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29 March 2024

Etisalat Cup before Pro-League

Abdullah Al Junaibi (left), head of the UAE FA's technical committee conducting the Official Draw for the 2011-12 football season in the presence of officials from Abu Dhabi Sports Channel and Dubai Sports in Dubai on Wednesday. (PATRICK CASTILLO)

Published
By Allaam Ousman

The Etisalat Cup will precede the Pro-League competition when UAE’s new football season gets underway in September with the annual Super Cup.

UAE’s Pro-League champions Al Jazira will face Al Ahli at home in the opening round of the league which is scheduled to get underway in October.

The official draw for the upcoming season was held in Dubai on Wednesday evening at a glittering ceremony at the Intercontinental Hotel, Festival City.

Representatives from the football community, including the UAE Football Association, the Interim Pro-League Committee and the 12 professional football clubs, attended the event where the schedule of matches for the upcoming 2011/2012 season was determined.

The new season will kick-off on September 10 with the annual Etisalat Super Cup, which will feature Etisalat Pro-League winner Al Jazira and 2011 President’s Cup runner-up Al Wahda.

Argentine legend Diego Maradona will face an acid test against Pro-League winners and President's Cup champions Al Jazira who face Al Wasl in the opening round of the Etisalat Cup.

The first round of the Etisalat Cup competition will then follow on September 15 and 16 and will once again consist of two pools of six teams with semifinals and finals at the end of the season.

Al Jazira were drawn with Al Wasl, Al Wahda, Dubai, Al Ain and the newly promoted Emirates in group A while 2010-11 winners Al Shabab were placed in group B along with Bani Yas, Al Nasr, Al Ahli, Sharjah and Ajman.

The first round of matches for the Etisalat Pro-League competition will kick-off the following month in October 2011. The majority of rounds will take place over two match days, predominantly on Thursdays and Fridays or Fridays and Saturdays.

“With the Official Draw conducted and the match schedule finalised, we can now look ahead to the upcoming season and nine months of exciting football,” said Abdulla Al Junaibi, deputy chairman for the Interim Pro-League Committee. “There has been a number of significant signings in the off-season and the clubs have been working hard in preparation so fans can expect to see some high quality football.”

The deputy chairman of the Interim Committee said that the competitions for the next season will commence on September 15 with Etisalat Cup due to national duties during that period and this competition will help the players and the teams to prepare well ahead of the launch of the Etisalat Pro-League in October.

Al Junaibi reiterated that the committee was keen to ensure the national team had enough time for adequate preparation, without any direct effects on the league schedule. He pointed out that there will be no long breaks in the league as has happened in the previous season which had a negative impact on the performance of the teams and the overall standard of the competition.

“The professional league is entering its fourth season, and over the last three seasons we have gained valuable experiences through hard work to develop the system of professional football in the UAE. We believe that we are on the right track and would like to assure everyone that next season will be even better than previous seasons,” said Al Junaibi.

Al Junaibi thanked all of the sports leaders and officials for their support of the professional league and their role in contributing to the success achieved thus far. He also thanked the partners of the Pro-League - Etisalat, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Audi, Abu Dhabi and Dubai Sports Channels - along with the media who have played an outstanding role in making the professionalism process a success.

The 2011/2012 season will run for a total of nine months and will finish on May 6, one month earlier than the previous season. The competition will feature two new teams, Ajman and Emirates Club, following their promotion from the First Division after the relegation of Kalba and Al Dhafra from last season’s Pro-League.

The league suffered a three gaps of more than 30 days last season, and needed nine months to a complete a 22-match schedule.

“The tournament next season will be in the best shape. We wouldn't have done this beautiful event, this draw, if we didn't want to continue with the league. We will continue working professionally this season as we did for the last season,” said Saeed Abdul Ghaffar Hussain, vice-president of the UAE FA and chairman of the Interim Pro-League committee.

“If it was successful last season, it will be even better next season,” he promised.

He thanked the media for the wonderful support given to the league last season and hoped the new season will bring in more spectators.

“Every aspect of the league, including the Fifa days, have been taken into consideration during the draw. The competition team worked hard to avoid the interruptions,” Ghaffar who predicted a smoothly conducted league. "Everything was studied and I think the necessary steps have been taken to have an exceptional season."

The name and the logo for the league will be decided before the season starts, Ghaffar confirmed.

UAE Football League Chief Executive Officer Carlo Nohra said everything was going smoothly despite the appointment of an interim committee to run the league.

“There have been no changes on what we have been doing on a day to day basis. We have been preparing to deliver next season,” he said.

Regarding concerns about influx foreign stars affecting local players, he said: “The recommendations of clubs made a few weeks earlier were ratified. The balance of foreign players to Emirati players have been maintained. Another player has been added to the mix, an Asian purely to compete on a more level playing field in the AFC Champions league.

First round fixtures (home teams first):

Etisalat Cup

Al Jazira v Al Wasl

Al Ain v Al Wahda

Emirates v Dubai FC

Al Shabab v Bani Yas

Al Sharjah v Al Nasr

Ajman v Al Ahil

Pro-League

Al Wasl v Al Sharjah

Al Ain v Al Nasr

Al Shabab v Al Wahda

Emirates v Dubai FC

Al Jazira v Al Ahli