Emirati professional football club
Football club
Shabab Al Ahli Club
(
Arabic
:
???? ???? ??????
,
romanized
:
n?d? ?ab?b al-?ahl?
,
lit.
'National Youth Club') is an
Emirati
professional
football
club based in
Dubai
, that currently plays in the
UAE ADNOC Pro League
. It is one of the most successful clubs in the UAE.
Al Ahli FC has won 8 league titles, a record of 10 UAE's President Cup titles, 6 UAE super Cup titles, 5 ADIB cup titles, 1 Emirati-Moroccan Super Cup, and 1 combined league. Earining a total of 31 titles, making them the second most successful team in UAE. And the most successful team in Dubai. In the latest ranking by the
IFFHS
, Shabab Al Ahli is the 7th best club in Asia and ranked 110th in the world.
In 2017, the
Dubai CSC
and
Al Shabab
merged within Al Ahli FC making Shabab Al Ahli FC.
[1]
[2]
History
[
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]
Establishment
[
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]
Al Ahli club was established in 1970 when two local football teams Al Wehdah and Al Shabab (est. 1958) joined for a training camp in Egypt but decided to merge as one single club under first club president H.E. Nasser Abdulla Hussain Lootah. Four years later another local team Al Najah joined to form Al Ahli Club.
Al Ahli translates to "domestic or national" in
Arabic
. The club won three
UAE Arabian Gulf League
titles in the 1970s and won its fourth in 2006, fifth in 2009, sixth in 2014, seventh in 2016 and eighth in 2023
1973?1980: The golden age and aftermath decline
[
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]
It took Al Ahli only four years after its establishment to win the
UAE Arabian Gulf League
twice consecutively in 1974-75 and 1975-76 then again in 1979-80 for the third time, which allowed them to permanently keep the league trophy. The victorious team, led by coach
Mohamed Shehta
and featuring players such as
Hassan Nazari
and
Hassan Roshan
. The team also won three President Cup titles during that period. Drawing hometown fans, Al Ahli has been and continues to be one of the most popular sports teams in the UAE. However, the club went into decline for few decades, the result of which saw the club relegated to the second division (1995?96) in a dramatic way, when Al Ahli played against neighbour rival Al Shabab, Al Ahli needed just one point from the match to stay in the first division. Al Ahli has lost the match and Al Shabab has won the league title. The same year, Al Ahli won the President Cup title. After a period of decline, Al Ahli went back on top under the new leadership of
Sheikh
Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
, the Deputy Ruler of Dubai, winning its fourth league title in 2006 and the following years, Al Ahli continued to be a successful club in the UAE by winning 6 President Cups. The early 2000s saw Iranian legend
Ali Karimi
play multiple seasons for Al Ahli, finishing as league top scorer in 2003-04 and being named
Asian footballer of the year
2004.
[3]
2009 FIFA Club World Cup
[
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]
Al-Ahli, as
2008?09
UAE Pro-League
champions and as Abu Dhabi was hosting the event, qualified for the
2009 FIFA Club World Cup
which was held in December 2009. They lost 0?2 to
Auckland City
in their only game in the competition.
[4]
Bouncing Back
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]
The club began to rise again and in 2010 with Abdullah Al Naboodah, the squad was gradually re-built, with the likes of
Fabio Cannavaro
and
Grafite
and
Ricardo Quaresma
joined the Emirati homegrown talents
Ahmed Khalil
and
Ismael Al Hammadi
. In 2012, Al Ahli won the UAE President's Cup and the Arabian Gulf Cup. The arrival of the Romanian football manager
Cosmin Olaroiu
in 2013, set the stage for a highly successful 2013?14 season. Al Ahli performed strongly in the league and assured its 6th title with a record for the highest ever points total for a league season (62). In addition, the club won the Arabian Gulf Cup, 2 Arabian Gulf Super Cups (2013?14, 2014?15) and in the following year they reached
2015 AFC Champions League Final
which they narrowly lost to the Chinese team
Guangzhou Evergrande
1?0 on aggregate. Al Ahli homegrown forward
Ahmed Khalil
named the UAE's sole recipient of the prestigious
Asian Footballer of the Year
award in 2015. In 2016, they again won their 7th domestic league title with two matches to play.
[5]
2017 Merge
[
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]
In 2017 the clubs
Dubai CSC
and
Al Shabab
joined with Al-Ahli FC to form
Shabab Al Ahli FC
. The merge was seen as a controversial move as it meant combining the success of rival club Al Shabab with Al Ahli and it also meant missing the AFC Champions League for the first three years of its existence since it requires a club to exist for three years to obtain an AFC licence. However, the team would quickly experience success as they would win the League Cup and President's Cup in 2019.
[6]
[7]
Crest and nickname
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The original Al Ahli logo reflected a falcon on top of football and the words "Al Ahli Club" written horizontally. After rebranding themselves to Red Knights in 2006, the logo changed to a horse head shape with the letters "AC" (Al Ahli Club) on top. The new logo represents strength and high spirits also it goes along with the new nickname Red Knights instead of the old nickname the Red Devils.
A new logo was created after the merge between Dubai CSC and Al Shabab that made Shabab Al-Ahli.
Grounds
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]
Rashid Stadium
is a
multi-purpose stadium
in
Dubai
, United Arab Emirates that was named after Sheikh
Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum
. It is currently used mostly for
football
&
Rugby
matches. The stadium holds 12,000 people. It was built in 1948. It is the home ground of Shabab Al-Ahli.
[5]
Shabab Al Ahli also has
Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium
and Al Aweer
Stadium as a second and third home ground for the club after merging with Al Shabab and Dubai in 2017.
Rivalries
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]
Shabab Al Ahli rivalry with
Al Ain
is gaining popularity as the two clubs alternated as champions in the 70s and more after 2010, and currently, both teams are considered among the top teams in the UAE. The match usually creates a lively atmosphere.
Al Nasr
and
Al Wasl
are also neighbouring rivals competing for who is the best team in Dubai
Active departments
[
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]
The club is also known as Al Ahli Castle because of its involvement in other professional sports. The club competes in basketball, volleyball,
handball
, track sport, table tennis and
track cycling
. Al Ahli is also known for its involvement in cultural activities and community services. Al Ahli Drama club established in 1981, to promote
Emirati
arts and theatrical plays focusing on UAE tradition, heritage and current events.
[
citation needed
]
The club's beach soccer team were UAE champions in 2021.
[8]
Relationship with La Liga
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In 2016, Al Ahli became the first foreign club to sign a partnership agreement with
La Liga
, the first of its kind. The signing of the agreement, staged at La Liga's headquarters in
Madrid
, marks the beginning of a linkup in which La Liga's experience will be used to support Dubai's leading club in its development, especially via a training program from youth coaches in Spain will be applied. The club's junior sides will gain invitations to leading tournaments there, providing the opportunity to gain valuable experience playing top-class opposition.
[9]
Pro-League record
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Notes
^
2019?20 UAE football season was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates
.
Key
- Pos. = Position
- Tms. = Number of teams
- Lvl. = League
Club officials
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]
Position
|
Staff
|
Head Coach
|
Marko Nikoli?
|
Assistant Coach
|
Hassan Al Abdouli
|
First Team Coach
|
Habibullah Khamis
|
Goalkeeper Coach
|
Yahya Sahib
|
Fitness Trainer
|
Islam Sulaiman
|
Therapist
|
Najib Abdullah
Saeed Abdul Ghanee
|
Physioterapist
|
Irfan Mahbout
|
Masseur
|
Mahmood Hussein
|
Specialist Director
|
Mansoor Najr
|
Team Manager
|
Mohamed Ahmed-Ibrahim
|
Manager
|
Khaled Alkaabi
Ahmed Ali-Shah
|
Current squad
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]
As of
UAE Pro-League
:
[10]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under
FIFA eligibility rules
. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
[
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]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under
FIFA eligibility rules
. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Shabab Al Ahli from Board Of Directors
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]
- Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum ? President
- Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum ? Vice President
- Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum ? Chairman
- Sheikh Mansour Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum ? Deputy Chairman
Board members
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]
- Khalifa Sulaiman
- Sami Al-Qamzi
- Mohammed Al Gergawi
- Essam Al Humaidan
- Mohammed Ahmed Al-Marri
- Hisham Abdullah Al Qassem
- Abdullah Mohammed Al Basti
- Ahmed Mohammed bin Humaidan
- Sheikh Mansour Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum - Chairman
- Sami Al Qamzi - Deputy Chairman
Board Members
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]
- Abdul Majeed Hussain
- Ibrahim Abdul-Malik
- Khalid Buhumaid
- Jamal Al Mehairi
- Ali Al-Habsi
- Saeed Rashid
Honours
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]
30 Official
[11]
Championships
Domestic Competitions
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Regional competitions
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Continental competitions
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See also
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References
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External links
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General
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Home stadiums
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Other departments
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