	2	—
Baniyas	0	2	—

_{Notes

1. Al Shabab along with Dubai CSC merged into Al-Ahli form Shabab Al Ahli in 2017

2. Al Shaab dissolved in 2017}

Performance by city

City / Area	Titles	Clubs	Winning seasons
Dubai	21	Al Ahli	(8): 1974–75, 1975–76, 1979–80, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2022–23
		Al Wasl	(8): 1981–82, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1987–88, 1991–92, 1996–97, 2006–07,2023–24
		Al Nasr	(3): 1977–78, 1978–79, 1985–86
		Al Shabab	(3): 1989–90, 1994–95, 2007–08
Al Ain	14	Al Ain	(14): 1976–77, 1980–81, 1983–84, 1992–93, 1997–98, 1999–00, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2017–18, 2021–22
Abu Dhabi	7	Al Wahda	(4): 1998–99, 2000–01, 2004–05, 2009–10
Abu Dhabi	7	Al Jazira	(3): 2010–11, 2016–17, 2020–21
Sharjah	6	Sharjah	(6): 1973–74, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1993–94, 1995–96, 2018–19

Performance by emirates

Emirates	Titles	Clubs	Winning seasons
Abu Dhabi	21	Al Ain	(14): 1976–77, 1980–81, 1983–84, 1992–93, 1997–98, 1999–00, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2017–18, 2021–22
		Al Wahda	(4): 1998–99, 2000–01, 2004–05, 2009–10
		Al Jazira	(3): 2010–11, 2016–17, 2020–21
Dubai		Al Ahli	(8): 1974–75, 1975–76, 1979–80, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2022–23
		Al Wasl	(7): 1981–82, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1987–88, 1991–92, 1996–97, 2006–07
		Al Nasr	(3): 1977–78, 1978–79, 1985–86
		Al Shabab	(3): 1989–90, 1994–95, 2007–08
Sharjah	6	Sharjah	(6): 1973–74, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1993–94, 1995–96, 2018–19

Players

All-time top scorers

Source:

Rank	Name	Club	Years	Goals	Apps
1	Ali Mabkhout	Al Jazira	2009–2024	218	299
2	Sebastián Tagliabúe	Al Wahda Al Nasr Sharjah	2013–	184	239
3	Fahad Khamees	Al Wasl	1980–1997	175	N/A
4	Fábio Lima	Al Wasl	2014–	165	217
5	Adnan Al Talyani	Al Shaab	1980–1999	133	N/A
6	Mohammad Omar	Al Wasl Al Ain Al Jazira Al Dhafra Al Nasr Ajman	1992–2011	132	N/A
7	Abdulaziz Mohamed	Sharjah	1980–2003	127	N/A
8	Ahmed Abdullah	Al Ain	1978–1995	122	N/A
9	Atiq Hassan	Al Ahli	1988–2002	119	N/A
10	Faisal Khalil	Al Ahli Al Wasl Al Shaab	1999–2013	114	302
11	Makhete Diop	Al Dhafra Shabab Al Ahli Sharjah	2011–2018, 2021–2023	108	180
12	Asamoah Gyan	Al-Ain Al Ahli	2011–2017	101	97
13	Ismail Matar	Al Wahda	2001–	101	418
14	Anderson Barbosa	Sharjah Al Wasl	2003–2009	99	128
15	Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba	Al-Ain	2019–	98	107
16	Ahmed Khalil	Al Ain Shabab Al Ahli Al Bataeh	2007–	94	263
17	Ali Thani	Sharjah	N/A	93	N/A

Top scorers by season

Season	Player	Club	Goals
1974–75	Suhail Salim	Al Ahli	14
1975–76	Ali Nawaz Baloch	Al Wahda	13
1976–77	Alfadel Santo	Al Nasr	11
1977–78	Mohieddine Habita	Al Ain	20
1978–79	Mostafa Mahrous	Al Ahli	16
1979–80	Alo Ali Mohamed	Emirates	14
1980–81	Karim Abdul Razak	Emirates	14
1981–82	Ahmed Abdullah	Al Ain	13
1982–83	Luiz Carlos	Al Nasr	12
1983–84	Ahmed Abdullah Fahad Khamees	Al Ain Al Wasl	20
1984–85	Fahad Khamees Adnan Al Talyani	Al Wasl Al Shaab	14
1985–86	Mohammed Salem	Al Wahda	16
1986–87	Adnan Al Talyani Khalil Ghanim	Al Shaab Khor Fakkan	13
1987–88	Zuhair Bakheet	Al Wasl	24
1988–89	Fahad Khamees	Al Wasl	13
1989–90	Hussain Yaslam	Baniyas	16
1990–91	Cancelled
1991–92	Youssouf Atiq	Al Ahli	25
1992–93	Saif Sultan	Al Ain	21
1993–94	Abdulaziz Mohamed	Sharjah	18
1994–95	Bader Jassim	Al Wahda	10
1995–96	Jassim Al Dokhi	Al Shaab	10
1996–97	Bader Jassim	Al Wahda	11
1997–98	Ali Thani	Sharjah	19
1998–99	Alboury Lah	Al Wahda	29
1999–00	Alboury Lah		18
2000–01	Mohammed Al Enazi		22
2001–02	Mohammed Al Enazi		22
2002–03	Cristián Montecinos	Dubai	19
2003–04	Ali Karimi	Al Ahli	14
2004–05	Valdir Anderson Barbosa	Al Nasr Sharjah	23
2005–06	Anderson Barbosa	Sharjah	20
2006–07	Anderson Barbosa Ali Samereh	Al Wasl Al Shaab	18
2007–08	Faisal Khalil Anderson Barbosa	Al Ahli Sharjah	16
2008–09	Fernando Baiano	Al Jazira	24
2009–10	José Sand	Al Ain	24
2010–11	André Senghor	Baniyas	18
2011–12	Asamoah Gyan	Al Ain	22
2012–13			31
2013–14			29
2014–15	Mirko Vučinić	Al Jazira	25
2015–16	Sebastián Tagliabúe	Al Wahda	25
2016–17	Ali Mabkhout	Al Jazira	33
2017–18	Marcus Berg	Al Ain	25
2018–19	Sebastián Tagliabúe	Al Wahda	27
2019–20	Kodjo Laba	Al Ain	19
2020–21	Ali Mabkhout	Al Jazira	25
2021–22	Kodjo Laba	Al Ain	26
2022–23	Kodjo Laba	Al Ain	28