2018–19 UAE Pro League

The 2018–19 UAE Pro League will be the 45th edition with Al Ain being the defending champions after winning their 13th title last year. Both Baniyas and Kalba returned to the pro league after getting relegated back at 2017. After losing Al Shabab and Dubai last season the league has been reduced to 12 teams. This year they needed to get back to 14 teams so they held a relegation play off between bottom two teams of last year and the 3rd and 4th placed teams of the 2nd division. Sharjah set a record of the longest unbeaten run in a UAE Pro League season for 23 games before losing to Al Wasl 3–2. In 15 May 2019, Sharjah won their first title since 1996 after beating Al Wahda 3–2, this is the first time a team outside of Dubai and Abu Dhabi has won the league since the 1996. On the 26 May, Emirates and Dibba Al Fujairah were relegated after a fixed match between Shabab Al Ahli and Fujairah favoured Fujairah and got them out of relegation. The Emirates demanded that the UAEFA investigate on the match between Shabab Al Ahli and Fujairah, questioning the legitimacy of the two penalties that was rewarded to Fujairah and the two goals that was disallowed for Shabab Al Ahli.[1] However the UAE court has later rejected their complaint and the team got relegated[2]

UAE Pro-League
Season2018–19
ChampionsSharjah (6th title)
RelegatedEmirates
Dibba Al Fujairah
2020 AFC Champions LeagueSharjah
Shabab Al Ahli
Al Wahda
Al Ain
2020 Arab Champions LeagueAl Jazira
Al Wasl
Matches played168
Goals scored605 (3.6 per match)
Average goals/game3.6
Top goalscorerSebastián Tagliabué
(27 goals)
Biggest home winAl Jazira 6–0 Emirates (30 November 2018)
Biggest away winAl Dhafra 0–5 Shabab Al Ahli (24 November 2018)
Fujairah 0–5 Al Jazira (14 February 2019)
Highest scoringShabab Al-Ahli 4–5 Al Jazira (30 August 2018)
Sharjah 6–3 Al Nasr (14 September 2018)
Al Wasl 6–3 Fujairah (1 November 2018)
Longest winning runSharjah (9 games)
Longest unbeaten runSharjah (23 games)
Longest winless runDibba Al Fujairah (13 games)
Longest losing runDibba Al Fujairah (7 games)
Highest attendanceAl Ain 1–2 Sharjah (18,103)
Lowest attendanceDibba Al Fujairah 3–1 Al Dhafra (39)
Average attendance464
← 2017–18
2019–20 →
All statistics correct as of 26 May 2019.

Team Changes

To Division 1

Relegated to UAE Division 1

From Division 1

Promoted to UAE Pro League

Stadia and locations
Locations of teams in the 2018–19 UAE Pro League
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 25,965
Al Dhafra Madinat Zayed Al Dhafra Stadium 5,020
Al Jazira Abu Dhabi City (Al Nahyan) Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium 42,056
Al Nasr Dubai (Bur Dubai) Al-Maktoum Stadium 15,058
Al Wahda Abu Dhabi City (Al Nahyan) Al Nahyan Stadium 12,201
Al Wasl Dubai (Bur Dubai) Zabeel Stadium 8,439
Baniyas Abu Dhabi City (Al Shamkha) Baniyas Stadium 10,000
Dibba Al-Fujairah Fujairah City* Fujairah Club Stadium* 10,645
Emirates RAK City Emirates Club Stadium 5,200
Fujairah Fujairah City Fujairah Club Stadium 10,645
Kalba Kalba Ittihad Kalba Stadium 8,500
Shabab Al Ahli-Dubai Dubai (Deira) Dubai Club Stadium 7,500
Sharjah Sharjah Sharjah Stadium 11,073

* = Dibba Al Fujairah Stadium doesn't fit UAE Pro League requirements, therefore Dibba Al-Fujairah shares Fujairah Club Stadium with Fujairah club

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team Head Coach Captain Kit Manufacturer Shirt Sponsor
Ajman Ayman Elramady Rashed Malallah Hummel Ajman Bank
Al Ain Juan Carlos Garrido Ismail Ahmed Nike First Gulf Bank
Al Dhafra Vuk Rašović Ahmed Ali Adidas Ruwais
Al Jazira Damiën Hertog Ali Khasif Adidas IPIC
Al Nasr Beñat San José Álvaro Negredo Nike Emirates NBD
Al Wahda Henk ten Cate Ismail Matar Adidas Cadillac
Al Wasl Laurențiu Reghecampf Caio New Balance Emaar
Baniyas Krunoslav Jurčić Yousif Jaber Adidas Secure Engineering
Dibba Al-Fujairah Mohamed Al Khaddeim Driss Fettouhi uhlsport Unknown
Emirates Jalal Qaderi Ahmed Al-Shaji uhlsport Al Naeem City Center
Fujairah Abdulla Masfer Hilal Saeed Nike Asas
Kalba Fabio Viviani Mansor Abbas Erreà Unknown
Shabab Al-Ahli Rodolfo Arruabarrena Majed Naser Nike Nakheel
Sharjah Abdulaziz Mohamed Shahin Abdulrahman Adidas Saif Zone

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Date of vacancy Manner of departure Pos. Incoming manager Date of appointment
Fujairah Diego Maradona[3] 28 April 2018 Sacked Pre-season Ivan Hašek 29 May 2018
Al Jazira Henk ten Cate[4] 17 May 2018 End of Contract Marcel Keizer 2 June 2018
Al Wasl Rodolfo Arruabarrena 30 June 2018 Gustavo Quinteros 12 May 2018
Al Dhafra Gjoko Hadžievski 30 June 2018 Vuk Rašović 20 May 2018
Baniyas Goran Tufegdzic 30 May 2018 Krunoslav Jurčić 28 May 2018
Shabab Al Ahli Mahdi Ali 30 May 2018 José Luis Sierra 28 May 2018
Emirates Nizar Mahrous 30 May 2018 Jalal Qaderi 28 May 2018
Kalba Jorvan Vieira[5] 4 September 2018 Sacked 13th Fabio Viviani 2 September 2018
Shabab Al Ahli José Luis Sierra 14 October 2018 8th Rodolfo Arruabarrena[6] 14 October 2018
Al Wasl Gustavo Quinteros 23 October 2018 9th Laurențiu Reghecampf[7] 26 December 2018
Dibba Al Fujairah Paulo Comelli 26 October 2018 14th Mohammad Kwid 26 October 2018
Al Jazira Marcel Keizer 9 November 2018 Signed by Sporting CP 2nd Damiën Hertog[8] 8 November 2018
Al Wahda Laurențiu Reghecampf[9] 25 November 2018 Sacked 5th Henk ten Cate[10] 8 December 2018
Al Nasr Ivan Jovanović 2 December 2018 10th Beñat San José[11] 15 December 2018
Al Ain Zoran Mamić[12] 30 January 2019 Signed by Al-Hilal 3rd Juan Carlos Garrido[13] 18 February 2019
Dibba Al Fujairah Mohammad Kwid 1 March 2019 Sacked 14th Mohamed Al Khaddeim 2 March 2019
Fujairah Ivan Hašek 12th Abdulla Masfer
Al Nasr Beñat San José 31 March 2019 11th Caio Zanardi[14] 31 March 2019

Foreign players

All teams could register as many foreign players as they want, but could only use four on the field each game.

  • Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.
  • Players in italics were out of squad or left club within the season, after pre-season transfer window, or in the mid-season transfer window, and at least had one appearance.
Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Former Players
Ajman Vander Vieira Adil Hermach Stanley Ohawuchi Mame Baba Thiam
Al Ain Caio Tsukasa Shiotani Rúben Ribeiro Marcus Berg Hussein El Shahat
Al Dhafra Diego Rômulo Amine Attouchi Nicolás Milesi Hélder Guedes
Al Jazira Leonardo Sébastien Siani Ernest Asante Nacer Barazite
Al Nasr Junior Dutra Ronnie Fernández Joan Oumari Álvaro Negredo Iury
Yohan Cabaye
Marquinhos Gabriel
Samuel
Al Wahda Sebastián Tagliabué Leonardo Rim Chang-woo Mourad Batna
Al Wasl Caio Fabio Lima Ronaldo Mendes Vinícius Lima Oh Ban-suk
Baniyas Róbson Michael Ortega Leroy George Pedro Conde
Dibba Al-Fujairah Diogo Acosta Yaseen Al-Bakhit Yousef Al-Rawashdeh Driss Fettouhi Guilherme Schettine
Yahya Jabrane
Masoud Juma
Emirates Marcao Kaio Cheick Diabaté Saber Khalifa Aboubacar Sylla
Bernie Ibini-Isei
Bakare Kone
Fujairah Mohamed Benyettou Omar Kossoko Fernando Gabriel Samuel Jorge
Ronaldo Mendes
Lee Seung-hee
Kalba Myke Tommy Tobar Balázs Dzsudzsák Giovanni Sio Florentin Matei
Raheem Lawal
Shabab Al-Ahli Emiliano Vecchio Mauro Díaz Jaime Ayoví Henrique Luvannor
Sharjah Igor Coronado Welliton Ryan Mendes Otabek Shukurov

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Sharjah (C) 26 17 8 1 57 30 +27 59 Qualification for AFC Champions League group stage[lower-alpha 1]
2 Shabab Al Ahli 26 17 2 7 57 36 +21 53
3 Al Wahda 26 14 4 8 63 40 +23 46
4 Al Ain 26 14 4 8 45 35 +10 46 Qualification for AFC Champions League play-off round
5 Al Jazira 26 13 6 7 66 41 +25 45 Qualification for Arab Champions League
6 Baniyas 26 11 7 8 50 40 +10 40
7 Ajman 26 10 7 9 41 40 +1 37
8 Al Nasr 26 10 6 10 42 41 +1 36
9 Al Wasl 26 10 4 12 45 54 −9 34 Qualification for Arab Champions League
10 Al Dhafra 26 8 5 13 37 49 −12 29
11 Kalba 26 5 10 11 41 51 −10 25
12 Fujairah 26 5 6 15 36 63 −27 21
13 Emirates (R) 26 4 6 16 30 62 −32 18 Relegation to UAE First Division League
14 Dibba Al Fujairah (R) 26 4 5 17 34 62 −28 17
Source: AGLeague
Rules for classification: [15] 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) goal difference; 4) number of goals scored; 5) number of away goals scored; 6) fair play ranking[16] 7) draw
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated.
Notes:
  1. Since league runners-up Shabab Al Ahli were also UAE President's Cup winners, the league 3rd place qualified for the AFC Champions League group stage.

Results
Home \ Away AJM AIN DHA JAZ NAS WAH WAS YAS DAF EMI FUJ KAL SAD SHR
Ajman 0–3 0–0 1–5 2–2 1–2 1–2 2–1 2–1 4–1 3–0 0–0 1–3 0–0
Al Ain 0–4 2–1 1–2 2–1 1–0 5–1 2–0 4–0 0–0 2–1 2–2 2–1 1–2
Al Dhafra 3–4 3–0 3–2 1–1 1–1 2–1 1–0 2–1 2–0 1–5 0–2 0–5 0–4
Al Jazira 3–0 5–1 1–1 3–1 1–3 2–0 2–2 2–2 6–0 3–2 1–1 0–1 1–1
Al Nasr 0–1 0–3 2–0 3–1 2–2 4–2 2–1 1–0 3–1 2–0 1–1 1–3 0–1
Al Wahda 3–1 1–0 2–4 1–2 1–2 4–1 4–1 3–1 2–0 5–0 6–2 2–2 2–3
Al Wasl 0–2 1–3 2–1 3–1 1–3 1–0 1–2 3–0 2–1 6–3 1–1 2–4 3–2
Baniyas 3–1 2–0 2–1 2–1 0–0 4–2 1–1 6–1 3–3 4–0 3–2 3–0 1–2
Dibba Al Fujairah 0–3 0–2 3–1 3–3 2–1 1–4 1–2 3–3 1–1 2–1 1–3 0–1 2–3
Emirates 1–1 1–3 3–2 0–3 3–3 1–3 1–2 2–3 3–2 3–1 1–1 1–5 1–2
Fujairah 2–1 2–2 1–1 0–5 0–3 3–3 3–3 1–1 2–1 0–1 3–3 0–1 0–1
Kalba 2–3 1–2 0–3 2–4 3–1 2–4 3–1 0–0 1–3 2–0 2–3 1–3 1–1
Shabab Al Ahli 2–2 2–0 3–2 4–5 1–0 0–1 3–2 4–1 3–1 2–1 1–3 2–1 1–2
Sharjah 1–1 2–2 2–1 3–2 6–3 3–2 1–1 2–1 2–2 4–0 3–0 2–2 2–0
Source: AGLeague
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics
As of 26 May 2019[17]
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Sebastián Tagliabué Al Wahda 27
2 Ali Mabkhout Al Jazira 20
Welliton Sharjah
4 Pedro Conde Baniyas 18
5 Igor Coronado Sharjah 17
6 Álvaro Negredo Al Nasr 16
7 Mohamed Benyettou Fujairah 14
8 Caio Al Wasl 13
Fábio Lima Al Wasl
Leonardo Al Wahda
11 Leonardo Al Jazira 12
Henrique Luvannor Shabab Al Ahli
Jaime Ayoví Shabab Al Ahli

Number of teams by Emirates
Emirate Number of teams Teams
1 Abu Dhabi 5 Al Ain, Al Jazira, Al Wahda, Baniyas and Al Dhafra
2 Dubai 3 Shabab Al Ahli, Al Nasr and Al Wasl
3 Sharjah 2 Sharjah and Kalba
 Fujairah Dibba Al Fujairah and Fujairah
4 Ajman 1 Ajman
Ras Al Khaimah Emirates

References
  1. "نادي الإمارات يطالب باتخاذ إجراءات مناسبة في فيديو الفجيرة وشباب الأهلي". الإمارات اليوم. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  2. "لجنة الانضباط ترفض شكوى نادي الإمارات في واقعة ماجد ناصر". الرياضية. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  3. "Diego Maradona leaves Al Fujairah after failing to secure automatic promotion". 27 April 2018 – via www.bbc.com.
  4. "Al Jazira wish Ten Cate well".
  5. "Kalba coach Vieira sacked just one game into new season".
  6. "UAE football: Joining late no excuse not to win title, says Arruabarrena".
  7. "Laurenţiu Reghecampf a fost prezentat la Al Wasl! Salariu uriaş primit de antrenorul român. Foto » Fanatik.ro" (in Romanian). 6 January 2019.
  8. "Damien Hertog tijdelijk hoofdtrainer Al-Jazira".
  9. "Al Wahda sack manager Laurentiu Reghecampf days after Al Jazira defeat".
  10. "Ten Cate returns to Abu Dhabi with Al Wahda".
  11. "UAE news: Al Nasr spring surprise with deal for former Al Ittihad coach Benat San Jose - Article - Sport360".
  12. "Following the Termination of Zoran's Contract Amicably.. Croatia's Šobić is the Boss' "Temporary" Head Coach | ALAINFC".
  13. "Al Hajeri Hails the Efforts of the Technical Committee of Professionalism.. Spain's Juan Garrido is to Lead the "Boss" Squad Until End of Season | ALAINFC".
  14. "النصر يقيل مدربه بينات". البيان (in Arabic). 31 March 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  15. "Article (15) of Arabian Gulf League Regulations" (PDF). Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  16. "Fairplay - Arabian Gulf League". uae.agleague.ae. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  17. "UAE League Top Scorers". uaefa. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
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