Football in the UAE

Why settle for footie on the box when the stadium’s on your doorstep? It is time to check out the UAE Football League Discuss this article

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It’s Friday, May 14, 2010. The drums that have echoed around Abu Dhabi’s Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium all evening are suddenly subdued. Home side Al Jazira seem to have run out of steam with only minutes of the season to go. For the third time, it seems as if they’ll slump to second place ignominy on the last day of the season – only a win will secure the title.

It looks like it’s ending as a 2-2 draw when the ball falls to Ricardo Oliveira. The Brazilian national, who arrived in the UAE 10 months earlier for Dhs73million, is deep in the opposition’s half. He begins his run slowly, cautiously, knocking aside tackle after tackle, avoiding ferocious lunges as he closes in on goal. He’s not known to miss from this range. Al Jazira fans gasp deep in unison – they’ve been holding their breath for more than 30 years…

OK, it’s a moon-eyed prediction, but fans of the UAE Football League – the UFL – will recognise similarities. Far from being the lowly spectacle fans of European football imagine, the UFL attracts passionate support across eight cities in five emirates, so much so that the capital’s streets have been known to suffer gridlock as kickoff approaches..

That the sport draws such support should not really be surprising. The league is consistently competitive; during the last five years, no team has won by more than five points, with an average of 3.12 goals per game recorded last season (compared with 2.76 in the Premier League and 2.6 in Serie A). Since many of the teams play in, shall we say, less glamorous settings than Dubai or the capital, the almost tribal support for the game is understandable. It may sound trite, but if you’re out in Ras Al Khaimah or Madinat Zayed, football is a way of life. Painted faces yell from the stands, and band-led chants sound long into the night.

While the league tries its best to promote Emirati talent, foreign stars inevitably grab the headlines, and big names in the past have done little to assuage the notion that the UFL is a players’ graveyard. Phillip Cocu and George Weah called time on their careers while signed to Al Jazira, both at the age of 37. It’s an unfortunate misconception, however. The money may be here to attract has-beens, but the coaches don’t necessarily want them. Tellingly, the average age of foreign players at Cocu’s former club this season will be 26.

Invariably, the coaches have chosen to bring names in from Brazil and Africa, but in recent years the local players have been making a name for themselves. Often the subject of foreign transfer speculation is the 26-year-old striker Ismail Matar, currently plying his trade at Al Wahda. Voted best player in the Fifa World Youth Championship 2003, he achieved legendary status among UAE fans when he secured victory for his nation at the Gulf Cup Of Nations in 2007 (his contribution also saw him win the tournament’s Golden Boot). Observers are also keen on the talents of Yousef Abdulrahman, a regular between the posts of the national squad, and Al Ain’s first choice keeper.

The season kicks off on September 25, when 12 teams play the first of 22 rounds, simultaneously looking for honours in the Etisalat Cup, the Presidents Cup and the Super Cup (played on September 22 between Al Ahli and Al Ain). While you might find it difficult to drag yourself away from Showtime’s Premier League screenings, real live action is well within your reach. Make this season count. Your club needs you.