Al Wahda Football Club ( ar, نادي الوحدة لكرة القدم) is an Emirati professional
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 ...
club based in
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dha ...
, that competes in the
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 ...
. The club was founded in 1974 and plays its home games at the
Al Nahyan Stadium. The club's colours are maroon, grey and white.
History
Foundation
The first team created in Abu Dhabi was Al-Ahli in 1966, followed respectively by Al-Ittihad in 1968, Al-Falah and Al-Wahda in 1969. In 1974, a decision was made by the Minister of youth and sport to create Abu Dhabi SC by merging Al-Ittihad and Al-Wahda on 13 March 1974, and to create Al-Emirates SC by merging Al-Ahli and Al-Falah on 3 June 1974. In 1984, Abu Dhabi SC and Al-Emirates SC merged to create Al-Wahda FC.
Modern era
In
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
, Al Wahda won their maiden UAE League title with 8 points ahead of their rivals
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 ...
. In 2018, Al Wahda changed its official logo as part of a new club redesign.
Honours
Leagues
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 ...
: 4
* Champions:
1998–99,
2000–01,
2004–05,
2009–10
UAE Division One
UAE First Division League is the second tier of football league competition in the United Arab Emirates.
As of 2020–21, the league features 15 sides who play each other in a home and away round-robin format, with a total of 28 games for each t ...
: 2
* Champions: 1976–77, 1984–85
Cups
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 ...
: 2
* Champions: 1999–2000,
2016–17
UAE Super Cup: 4
* Champions: 2002, 2011, 2017,
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
UAE Federation Cup: 3
* Champions: 1986, 1995, 2001
UAE League Cup: 2
* Champions: 2015–16,
2017–18
Performance in AFC competitions
Al Wahda has been qualifying for Asian competitions regularly since the
1998–99 Asian Cup Winners' Cup, they've been qualifying for the
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 ...
regularly by winning the President's Cup or consistently finishing near the top in the league.
*
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 ...
: 12 appearances
::
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...
: Quarter-finals
::
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...
: Group stage
::
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...
: Semi-finals
::
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
: Group stage
::
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
: Group stage
::
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...
: Group stage
::
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 ...
: Play-offs
::
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
: Group stage
::
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
: Group stage
::
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
: Round of 16
::
2020: ''Withdrew''
::
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
: Quarter-finals
*
Asian Club Championship
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 competitio ...
: 2 appearances
::
1999–2000: First round
::
2001–02: Group stage (Top 8)
*
Asian Cup Winners Cup
The Asian Cup Winners' Cup was an association football competition run by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The competition was started in 1991 as a tournament for all the domestic cup winners from countries affiliated to the AFC. The winne ...
: 2 appearances
::
1998–99: First round
::
2000–01: First round
Home stadium
The
Al-Nahyan Stadium is the home of Al Wahda. It has 15,000 seats and located only three kilometers from the downtown at the heart of Abu Dhabi City.
Current squad
Unregistered players
Out on loan
Coaching Staff
Past managers
{{columns-list,
* {{flagicon, Egypt, 1972
Helmy Toulan (1979–84)
* {{flagicon, Iran
Heshmat Mohajerani
Heshmatollah Mohajerani ( fa, , born 13 December 1939) is a retired Iranian association football midfielder and manager.
Early life and playing career
Mohajerani was born to Asadoolah Mohajerani and Leila Nassiri in a family of six sibling ...
(1984–86)
* {{flagicon, Serbia
Slobodan Halilović
Slobodan Halilović (; born 1 January 1951) is a Bosnian Serb football manager and former player.
Honours Player
;Radnički Niš
*Balkan Cup: 1976
Coach
;Radnički Niš
*Yugoslav Second League: 1985-86
;Mogren
*Second League of FR Yugoslavia
T ...
(1991–92)
* {{flagicon, Egypt
Mahmoud El-Gohary
Mahmoud Nuseir Youssef El-Gohary ( ar, محمود نصير يوسف الجوهري; 20 February 1938 – 31 August 2012) was an Egyptian footballer and football coach.
Career
As a player, El-Gohary had a short-lived career. A persistent knee in ...
(1995–96)
* {{flagicon, Netherlands
Jo Bonfrere
Jo, jo, JO, or J.O. may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Jo'' (film), a 1972 French comedy
* ''Jo'' (TV series), a French TV series
*"Jo", a song by Goldfrapp from '' Tales of Us''
*"Jo", a song by Mr. Oizo from '' Lambs Anger''
* Jo a fict ...
(1998–99)
* {{flagicon, Netherlands
Ruud Krol
Rudolf ("Ruud" or "Rudi") Jozef Krol (; born 24 March 1949) is a Dutch former professional footballer who was capped 83 times for the Netherlands national team. Most of his career he played for his home town club, Ajax, and he became a coach ...
(1999)
* {{flagicon, Belgium
Dimitri Davidovic (1999–00)
* {{flagicon, Netherlands
Rinus Israël
Marinus "Rinus" David Israël (born 19 March 1942) is a Dutch former professional football player and manager who is currently a scout. Nicknamed "Iron Rinus", he formed a solid defence line at Feyenoord with Theo Laseroms.
Club career
Duri ...
(2000–01)
* {{flagicon, Netherlands
Jo Bonfrere
Jo, jo, JO, or J.O. may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Jo'' (film), a 1972 French comedy
* ''Jo'' (TV series), a French TV series
*"Jo", a song by Goldfrapp from '' Tales of Us''
*"Jo", a song by Mr. Oizo from '' Lambs Anger''
* Jo a fict ...
(2001–02)
* {{flagicon, Turkey
Cemşir Muratoğlu (2002–03)
* {{flagicon, Austria
Rolf Fringer Rolf is a male given name and a surname. It originates in the Germanic name ''Hrolf'', itself a contraction of ''Hrodwulf'' ( Rudolf), a conjunction of the stem words ''hrod'' ("renown") + ''wulf'' ("wolf"). The Old Norse cognate is ''Hrólfr''. A ...
(March 14, 2003 – June 30, 2003)
* {{flagicon, France
Rolland Courbis
Rolland Courbis (; born 12 August 1953) is a French football manager and former professional player who played as a defender. He was most recently manager of Stade Rennais F.C., having replaced Philippe Montanier on 20 January 2016.
Career
B ...
(July 1, 2003 – Nov 30, 2003)
* {{flagicon, Netherlands
Rinus Israël
Marinus "Rinus" David Israël (born 19 March 1942) is a Dutch former professional football player and manager who is currently a scout. Nicknamed "Iron Rinus", he formed a solid defence line at Feyenoord with Theo Laseroms.
Club career
Duri ...
(Dec 1, 2003 – June 30, 2004)
* {{flagicon, Egypt
Ahmad Abdel-Halim (2004–0?)
* {{flagicon, Germany
Reiner Hollmann (July 1, 2005 – April 3, 2006)
* {{flagicon, France
Richard Tardy
Richard Francis Emile Tardy (born 29 July 1950) is a French former professional football player and manager. He led several clubs and national teams as a coach.
Career
Tardy has managed in the Superleague Greece with Aris Thessaloniki F.C., and ...
(200?–Aug 4, 2006)
* {{flagicon, Germany
Horst Köppel (Aug 5, 2006 – Oct 11, 2006)
[{{cite news, title=Köppel wechselt in die VAE, url=http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/intligen/startseite/353284/artikel_koeppel-wechselt-in-die-vae.html, access-date=9 February 2013, newspaper=kicker, date=5 August 2006, language=de, archive-date=18 May 2014, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518015525/http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/intligen/startseite/353284/artikel_koeppel-wechselt-in-die-vae.html, url-status=live]
* {{flagicon, Netherlands
Jo Bonfrere
Jo, jo, JO, or J.O. may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Jo'' (film), a 1972 French comedy
* ''Jo'' (TV series), a French TV series
*"Jo", a song by Goldfrapp from '' Tales of Us''
*"Jo", a song by Mr. Oizo from '' Lambs Anger''
* Jo a fict ...
(Dec 13, 2007 – Dec 17, 2008)
* {{flagicon, Austria
Josef Hickersberger (Dec 10, 2008 – June 1, 2010)
* {{flagicon, Romania
László Bölöni (May 29, 2010 – Sept 2, 2010)
* {{flagicon, Brazil
Tite (Aug 31, 2010 – Oct 19, 2010)
* {{flagicon, Austria
Josef Hickersberger (Oct 22, 2010 – June 30, 2012)
* {{flagicon, Croatia
Branko Ivanković
Branko Ivanković (; born 28 February 1954) is a Croatian former footballer who played as a midfielder, and the current manager of the Oman national team. After a 12-year playing career at Varteks, Ivanković started his coaching career at the ...
(May 20, 2012 – April 28, 2013)
* {{flagicon, Austria
Josef Hickersberger (April 28, 2013 – July 15, 2013)
* {{flagicon, Czech Republic
Karel Jarolím (July 15, 2013 – Nov 9, 2013)
* {{flagicon, Portugal
José Peseiro
José Vítor dos Santos Peseiro (born 4 April 1960) is a Portuguese football manager and former player who played as a forward. He is the manager of the Nigeria national team.
After an unassuming career as a player, he went on to coach several ...
(Nov 11, 2013 – Jan 11, 2015)
* {{flagicon, Saudi Arabia
Sami Al-Jaber (Jan 11, 2015 – May 19, 2015)
* {{flagicon, Mexico
Javier Aguirre (June 18, 2015 – May 20, 2017)
* {{flagicon, Romania
Laurențiu Reghecampf
Laurențiu Aurelian Reghecampf (born 19 September 1975) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently in charge of Azerbaijan Premier League side Neftchi Baku.
Playing career
Club
Reghecampf was born in Târgo ...
(July 3, 2017 – November 25, 2018)
* {{flagicon, Netherlands
Henk ten Cate (December 7, 2018 – May 26, 2019)
* {{flagicon, Netherlands
Maurice Steijn (June 9, 2019 – October 17, 2019)
* {{flagicon, ESP
Manuel Jiménez (October 17, 2019 – July 18, 2020)
* {{flagicon, Netherlands
Mark Wotte
Mark Christian Wotte (born 16 December 1960) is a Dutch football manager and former player. Wotte has managed teams in the Netherlands, Egypt, Qatar, England and Romania, and has also worked for the Scottish Football Association.
Playing career
W ...
(July 18, 2020 – September 8, 2020)
* {{flagicon, Serbia
Vuk Rasovic (September 8, 2020 – March 12, 2021)
* {{flagicon, Netherlands
Henk ten Cate (March 13, 2021 – October 25, 2021)
* {{flagicon, France
Grégory Dufrennes (October 26, 2021 – June 3, 2022)
* {{flagicon, Portugal
Carlos Carvalhal
Carlos Augusto Soares da Costa Faria Carvalhal (; born 4 December 1965) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a centre-back, currently manager of La Liga club RC Celta de Vigo.
As a player, he totalled 197 Primeira Liga appearances in ...
(July 1, 2022 – October 2, 2022)
[{{cite web, title=Carlos Carvalhal leaves Al Wahda, url=https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/carlos-carvalhals-path-hull-city-7659770, publisher=Hull Daily Mail, access-date=5 October 2022]
Pro-League record
{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
, -bgcolor="#efefef"
! Season
! Lvl.
! Tms.
! Pos.
!
President's Cup
!
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
, -
,
2008–09
,
1
, 12
, 4th
, Semi-Finals
, bgcolor=silver, Runner-ups
, -
,
2009–10
, 1
, 12
, bgcolor=gold, 1st
, Semi-Finals
, Semi-Finals
, -
,
2010–11
, 1
, 12
, 5th
, bgcolor=silver, Runner-ups
, Semi-Finals
, -
,
2011–12
, 1
, 12
, 6th
, Semi-Finals
, First Round
, -
,
2012–13
, 1
, 14
, 7th
, Semi-Finals
, Semi-Finals
, -
,
2013–14
, 1
, 14
, bgcolor=silver, 2nd
, Quarter-Finals
, First Round
, -
,
2014–15
, 1
, 14
, 4th
, Round of 16
, First Round
, -
,
2015–16
, 1
, 14
, bgcolor="#cc9966", 3rd
, Round of 16
, bgcolor=gold, Champions
, -
,
2016–17
, 1
, 14
, 5th
, bgcolor=gold, Champions
, First Round
, -
,
2017–18
, 1
, 12
, bgcolor=silver, 2nd
, Semi-Finals
, bgcolor=gold, Champions
, -
,
2018–19
, 1
, 14
, bgcolor="#cc9966", 3rd
, Round of 16
, bgcolor=silver, Runner-ups
, -
,
2019–20{{ref, a, a, Corona
, 1
, 14
, 5th
, Round of 16
, Quarter-Finals
, -
,
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 ...
, 1
, 14
, 7th
, Round of 16
, First Round
, -
,
2021–22
, 1
, 14
, bgcolor="#cc9966", 3rd
, bgcolor=silver, Runner-ups
, Semi-Finals
Notes{{note, a 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
References
{{reflist
External links
Official website{{in lang, ar
*{{Facebook, 375868319246380/
{{Al Wahda FC
{{Al Wahda FC squad
{{Arabian Gulf League teamlist
Wahda
Association football clubs established in 1984
Sport in Abu Dhabi
Sport in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi
1984 establishments in the United Arab Emirates