Shabab Al-Ahli Club ( ar, نادي شباب الأهلي) is a Emirati professional

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club based in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...

, that currently plays in the

UAE ADNOC Pro League The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...

. Al-Ahli is one of the most successful clubs in the UAE. Al Ahli FC has won 7 league titles, a record of 10 UAE's President Cup titles, 5 UAE super Cup titles, 5 UAE League Cup titles and 1 Emirati-Moroccan Super Cup, earning a total of 41 titles, making them the second most successful team in UAE. In the latest ranking by the

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

, Shabab Al Ahli is the 7th best club in Asia and ranked 110th in the world. In 2017, the

Dubai CSC Dubai Cultural Sports Club () was a football club based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. In 2017 merged with Al Shabab to join Al-Ahli to rebrand the club into Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai FC. History The club was relegated in 2007 to the UAE S ...

and Al Shabab merged within Al Ahli FC making Shabab Al Ahli FC.

History

Establishment

Al Ahli club was established in 1970 when two local football teams Al Wehdah and Al Shabab (est. 1958) joined together 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 Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

. The club won three

UAE Arabian Gulf League The UAE Pro League ( ar, دوري المحترفين الإماراتي), known for sponsorship reasons as the ADNOC Pro League, is the top professional football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The first team to win the title was Al ...

titles in the 1970s and won its fourth in 2006, fifth in 2009, sixth in 2014 and seventh in 2016.

1973–1980: The golden age and aftermath decline

It took Al Ahli only four years after its establishment to win the

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 Hassan Nazari ( fa, حسن نظری, born August 19, 1956 in Abadan, Iran) is a retired Iranian footballer. He usually played as a defender. Playing career He began his career in his hometown of Abadan, playing for clubs like 'Sepah Abadan' and ...

and

Hassan Roshan Hassan Rowshan ( fa, حسن روشن, born 2 June 1955) is an Iranian football coach, manager, and former player. He usually played as a striker. He is currently the head of technical committee of Esteghlal. Early life Rowshan was 13 when h ...

. 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 Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

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 Mohammad Ali Karimi Pashaki ( fa, علی کریمی ; born 8 November 1978) is an Iranian football coach and former player. During his professional football career, he has played in the Iran Pro League, UAE Pro League, Qatar Stars League and ...

play multiple seasons for Al Ahli, finishing as league top scorer in 2003-04 and being named

Asian footballer of the year The Asian Footballer of the Year is an annual prize awarded to the best Asian player in a calendar year, organized by International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) and Asian Football Confederation (AFC). History The origin of ...

2004.

2009 FIFA Club World Cup

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 The 2009 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2009 presented by Toyota for sponsorship reasons) was a football tournament played from 9 to 19 December 2009. It was the sixth FIFA Club World Cup and was played in Ab ...

which was held in December 2009. They lost 0–2 to

Auckland City Auckland City was a territorial authority with city status covering the central isthmus of the urban area of Auckland, New Zealand. It was governed by the Auckland City Council from 1989 to 2010, and as a territory within the wider Auckland Re ...

in their only game in the competition.

Bouncing Back

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 Fabio Cannavaro (; born 13 September 1973) is an Italian professional football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of club Benevento. A centre-back, he spent the majority of his career in Italy. He started his career at N ...

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 Guangzhou Football Club, formerly known as Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club, is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under the license of the Chinese Football Association. The team is based ...

1–0 on aggregate. Al Ahli homegrown forward Ahmed Khalil named the UAE's sole recipient of the prestigious

Asian Footballer of the Year The Asian Footballer of the Year is an annual prize awarded to the best Asian player in a calendar year, organized by International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) and Asian Football Confederation (AFC). History The origin of ...

award in 2015. In 2016, they again won their 7th domestic league title with two matches to play.

2017 Merge

In 2017 the clubs

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.

Crest and nickname

File:Al-AhliClubUAE.png, 1970–2006 File:AlAhli UAE new.png, 2006–2017 File:Shabab_Al-Ahli_Dubai_FC.png, 2017–Present 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

Rashid Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in

, United Arab Emirates that was named after Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum. It is currently used mostly for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

matches. The stadium holds 12,000 people. It was built in 1948. It is the home ground of Shabab Al-Ahli. 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

Shabab Al Ahli rivalry with

Al Ain Al Ain ( ar, ٱلْعَيْن, , ) is a city in the western side of Tuwwam region and the seat of the administrative division of its namesake, Al Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It is bordered to the east by the Omani ...

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

The club is also known as Al Ahli Castle because of its involvement in other professional sports. The club competes in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the ...

, track sport,

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

and

track cycling Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it ...

. 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.

Relationship with La Liga

In 2016 Al Ahli became the first foreign club to sign a partnership agreement with La Liga that is the first of its kind for both the renowned professional Spanish league and the Arabian Gulf League leaders. The signing of the agreement, which was staged at La Liga's headquarters, 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 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.

Pro-League record

_{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

Current squad

''As of UAE Pro-League:''

Unregistered players

Out on loan

Shabab Al Ahli from Board Of Directors

*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

*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

Shabab Al Ahli Football Company Board Directors

*Sheikh Mansour Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum - Chairman *Sami Al Qamzi - Deputy Chairman

Board Members

*Abdul Majeed Hussain *Ibrahim Abdul-Malik *Khalid Buhumaid *Jamal Al Mehairi *Ali Al-Habsi *Saeed Rashid

Honours

28 OfficialONLY Al-Ahli since rebranding championships are counted Championships

Domestic Competitions

UAE Pro League The UAE Pro League ( ar, دوري المحترفين الإماراتي), known for sponsorship reasons as the ADNOC Pro League, is the top professional football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The first team to win the title was Al ...

: 7 ::Champions: 1974–75, 1975–76, 1979–80, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2013–14, 2015–16 *

UAE President's Cup The UAE President's Cup, or simply the President Cup, is a football tournament that takes place in United Arab Emirates, between clubs in the UAE Pro League and the UAE First Division League. The winner qualifies for the AFC Champions League. Hi ...

: 10 (Record) ::Champions: 1974–75, 1976–77, 1987–88, 1995–96, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2007–08, 2012–13, 2018–19,

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

* UAE League Cup: 5 (Record) ::Champions: 2011–12, 2013–14, 2016–17, 2018–19,

UAE Super Cup The UAE Super Cup ( ar, كأس السوبر الإماراتي), is the curtain raiser of the United Arab Emirates football season. It is played between the previous season's Pro-League winners and President's Cup Winners. The first edition was p ...

: 5 ::Champions: 2009,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, 2014, 2016,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

Continental competitions

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

::''Runners-up (1):''

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

Friendly competitions

Emirati-Moroccan Friendship Super Cup ::Winners (1): 2016 * See Al Shabab SC and

for respective club championships.

References

External links

*
Soccerway Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahli, Al Football clubs in Dubai Football clubs in the United Arab Emirates 1958 establishments in the Trucial States Association football clubs established in 1958