UAE Pro League facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
ADNOC Pro League

Organising body	Pro League Committee
Founded	1973; 52 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	Shabab Al Ahli Club (9th title) (2024–25)
Most championships	Al Ain (14 titles)
TV partners	Abu Dhabi Sports Dubai Sports Sharjah Sports Majid Sports

The ADNOC Pro League is the top professional football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It's where the best football teams in the UAE compete. This league is the highest level of football in the country.

The first team to win the league was Al Orouba (Sharjah). The team with the most wins is Al Ain, with 14 titles. There are 14 clubs in the league. Teams can move up to the Pro League or down to the First Division League based on how well they play. This is called promotion and relegation.

The league started in 1973 as the UAE Football League. The very first season in 1973–74 was a "trial" but was later made official. In 2007, the Pro League Committee was created. This group now organizes and runs the league.

How the League's Name Changed

The league's name has changed a few times.

• From 2006–07, it was called the Etisalat League.
• In the 2013–14 season, it became the Arabian Gulf League. This name was chosen after the Arabian Gulf.
• On August 8, 2021, the league signed a new deal with ADNOC. Since then, it has been known as the ADNOC Pro League.

Teams in the League (2024–25)

Here are the teams that played in the ADNOC Pro League for the 2024–25 season. They are listed in alphabetical order.

League Champions Over the Years

Here is a list of the teams that have won the UAE Pro League title.

• The 1990–91 season was cancelled due to the Gulf War.
• The 2019–20 season was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates.

Top Teams and Their Wins

As of 2024, some clubs are allowed to wear stars on their jerseys. In the UAE, a team gets one star for every five league titles they win.

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	9	4	1974–75, 1975–76, 1979–80, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2022–23, 2024–25
Al Wasl	8	8	1981–82, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1987–88, 1991–92, 1996–97, 2006–07, 2023–24
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		4	1977–78, 1978–79, 1985–86
Al Shabab	3	1	1989–90, 1994–95, 2007–08
Al Shaab	0	2	—
Baniyas	0	2	—

• Al Shabab and Dubai CSC joined with Al-Ahli to form Shabab Al Ahli in 2017.
• Al Shaab team was dissolved in 2017.

Top Scorers in League History

These players have scored the most goals in the UAE Pro League.

Rank	Country	Name	Club	Years	Goals	Games
1		Ali Mabkhout	Al Jazira Al Nasr	2009–	226	313
2		Sebastián Tagliabúe	Al Wahda Al Nasr Sharjah	2013–2024	184	239
3		Fahad Khamees	Al Wasl	1980–1997	175	N/A
4		Fábio Lima	Al Wasl	2014–	170	230
5		Mohammad Omar	Al Wasl Al Ain Al Jazira Al Dhafra Al Nasr Ajman	1992–2011	132
6		Adnan Al Talyani	Al Shaab	1980–1999	131	N/A
7		Abdulaziz Mohamed	Sharjah	1980–2003	128	N/A
8		Ahmed Abdullah	Al Ain	1978–1995	122	N/A
9		Youssouf Al-Atiq Hassan	Al Ahli	1988–2002	119	N/A
10		Faisal Khalil	Al Ahli Al Wasl Al Shaab	1999–2013	114	302
11		Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba	Al-Ain	2019–	113	119
12		Makhete Diop	Al Dhafra Shabab Al Ahli Sharjah	2011–2018, 2021–2023	108	180
13		Asamoah Gyan	Al-Ain Al Ahli	2011–2017	101	97
14		Ismail Matar	Al Wahda	2001–2024	101	418
15		Anderson Barbosa	Sharjah Al Wasl	2003–2009	99	128
16		Caio Canedo	Al Ain Al Wasl	2014–	99	218
17		Ahmed Khalil	Al Ain Shabab Al Ahli Al Bataeh	2007–	96	273
18		Ali Thani	Sharjah	N/A	93	N/A
19		Aissa Sangour	Al Shabab	N/A	88
20		Zuhair Bakheet	Al Wasl	N/A	88
21		Saeed Al-Kass	Sharjah Al Wasl	N/A	87	N/A
22		Majid Al Owais	Al Ain	N/A	86	N/A
23		Mohammed Salem Al-Enazi	Al Wahda Al Wasl Al Jazira	N/A	83	N/A
24		Boris Kabi		N/A	82	146
25		Nasir Khamees	Al Wasl	N/A	82	N/A
26		Ibrahim Diaky	Al Ain Al Jazira	N/A	80	N/A
27		Khalid Ismail	Al Nasr	N/A	75	N/A
28		Omar Khribin	Al Wahda Al Dhafra Shabab Al Ahli	N/A	75	117
29		André Senghor		N/A	73	118
30		Caio Lucas	Al Ain Sharjah	N/A	73	169

Top Scorers Each Season

This table shows the player who scored the most goals in each season.

Season	Player	Club	Goals
1973–74	Saeed Hareb AlFalahi	Al Ahli
1974–75	Suhail Salim	Al Ahli	14
1975–76	Ali Nawaz Baloch	Emirates	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
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		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
1996–97	Bader Jassim	Al Wahda	11
1997–98	Ali Thani	Sharjah	19
1998–99	Alboury Lah	Al Wahda	29
1999–00			18
2000–01	Mohammed Al Enazi		22
2001–02
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
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
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			28
2023–24	Omar Khribin	Al Wahda	18
2024–25	Kodjo Laba	Al Ain	20

Top Scorers by Country

This table shows how many players from different countries have been top scorers.

Country	Players	Seasons
United Arab Emirates	17	22
Brazil	4	6
Ghana	2	4
Argentina		3
Senegal
Togo		4
Iran	1	1
Pakistan		1
Sudan
Tunisia
Chile
Montenegro
Sweden
Syria

See also

In Spanish: UAE Pro League para niños