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Ahdaaf Alternative Awards – The Titus Bramble Award

Wael Jabir — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 20:21:31 +0000

Close-Second

Competition was fierce for the honour of being the inaugural recipient of this award, named after the iconic former Newcastle United, Wigan and Sunderland defender. However, two names stood above the rest.

In a season where they faced a real threat of relegation for the first time in their history, the last thing Al Ittihad needed was for one of their most experienced defenders making six mistakes leading directly to goals.

خسارة كاس السوبر وخسارة كاس الملك وخسارة الصدارة الاسيوية والمُتسبب : أحمد عسيري .
pic.twitter.com/IWqDbT22Sy

— عـلاوي (@Mo8yd) May 21, 2019

Luckily for the Saudi giants, for every Ahmed Assiri blooper, there was a Marouane da Costa heroic to save the day and keep them up in the top flight. Assiri’s performances this season were so poor there is little chance he will be at the club come the start of next season.

The Winner

If Assiri had a nightmare of a season in Jeddah, there is only one man in the entire Middle East who could deny him the award.

Another experienced centre-back and one who was once lauded as a gem of Emirati football. Hamdan Al Kamali has been a ticking time bomb for Al Wahda this season. The 30-year-old received more coloured cards than any other Al Wahda player this season.

It is his comic performance in the 2-4 defeat to Al Dhafra that stood out for Al Kamali, earning him the award. In the Arabian Gulf League fixture back in October, Al Kamali was at fault for two goals before capping off a dreadful night with an own goal. Bramble would be proud!

Saudi Football’s Liberation Must Wait

Hamoudi — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 18:22:53 +0000

The thought of unshackling the image of domestic football in Saudi football from its current perception is imminent.

Following nearly decades of normalization, football in the kingdom has gone through a serious of reforms, all of which are working towards a common goal of professionalism. Having doubled attendance levels since the 13/14 season, Saudi’s league ‘Dawry Abdul Lateef Jameel’ renamed to ‘Dawry Jameel’ is showing positivity in regards to fan engagement however, there are problems that continue to pest the clubs internally – the financial problem.

An audit table for the needs of Dawry Jameel Clubs at the end of 2015/16. The table indicated that Al-Nassr were not allowed to sign local or foreign players!

We have to admit the Dawry Jameel league, which is the strongest league among neighboring nations, is yet to come to level terms as to achieving full professionalism, in respect to players, club operations and to a certain extent the functioning of the Football Federation that manages domestic football. After all, all if not most of the clubs are owned by the government.

At the end of last season, almost all clubs were under significant debt which they were able to pay-off only a month ago. The debt included payments to ex-players, current players, staff and the government. As majority of these clubs have honorary members who are able to provide mighty financial support, recent times and circumstances have placed a significant strain on the pockets of a few. Allocation of TV revenues in recent years (~ SAR 150 million – 16/17 season) is a lifeline for clubs that are struggling.

Then there was the match-fixing scandal in division one which resulted in newly promoted Al Mujazzal being demoted to second division along with huge fines and multiple number of people being banned from the game.

Moreover, the management of player contracts – an issue that has plagued the league and all within for the longest time – continues to haunt the league. Errors in scouting and eventual contract write-ups, for foreign players and coaches, has given way to funds being wasted. Hence, the high turnover of foreign players and coaches in Saudi football, and across the region, is not surprising.

For example, when Al Nassr revealed the signing of Albanian international Alban Meha (now a Kosovo international after he switched his allegiance recently) in July, there was a lot of excitement in the Nasrawi camp. Meha’s credibility was known in terms of his ability to take shots at goal from outside the 18 yard box. However, it seemed like the incoming Croatian boss Zoran Mamić has no intentions of giving Meha any playing time – just enough to observe him perform. Moreover, the club also let go off their Polish standout Adrian Mierzejewski, a best foreign player title holder, to UAE’s Sharjah FC. This might be deliberate as we are aware that the replacements were two of Zoran’s national compatriots.

And returning to the point of financial issues before the 40th season of the league, Al Ahli was the only club that was able to sort out all requirements set up by the FF for registering players – which also entails paying the salaries of players – in June. The league champions, were the only club out of the fourteen to survive the debt burden. The rest of them barely registered their players before their first games, with one club (Al Wahda) registering players with less than 24 hours to go prior to kick-off. Furthermore, legendary Saudi striker/current coach of Al Shabab Sami Al Jaber, was clearly fuming over the fact that Uruguayan Sebastian Perez’s international card had yet not arrived, leading to a delay in registration, resulting in horrible results for the club in the first two weeks of the season. Not that Perez’s inclusion could have changed the outcome, yet it could have been a factor.

Other top clubs that suffered due to delay in their international cards included Tunisia’s Akaïchi and Al Hilal’s Thiago Alves who did not feature in the first two games of the season, respectively. Akaïchi was recently thanked for his patience by boss Ahmed Masood as the club worked towards sorting the last of its debts prior to registration of the player, amid rumors of them being offloaded to give away to an international defender. On a positive though, it was good to hear Ahmed Masood not bowing down to the pressure from within to tie up commercial deals as they come, stating clearly that any advertiser who is interested in sponsoring the kit would have to offer a deal worth SAR 100 million or more, which is what top Saudi telecom provider Mobily did a few weeks ago.

Truth be told, this sort of constant confusion masks a hidden danger underlying any immediate push for greatness and will continue to threaten Saudi football while placing limitations on its ambition and the future. How the league and its stakeholders manage this transition will determine whether its goals will be kicked into even higher gear. But for now, it is clear that planning towards professionalism has not yet kept pace with reality on ground.

2016/17 SEASON PREVIEW: SAUDI PRO LEAGUE “DAWRY JAMEEL”

Ahdaaf ME — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 06:59:06 +0000

The Saudi Pro League kicks off after being rebranded into “Dawry Jameel”. A disappointing showing in Asia means that none of the teams will be participating in continental competitions until February 2017; so there is even more focus on the league. Here is all you need to know about the 14 teams contesting the Middle East’s most popular league.

Asian Competition Quota

League Position	Continental Competition Qualification	Competition Stage	Competition Edition
Winners	Asian Champions League (ACL)	Group Stage	2018
Runner-Up	ACL	Group Stage	2018
3rd Place	ACL	Play-Off	2018
King Cup Winners	ACL	Group Stage	2018

Relegation Process

League Position	Passage of Relegation	Division Relegated To
12th	Relegation Play-Off	First Division in the situation of a loss
13th	Automatic Relegation	First Division
14th	Automatic Relegation	First Division

Al Ahli

Manager: Jose Gomes (Portugal)

2015/16 position: 1^st

2016/17 predicted position: 1^st

Key signing: Luiz Carlos – Waleed Bakhshween’s injuries and on-and-off performances will now be replaced/supported by the exploits of Brazilian Luiz Carlos. He is relatively multi-skilled, capable of aiding defenders in the build-up phases of play and also performing on the attacking front. With Taisir Al-Jassim entering his twilight years, another player will need to take the mantle in providing the high energy levels in central midfield.

Key Player: Omar Al-Somah – Who else were you expecting? It was Omar Al-Somah who scored 2 goals when Al-Ahli looked down and out against Al-Hilal to win the league title for the first time in 32 years. It was Omar Al-Somah who bagged a brace in the final of the King Cup to help Al-Ahli secure the coveted double. Al-Ahli then went on to win the ‘treble’, thanks to – you guessed it – Omar Al-Soma, when he scored the equaliser and winning penalty at Craven Cottage during the Saudi Super Cup.

Why should I follow them? Al-Ahli have signed in the right places, strengthening their ranks with a defensive midfielder (Luiz Carlos), another attacking midfielder (Ali Awaji) and arguably the best manager in the league. Moreover, the replacement for Osama Hawsawi is ready-made in the fantastic prospect Mohammad Al-Fteil. All in All the best team in the league with a large fan base and the most tactically adept manager; Al-Ahli are big favourites for another title.

Stadium: King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah (Capacity: 62,241)

Write up by: Mohammed Fayad – @Hamoudi_LFC8

Al Hilal

Manager: Gustavo Matosas (Uruguay)

2015/16 position: 2^nd

2016/17 predicted position: 2^nd

Key signing: Osama Hawsawi – Despite Mohammad Jahfali’s winner against Al-Nassr, he has never provided the consistent, top quality peformances expected of him after that historic ending to the 2014/15 season. 32 years old Osama Hawsawi re-joins Al Hilal from Champions Al-Ahli to fill the void that was left by the departure of Kwak Tae-Hwi and Digao, but questions will be raised as Al-Hilal still lack the depth to perform well defensively on a consistent basis.

Key Player: Yasser Al-Shahrani – The only player in the team with a claim to being the best player in Saudi Arabia, Al-Shahrani’s marauding runs and technical ability on either flank has proven vital for Al-Hilal over the past few seasons, even earning a spot on the ME cover of FIFA 16. His ability to deputise at left, right or centre back alongside a presence in midfield is invaluable for the Blue Wave.

Why should I follow them? After the tragic losses suffered against Al-Ahli in the penultimate game of last season (seeing them lose out on the league title) and in the King Cup semi-final, Al-Hilal looked for change yet again and are desperate to win either the league title or the 2017 Champions League. Gustavo Matosas comes in from Mexico to implement his fluid tactical ideas and attempt a shot at glory with an impatient fan base and board of directors. We believe, they’re just not there just yet.

Stadium: King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh (Capacity: 68,752)

Write up by: Mohammed Fayad – @Hamoudi_LFC8

Al Ittihad

Manager: Jose Luis Sierra “El Couto” (Chile)

2015/16 position: 3^rd

2016/17 predicted position: 4^th

Key signing: Fahad Al-Ansari – The Kuwaiti midfielder has come in on loan from Kuwaiti giants Qadsia, in a long-awaited move, to bring a sense of dynamism to the Tigers’ midfield. His long legs, knack for creating and scoring goals and aesthetically pleasing style may just become a hit at the King Abdullah Sports City.

Key Player: Yassin Hamza – His wonderful performance against Al-Hilal in the first half of the season should have set the tone for a powerful period under Victor Piturca’s attempted revival of the club, but Hamza went on a downward spiral after initial promise. After a season of adapting to his surroundings, Hamza’s shift in defence will be key to any hopes for Ittihad to finish in the top two.

Why should I follow them? Sierra’s belief in possession and controlling the tempo of the game may succeed with the likes of Fahad Al-Ansari and Carlos Villanueva in the team but questions will be asked about the defensive structure and handling transitions, which may understandably be Ittihad’s weak point in the coming season. The Tigers’ strength is in their fanbase and they will undoubtedly come in numbers, over a million fans total are expected watch Ittihad’s 26 league games this season.

Stadium: King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah (Capacity: 62,241)

Write up by: Mohammed Fayad – @Hamoudi_LFC8

Al Taawoun

Manager: Darije Kalezić (Switzerland)

2015/16 position: 4th

2016/17 predicted position: 6^th

Key signing: Mounir El Hamdaoui – the 2009 Dutch player of the year is now 32 years old. Following a successful career that saw him score regularly for AZ Alkmaar, Ajax and Fiorentina, he is spending the twilight of his career in the Middle East and has scored 7 goals in 9 appearances for Umm Salal in the Qatari League last term.

Key Player: Syrian midfielder Jehad Al Hussain has been setting the Saudi League alight with his playmaking skills. The 34 years old finished last season with 10 assists to his name, more than any other player in the division, highlighting his key role in their historic fourth place finish. The club has renewed his contract for another season back in February and he will continue to be the team’s beating heart this season.

Why should I follow them? Traditionally a bottom half (or often second flight) team, Al Taawoun have put in some stellar performances since their return to the top division in 2010/11, culminating with a historic fourth place finish last season that will see them compete in the 2017 AFC Champions League. Naturally, success comes at a price and the team have lost their Portugese manager, Jose Gomes, who joined champions Al Ahli. Al Taawoun also lost their talisman and captain Abdulmajeed Al Ruwaili who was snapped up by Al Hilal. Current boss Kalezic is facing a tremendous rebuilding job while also competing continentally, a new experience for most of the players. All these factors are bound to take a toll on Al Tawoun and could see the likes of Al Shabab and Al Nassr eclipse them this season. They will do well to maintain a top half finish under the circumstances.

Stadium: King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Buraidah. (Capacity: 29,850)

Write up by: Wael Jabir – @WaelJabir

Al Fateh

Manager: Ricardo Sa Pinto (Portugal)

2015/16 position: 5^th

2016/17 predicted position: 7^th

Key signing: Nathan Junior – the versatile forward and attacking midfielder is going to have the insurmountable task of replacing Elton Jose, whose relationship with Fateh has ended miserably. The overall output of Elton was brilliant, his free-kick accuracy unmatched and his personality one of a kind. With Nathan Junior possibly needing a bit of time to kick start his career in Saudi Arabia, it won’t be easy.

Key Player: Abdullah Al-Owaishir – the goalkeeper has been called up to the Saudi national team over the last couple of years with no real shot at taking the number one spot, but a big season here for the 25-year old can see him book that spot for years to come.

Why should I follow them? Elton’s problems with the board are a big blow, Bader Al-Nakhli’s move to Al-Ittihad leaves the team lacking star power in defence and replacement Joao Guilherme is not going to find communication with a fully Arabic defensive line easy. Ricardo Sa Pinto will not have it easy but will be relying on his authoritarian methods to get the team to rally on over the course of the season.

Stadium: Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium, Al-Ahsa (Capacity: 20,000)

Write up by: Mohammed Fayad – @Hamoudi_LFC8

Al Shabab

Manager: Sami Al Jaber (Saudi)

2015/16 position: 6th

2016/17 predicted position: 5^th

Key signing: Hiberty Fernandes – the Brazilian/East-Timorese attacker was signed from Thai side Ratchaburi where he scored 19 goals in the 2015 Thai Premier League and bettered it the following season with 20 goals in as many games before joining Al Shabab. Blessed with quick feet and an accurate left foot, Hiberty is expected to play in one of the three attacking positions behind Benyettou in Sami Al Jaber’s favourite 4-2-3-1 formation. The 27 years old will be expected to both score and assist and his deliveries from set pieces will be vital to Al Shabab’s play.

Key Player: Mohamed Benyettou – the 26 years old striker joined from ES Setif in January 2016 after helping the Algerian side to CAF Champions League triumph in 2014. After a promising start to his Al Shabab career with 6 goals in 13 games, Sami Al Jaber’s men will be looking for the Algerian to hit the 15 goals mark if they are to successfully push for an AFC Champions League spot.

Why should I follow them? One of the traditional top five of Saudi football, Al Shabab have missed on Champions League football for 3 seasons in a row and have last won the league in 2011-12. Following a disappointing 6^th place finish last season, they parted ways with Tunisian manager Fathi Al Jabal and looked towards one of the nation’s football legends, Sami Al Jaber, to steady the ship. A serial winner as a player, Al Jaber is yet to win his first silverware as a manager following two “average” stints with his boyhood club, Al Hilal and UAE’s Al Wahda. Al Jaber is expected to re-build the team while pushing for a top four finish this season.

Stadium: Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh (Capacity: 22,000)

Write up by: Wael Jabir – @WaelJabir

Al Khaleej

Manager: Patrick De Wilde (Belgium)

2015/16 position: 7^th

2016/17 predicted position: 10^th

Key signing: Younis Elewi – Once upon a time a goal machine in the lower tiers of the Saudi League, Younis finally earned his big money move to Al Hilal in 2015. One year, four appearances and zero goals later, he now carried the heavy tag of “Al Hilal flop”. Al Khaleej have put their trust in the 26 years old and will be hoping he helps them improve on their lowly 27 league goals return last season.

Key Player: Abdullah Al Salem – The Saudi attacker has been one of the most consistent performers for Al Khaleej over the past few seasons, his involvement in both scoring and creating goals will be vital, but equally so the sense of continuity he brings to a squad that has been regularly changing.

Why should I follow them? Al Khaleej sealed a respectable 7^th place finish last season, but loss of their star player Hattan Bahebri, who signed for Al Shabab, means they will have to work hard to replace his impact and maintain the overall squad level. It is unlikely that they will finish 7^th again, but should be able to survive comfortably.

Stadium: Al Khaleej Stadium, Saihat. (Capacity: 8,000)

Al Nassr

Manager: Zoran Mamic (Croatia)

2015/16 position: 8^th

2016/17 predicted position: 3^rd

Key signing: Marin Tomasov – Apparently one of the best players in the Croatian League, Tomasov will be expected to handle the burden of creating chances for Al-Nassr with a lack of playmaking abilities shared across the players in the team. Capable of playing anywhere in attacking midfield, his inside movement may prove too good for many Saudi defenders.

Key Player: Abdulaziz Al-Jebreen – the defensive midfielder is regarded by many as a potential best in his position in the Gulf, but performances last season failed to back up that claim. His chance is now, where Mamic has come in to bring back the two-time champions in the current decade back from the abyss.

Why should I follow them? Mamic isn’t any sort of tactical or motivational genius compared to his fellow coaches at the helm of the other big four and he only relies on the talent of his players as he did at Dinamo, but apparently he is set to bring in a Croatian staff that will compensate for his deficiencies in the tactical side. Will that be enough to rejuvenate a team that has been destroyed mentally?

Stadium: King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh (Capacity: 68,752)

Write up by: Mohammed Fayad – @Hamoudi_LFC8

Al-Wehda

Manager: Kheïreddine Madoui (Algeria)

2015/16 position: 9th

2016/17 predicted position: 8^th

Key signing: Eudes Dagoulou. Brought in by his former coach at ES Setif, Madoui, Dagoulou is set to be the first player from Central African Republic to play in the Saudi League. In a team featuring many veteran players, Dagoulou’s energy in the middle of the pitch and his valuable contribution to both defence and attack will be a welcomed addition to the Meccan side.

Key Player: Abdullah Al Sudairi, the 24-year-old goalkeeper found himself at the heart of the storm after multiple mistakes that cost Al Hilal dearly in 2014-15. The following season, he slipped behind the flamboyant Khalid Shrahili in the pecking order and by the end of the season he found himself transfer-listed and Al Wehda were quick to snap him up. A talented goalkeeper with years ahead of him, Al Sudairi needs to work on his concentration and mental strength to develop into a future Saudi no.1. The former Al Hilal man is likely to be a starter for Al Wehda and his performances this season will be equally vital for his own career and Al Wehda’s aspirations.

Why should I follow them? Following a respectable mid-table finish last season, Al Wehda went all out this summer and signed 13 players so far, interestingly including three brothers (Kamil, Moataz and Rabia Al Moosa) in addition to brothers Kamil and Mukhtar Fallatah. The latter, an Al Wehda youth product who went on to make a name for himself at Ittihad, returns to his boyhood club after falling out of favour with Itti’s former manager Victor Piturca. Still 28, Fallatah will be hoping to regain his international spot by playing more regular first team football in Mecca and Al Wehda will hope he rewards them for their faith. Some interesting signings, but there is still a real possibility that the mass influx of new players will destabilize the club and lead to reverse impact.

Stadium: King Abdul Aziz Stadium, Mecca. (Capacity: 33,500)

Write up by: Wael Jabir – @WaelJabir

Al Faisaly

Manager: Helio Dos Anjos (Brazil)

2015/16 position: 10^th

2016/17 predicted position: 12^th

Key signing: Everaldo Stum – After two seasons of finishing in the top half, Al Faisaly ended last season with a lowly 10^th place finish. Their poor goalscoring return was one of the key factors behind the disappointing campaign, former Real Madrid man Javier Balboa led their scoring charts with only 8 goals. Experienced Brazilian Coach Dos Anjos has come in from Najran and one of his first challenges was to address this. He quickly moved on to sign his compatriot Everaldo. Al Faisaly are the Brazilian striker’s 8^th club despite being just 25. He will need to bang in goals regularly if Al Faisaly are to get anywhere near top half again.

Key Player: Ibrahim Zayed – Following the departure of veteran goalkeeper Mansour Al-Naje’ to Al-Batin, the 26 years old is set to take the no.1 spot, he started 6 games last season and conceded as many goals. The younger brother of former Ittihad legendary goalkeeper Mabrouk Zayed, Ibrahim will be looking to follow in his older brother’s steps and earn a call-up to the national team and a strong showing this season would be the first step towards that.

Why should I follow them? Al Faisaly has risen from the ashes to impose themselves on the Saudi Pro League. Since their promotion to the top tier in 2010, The Maroons have finished in the top half in all but two campaigns, including last season’s disappointing 10^th place finish. Changes have been made, but this is expected to be another difficult season en route to recovery. Expect them to stay up but another bottom half finish.

Stadium: King Salman Sports City, Harmah (Capacity: 7,000)

Write up by: Wael Jabir – @WaelJabir

Qadisiyah

Manager: Hamad Al Dossari (Saudi)

2015/16 position: 11^th

2016/17 predicted position: 13^th

Key signing: Patrick Eze – Following the relegation of Fujairah FC to the UAE first division, their star striker was up for the taking and it was Qadisiyah who snapped up the Nigerian on loan. Eze netted 14 times in his 24 Arabian Gulf League appearances and will be looking to replicate that form in Saudi Arabia to avoid another relegation disappointment.

Key Player: Abdul Rahman Al Obaid – 2015/16 has been a fantastic season for the young left back. Al Obaid, a Qadisiyah youth product, was one of the emerging stars of the Saudi season. His marauding runs down the left and pinpoint crosses producing 4 assists and a goal in 26 appearances and he was rewarded by his first call-up to the national team. The 23 years old continues to attract interest from the top four, but Qadisiyah managed to keep hold of him for the time being and it will be imperative that they continue to do so.

Why should I follow them? Once upon a time Asian champions, Al Qadisiyah are now a shadow of the big team they once were. Relegation battles are the norm in Khobar, the team has spent 3 seasons at the top flight and as many in the first division since 2010.The red and yellow team are set for yet another battle against the odds this season. We don’t expect a successful escape this time around, but they may just prove us wrong.

Stadium: Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium, Khobar. (Capacity: 20,000)

Write up by: Wael Jabir – @WaelJabir

Al Raed

Manager: Nacif Al-Beyaoui (Tunisia)

15/16 position: 12th

16/17 predicted position: 9^th

Key signing: Gilmar – In past seasons Al-Raed always had to rely on a strong playmaker that would carry the team by controlling play and scoring goals. Armenian international Marcos Pizzelli did a fantastic job and evolved into a huge fan-favorite during the second part of the 15/16 season. He is now earning his money in UAE at Al-Fujairah as he was too expensive for Al-Raed. The Brazilian Gilmar, Pizzelli’s successor, can thus be considered the key signing of the transfer window. It’s a big step up for the 26 year old attacker, as he transfers to Saudi-Arabia from the small Maltese league, where he won the Player Of The Year award last season for scoring 15 goals and assisting 10. It will be extremely important for him to settle in quickly; otherwise he could end up being replaced in the winter transfer window, as so many other foreign players in the ALJ before him.

Key player: Jufain Al-Bishi – It would be easy to pick one of the foreign players here, all of them will be crucial. However an absolute key player will be team captain Jufain Al-Bishi, who has to emerge as a dominant figure in Al-Raed’s defense again in order for them to be successful. He is by far the best Saudi defender at the club right now and could build a formidable central defense with new signing Adriano Alves.

Why should I follow them? Buraidah based Al-Raed has been through a rough couple of years. The last two seasons the club only just managed to avoid relegation, finishing 11^th in 2015 and most recently 12^th last season. By far the most dramatic time during this struggle was the final game of the 2015/2016 season against Najran. The club with their versatile Brazilian foreign players put three goals past Fahad Al-Shammari and it looked like Al-Raed would spend this upcoming season playing the likes of Ohod and Al-Watani in the lower tier. An inspiring comeback, ignited by playmaker Marcos Pizzelli and – most importantly – captain Jufain Al-Bishi leveled the score though and gave the team enough momentum to also succeed in the relegation-playoff against Al-Batin in May. New president, new manager, lots of new players. Al-Raed are now looking for a fresh start in the 16/17 season of the ALJ, a badly needed one. The framework for a season without drama and big headlines is set; now management and players need to pull on one string to actually make it happen.

Stadium: King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Buraidah. (Capacity: 29,850)

Write up by: Simon Siegmund – @alraed_live

Ettifaq

Manager: Djamel Belkacem (Tunisia)

2015/16 position: 2^nd in the Saudi First Division

2016/17 predicted position: 11^th

Key signing: Mohammed Koffi – After a less than impressive experience in Qatar, the Burkinabe international defender returns to the Gulf a decade later having made a name for himself in the Egyptian League. Now 29 and carrying 49 caps with Burkina Faso, including an African Cup of Nations silver medal. Koffi could prove to be a smart buy for The Commandos.

Key Player: Mohamed Kanno – Ettifaq’s prized asset. Kanno came through the youth ranks of the Dammam team and has represented Saudi Arabia in all age groups bar the senior team. Standing at 191 cm tall, his strong physique and impeccable passing range make him a dominant presence in midfield while his bullet shots from distance pose an attacking threat on opponents. Ettifaq fended off offers in the region of $3m for Kanno during the past 12 months from the country’s top clubs and Kanno will want to repay the club for their faith in him. A spot in the senior national team could be beckoning should he maintain the form that saw him rise to stardom in his boyhood club.

Why should I follow them? A classic powerhouse is back. Ettifaq’s promotion to the top division is very much a case of return to normality. Two times league champions in the 1980s and Asian Champions League semi-finalists in 1989 have gone through some difficult time, but a new management under Khaled Al Dabal, son of former club president Abdullah Al Dabal has rebuilt from the basics and the team now has a strong foundation and are not expected to go down again easily. Exciting times ahead for the green and reds.

Stadium: Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam. (Capacity: 26,000)

Write up by: Wael Jabir – @WaelJabir

Al Batin

Manager: Adel Abdelrahman (Egypt)

2015/16 position: 3^rd in Saudi First Division.

2016/17 predicted position: 14^th

Key signing: Nino Santos – the Brazilian defender moves across the border from Kuwait following a hugely successful five years spell at Al Jahra where he made the tag “Goalscoring Defender” synonymous with his name. The 31-year-old centre back is a threat from free kicks as well as headers and his penalty taking efficiency contributed to his excellent record of over 40 goals in Al Jahra colours, but where Al Batin will need Santos even more is at the back where they will have to brace themselves for teams taking the game to their half.

Key Player: Sahow Al-Mutairi – Al Batin’s own Jaime Vardy has scored for them in the second division, first division, promotion play-off and will now look to make his stamp on the grand stage of the top division. The local boy’s 11 goals last season were vital for Al Batin’s third place finish and if his form may just prove to be the key to an unlikely survival among the elite.

Why should I follow them? Playing in the fourth tier of Saudi football as recently as 2008, Al-Batin’s rise to the top tier was only completed a week ago when the Saudi FA announced they would be playing in “Dawry Jameel” instead of first division champions Al Majzal who are embroiled in a match fixing scandal that now sees them relegated to 3^rd division. As much as they were delighted with the news, the fact that it came just seven days before the league kicks off has put them in a very tough situation and the club has requested their first 2 fixtures are rescheduled for later to allow them time to complete moves for foreign players. The club from Hafar Al-Batin, in the far northeast of Saudi Arabia on the border with Kuwait, will need a miracle to survive this season.

Stadium: Al Batin Club Stadium, Hafar Al Batin (Capacity: 7,500)

Write up by: Wael Jabir – @WaelJabir

Jordanian Football – A minor setback or the end of a successful period?

Hamoudi — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 11:57:30 +0000

Jordanian Football took a couple of very important steps across the last decade. Steps that made them more recognizable on the world football scene in terms of their national team. Its experience was valuable and became one of the more prominent beacons of Arab football in contemporary history. Trailblazing that Jordanians were most certainly proud of.

But has Jordanian Football preserved its blaze and splendor or did it clearly deteriorate? This is the truth and the talk of its downfall is not new. It has actually been the case for two seasons now, it’s just happening behind the scenes and met with absolute silence despite the regression being crystal clear; as clear as the sun in the sky.

Jordan 2-1 Australia
World Cup Qualifiers 2014

Many have attributed Jordan’s failure to improve to the improvement in other nations’ footballing scenery, namely Japan, South Korea, Australia, Iran, Uzbekistan and the GCC nations too. Many have also claimed that Jordan lack financial support and the ideal infrastructure, but at the same time Iraq and Syria have qualified to the final round of the World Cup Qualifiers. Iraq and Syria, both of whom are not allowed to play at home, both of whom struggle to bring all players together at once and both of whom have semi-professional leagues in the midst of precarious security measures.

Jordanian writer Atef Al-Bazour says, “how dare we try compare ourselves to the bigger nations? We can barely keep up with nations that are not safe to play between their own people, and neither can we boast being better than countries like Bahrain and Lebanon who have been struggling recently. Despite the fact that we have clearly failed, we still show off.”

Jordan defeated Australia at home 2-1 in the latest World Cup Qualifiers, when everyone thought they had really been progressing to the final round albeit a recent draw to Kyrgyzstan. Paul Put’s men were flying high until a match-fixing scandal emerged and in turn forced Put’s reign down the drain. Jordan had lost to Kyrgyzstan after that – losing 5 points from a possible 6 to a weaker team in the process – before appointing Harry Redknapp a couple of weeks prior to the final games.

Redknapp’s tenure started with an 8-0 thrashing of Bangladesh, although Australia made sure that Jordan were no threat and sent them back to Amman eliminated – a 5-1 drubbing in Sydney.

Moving onto the clubs’ point of view, especially Wehdat and Al-Faisaly who we know to be the representatives of Jordanian Football almost everywhere. Wehdat had progressed thanks to the work of other teams, while Al-Faisaly at least did a good job against a mid-table Lebanese side who had struggled this season (Tripoli) and a winless Istiklol.

In terms of league football itself, well, let’s not talk about that… “a weak league that does not produce strong clubs or a decent national team”, according to Al-Bazour. In what was the league of “weirdness and bizarreness”, both Wehdat and Al-Faisaly – who finished first and second respectively – had not won ONCE in their last 5 games. Yet, Wehdat ended up as league winners! Even more bizarrely, when Al-Ahli had finally caught up to the duo and had the chance to win the league themselves, they famously “bottled” it and lost to Shabab Ordon. Al-Ahli fans’ hearts were shattered when they learned that both Wehdat and Al-Faisaly had lost the following day.

Al-Jazeera celebrate their 3rd goal over Wehdat whose fans were disgusted, but still title-winners

All of these facts prove that, without a doubt, Jordanian football has regressed. This comes in a period where sports as a whole has deteriorated, and that is another fact being denied recently. This leads to a question that not many would like to ask, who is responsible for this? Will the regression continue until Jordanian Football completely collapses? Or will it be a minor setback before we witness the return of Jordanian Football?

The Birth, Death and Re-Birth of Lebanese Football

Mootaz Chehade — Tue, 29 Mar 2016 08:00:58 +0000

“The start of a revolution”. Under this title, Waddah Al-Sadeq stated his opinion on the dire footballing situation in Lebanon. The passionate Ansar fan shocked football fans as he sent it out on Facebook for all to see: “Nejmeh fans represent me”.

Nejmeh and Ansar – Violence, Corruption, Sectarianism and Hatred

The heated Lebanese Derby, also known as the Derby of the Capital Beirut, has been marred by violence, corruption, hatred and sectarianism. On the 8^th of December in 1968 the seeds were sown for what is now one of the fiercest yet underrated derbies in world football. Saadeddine Al-Berjawi entered history by becoming the first man to score in the derby, when Nejmeh emerged victor against the Green side of Beirut on that very evening.

The birth of Lebanese football

Uniquely known as the “Castle of the Color of Wine” (or burgundy), Nejmeh only began enjoying consistent league success at the turn of the century. The club was founded by a bunch of young, ambitious men after Lebanon gained its independence in 1943. Headed by Anis Radwan, the group of young boys challenged local teams in the Hamra and Jabal Al-Bahar regions of Beirut. The most important of these challengers were Al-Taawon, a team who in hindsight was pivotal in the establishment of Nejmeh.

In one of the games from the rivalry between both teams, luck was on Nejmeh’s side when they defeated Al-Taawon and subsequently gained all their players as part of an agreed pre-match clause. Among these players were Hassan Yamout, Hassan Taqoush, Safi Attar, Mustafa Al-Daouk and Kamal Chatila. Chatila was honest about his transfer to Nejmeh, claiming that “most of the players at Al-Taawon were eager to play for an official team recognised by the FA”. In 1947, Nejmeh were officially recognised as a football club.

The name of the club itself, Nejmeh, came from the word “star” in Arabic. Anis Radwan set up a meeting to discuss the matters of the team and what name it would use to go forward from that point, and as the team were filled with stars (nujoom), they called themselves the ‘Nejmeh’.

This was similar to the founding of “the Green Boss”, Ansar, who unlike Nejmeh won a massive 26 trophies before 2000. Ansar were once Guinness World Record holders, winning 11 consecutive league titles in a row during the 90’s.

“All of us Lebanon … All of us Ansar”. The club’s motto since 1948, when a group of young Beirutis set up the first Administrative Board at the club headed by Mustafa Al-Shami. It was only 3 years later when Misbah Dougan, then head of the Administrative Board, formally requested an official licence for the club allowing them to play football on all Lebanese grounds.

Ansar’s nomenclature originated from the word “victory”. They were to be called “Al-Intisar”, but seeing that there was another club under that name in Lebanon, Mustafa Al-Shami proposed the name “Ansar” in remembrance of the ‘Ansar’ (supporters) of Prophet Muhammad.

Ansar were then oddly recognised as a team from the governorate of Mount Lebanon rather than their birthplace, Beirut. Ansar suffered as a result of their new location in Al-Ghobeiry, where they had to remain until an association in Beirut freed up. This was the main factor behind the separation of Nejmeh and Ansar until 1968. The “Green Boss” were finally granted an office in Beirut 14 years later, subsequently winning the Second Division in 1966 before meeting their source of happiness in 1967: The Lebanese Premier League.

The peak years

But the derby as previously mentioned was marred by political and sectarian conflict, leading to many seasons without official domestic tournaments. This was evident when they met in 1990 after 15 years and 66 days without league football in Lebanon. Ansar, though, were set to go on the road towards unprecedented success at the time and started their pathway with a bang, leaving Nejmeh empty handed with a 2-0 win at their Stadium.

Nejmeh, though, did the impossible and hit Ansar where it hurt in the 1992-1993 season. Ansar were undefeated in the league for 18 years, courtesy of the civil war that halted the league, but in reality the streak stretched out over 91 games. Mahmoud Hammoud, recently sacked by 2015 Lebanese Champions Ahed and one of the most prolific strikers in his time scored the equaliser against an Ansar side whose lone goal came from their current manager at the time of writing Jamal Taha. Albeit losing out in the “home” derby match they finished 9 points ahead of the “Castle of Burgundy” come end of the season, thanks to a valuable 3-0 thrashing of their rivals in the return match.

Errol McFarlane was one of the better foreigners to come across Lebanese football and had 4 stints in the country, with most of his time spent at Nejmeh. His career-defining moment in Lebanon could as well be the brace he scored against Ansar in 1999. The Beirut Municipal Stadium was on fire thanks to McFarlane, with a diving header and a cheeky slice under the goalkeeper’s legs enough for 3 points against Ansar. Here is what McFarlane had to say about the derby post-match:

How important was this match retrospectively? At the end of the 1999-2000 season, Nejmeh were crowned winners of the Lebanese Premier League after 11 consecutive seasons of the Greens taking over Lebanese football. Errol McFarlane’s arrival and performance proved to be the spark Nejmeh needed to be crowned as Lebanese Champions for the first time; officially.

That wasn’t the last time the teams would clash for the league title but their rivalry was nearing a hindrance with the emergence of Ahed and Safa, both of whom would challenge for honours for the most part of the 21^st century.

In the home match for Ansar in the 2004-05 season, they led 2-0 for the first 90 minutes after a penalty from Felix Kennedy and a rocket from Malek Hassoun ensured their lead and all but the win. But Nejmeh had other ideas when Mohammad Halawi blasted the top of the net with a goal in the 91^st minute of the match, only to be followed by an equaliser at the death by second-half substitute Ali Nasseredine. This point would later give leverage for Nejmeh against Ansar, when they met on the final day of the season.

Nejmeh fans hold up this banner in 2005.

More than 25,000 fans watched the title decider at the Camille Chamoun Stadium. On June 16, 2005, the anticipated match-up between the teams finally commenced. With both sides on 43 points but the Burgundy ahead on goal difference (by +20), Ansar needed a win by all means possible. It took 55 minutes for someone to score and that someone was Abbas Atwi for Nejmeh. With a draw a viable result for Nejmeh and just under 35 minutes left for them to hold out, all signs pointed towards them.

But Felix Kennedy attempted to pre-empt Nejmeh’s title party with an equaliser in the 80^th minute, only for his goal to be cancelled out by Mohammad Kassas – the man who missed a sitter in the previous 2-2 draw between the teams. The craziness did not end there, this time Mahmoud Shahoud making sure Ansar stayed within touching point of the title. It was 2-2 with 7 minutes to go. Although like the 20^th century was Ansar’s, the beginning of the 21^st century was Burgundy by all means. Nejmeh proved that with their 4^th title in 5 seasons.

“If it weren’t for glory, the efforts would have gone in vain. Mabroooook Nejmeh!”

In 2008, it was neither Nejmeh or Ansar who had the final laugh – it was Ahed. With the latter on 46 points come the final week of the season, a win was a necessity with the hope of shared points between Ansar and Nejmeh, both of whom were on 47 points. That’s right, they would face each other in a title decider yet again but with the added factor of Ahed who were no easy side.

Ahed faced Tadamoun, and Nejmeh faced Ansar. The roles were reversed on this occasion, with Ansar leading the table on goal difference. Mohammad Ghaddar, who scored his 22^nd of the season, helped Nejmeh to a lead and saw them go top of the table for the rest of the match. But just like Ansar were winning 2-0 for 90 minutes in 2004 before conceding, Nejmeh did the same and conceded in the 90^th minute. This led Ansar to believe that they would be crowned as champions, only for the announcer to announce that Ahed had just scored a late winner against Tadamoun in injury time. Ansar became hesitant, desperately needing a goal under any circumstance. But the referee’s whistle was much faster than the players, and the derby ended up producing a third winner: Ahed.

Since that very season, Ansar have missed out on the league title while Nejmeh were only crowned as league winners twice in the next 7 seasons thanks to the re-emergence of Druze side Safa.

“Till death do us part”

In the midst of all these football matches, fans’ behaviour was an issue for everyone. In 1984 during the years without league football, Nejmeh players reportedly told their fans to cause a problem and thus cancel the match when they were losing to Ansar 2-0 in the Eid Al-Adha tournament.

The Eid Al-Adha fight in 1984.

According to a Tadamoun Beirut player during the 1980’s, the “fights between Nejmeh and Ansar fans were considered normal. They would also clash which is why the attention on it wasn’t heavy”.

More so, fans from both sets of teams were willing to die for their teams. Among the quotes back then were the following:

“We used to leave jobs and school just to watch our team play in a friendly match.”

“Nejmeh! Nejmeh! Nejmeh! Even if you burn me, I am Nejmeh.”

“Our only source of happiness came from watching Ansar”.

In 1994, when Nejmeh once again lost out to the title against their rivals, Tunisian referee Naji Al-Joueini’s life was on the line. After his shocking performance, giving the green light to an Ansar offside goal before denying Nejmeh a chance to equalise at the end of the match – when an uncalled for yet blatant handball by an Ansar defender in the penalty box sent Nejmeh fans, staff and players into lunacy and Al-Joueini’s life into serious danger as fans swarmed onto the pitch with all their might.

In the 1996-97 edition of the Lebanese Premier League, Syrian referee Osama Al-Shami didn’t account for 3 Nejmeh penalties against Ansar. This resulted in the opposition fans going absolutely nuts after the final whistle. Ansar’s lone goal was a jab in the heart for the “Nejmewe” fan base, who started breaking chairs and more in the aftermath.

After the home clash in 2004-05 where Nejmeh scored two in injury time, the scenes were not pretty at all as the players got into a fight with the referee.

Nejmeh fans blamed corruption for most of their league title losses and much of this talk was towards Rahif Alameh, once President of the Lebanese FA, whom they considered to be Ansar’s puppet – and there were very strong allegations that he was the man behind Ansar’s record-breaking streak of league titles.

In fact, in 1988 when Ansar won their first title, there were only 3 teams left in the league. With both Tadamoun Beirut and Nejmeh withdrawing from the competition – Nejmeh due to complaints about the bias in favour of Ansar – Ansar won 8 of their 10 games to be crowned Lebanese Premier League Champions with a mere points 18 points in one of the bizarre league campaigns in football.

The death of Lebanese football…

“I think football is dying, yes,” explained Bilal Arakji, a Nejmeh board member, to James Montague as his team romped to a surprisingly easy 3-0 victory.

It was only a matter of time before corruption and violence got the better of Lebanese football.

Bans on fan attendance, dirty stadiums, sectarian fights, violence, no electricity, swearing at public figures, poor pitches and death became the ingredients of a Lebanese football evening. Lebanese football was not just in decline, but when the Lebanese Derby fails to grab attention you know the league’s spark has died.

Whereas football in many countries is usually the only thing that pry people away from politics and conflict, in Lebanon football was politics. Clubs winning the trophy became marketing ploys for certain organisations rather than a sense of happiness. Winning became secondary to political victory. No one cared anymore. Football was just an excuse for the violence.

Above all, we have the match fixing issue which ruined what could have been the best moment in Lebanese football history. Just when it seemed like everyone would rejoice for the times of their lives, corruption ended any hope of that. Lebanese football: dead.

The re-birth of Lebanese football is slowly approaching. Yet, the “revolution” mentioned by the Ansar fan in the opening sentence happened just last week: on March the 13^th, 2016. Fans were banned yet again from the stadiums due to the FA being afraid about outbreaks, but the fans’ actions have showed that they will *only* fight about football and not politics. This, at least, is a step forward…

The re-birth of Lebanese football

Fans took to the streets of Beirut, meeting at Al-Mashrafiye, to ensure that they force the FA to repudiate their decision of banning fans from stadiums. Nejmeh supporters constantly reminded their mates of the meeting spot and the time to ensure success of this mini-revolution. The little of what was left from Lebanese football fans were sick and tired of the situation at hand.

Nejmeh fans outside Bourj Hammoud last week.

Whereas in 2000, Nejmeh’s average attendance would eclipse 20,000 and their title winning match against Hekmeh saw over 50,000 fans attend, numbers have now decreased to 3,000 per game and no more than 8,000 for the derby or a title win. The league as a whole has an average attendance of around 700 fans per game, a substantial decline from previous figures.

Current league leaders Safa are suffering themselves from the empty terraces, with not more than 500 following the team across stadiums in Beirut, Saida, Bourj Hammoud and Zgharta. With continued feeling of unease going to watch football in Lebanon due to quality and safety, a long well-planned process is vital in ensuring a future for the game in the nation.

Fans have officially been allowed back into stadiums after the successful mini-revolution done by Nejmeh fans, with the hope of provision of the civil defence’s services to prevent outbreak and conflict during matches, but if the Lebanese FA cannot guarantee safety at football matches then Lebanon will go right in with Yemen, Iraq and Syria – all of whom are not allowed to play continental competitions at their home stadiums.

Ansar fans

Furthermore, there has been the matter of the recent meeting at the Lebanese FA. There have been many complaints regarding the treatment of Lebanese football and the way the league is run. Unfortunately, only 5 out of the 12 clubs in Lebanon had representatives show up at this relatively important meeting. Nejmeh, Ansar, Ahed, Nabi Chit and Racing – most of who are ‘elite’ clubs in the Lebanese League – were the only clubs present, showcasing the lack of care and effort from the side of clubs too.

Nevertheless, the club representatives suggested the following changes to be made, all of which will be taken into consideration and put into place before the beginning of the 2017/18 season:

Searching for the possibility of making players contracts professional rather than semi-pro
Caring about youth football and the age groups that come under the hierarchy
Abolish the league-tie (similar to cup-tie) rule, which doesn’t allow a local player to move to another club mid-season
Permitting clubs to sign 4 foreigners as per the AFC’s rules: 3 foreigners of any nationality alongside a 4^th, Asian nationality foreigner
Searching for a viable and sustainable plan to organise fan attendance
Communicating with banks to support and sponsor the league

Most of these rules have been deemed unnecessary and detrimental to the Lebanese football game, and with collaboration from both sides (the FA and the clubs) slowly increasing, the re-birth of Lebanese football may come sooner rather than later.

The cooperation between Nejmeh and Ansar fans at such a torrid time shows that there is hope for a game destroyed by fans, authority figures, referees and politicians. Despite all the differences, there is one love over everything that shines like a diamond: football.

Nejmeh and Ansar fans finally getting together despite being over basketball, Riyadi FC

FOOTBALL MANAGER 2016: MIDDLE EASTERN VERSION

Hamoudi — Sat, 06 Feb 2016 10:03:02 +0000

Well, it has been a tough few weeks. We’ve done our best to create every single league in the Middle East to its absolute depth, with realism in terms of foreign players, managers, records, results, kits, national teams, divisions, prize money, etc.

We’ve completed full squads of clubs in the first divisions of Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, Qatar and Iran, while the rest of the nations have seen their managers and foreign players all up to date. To add into the realism, we’ve created down until the lowest division of each nation.

The files: Click here!

Download the logos pack: http://www.logo-world.net/tcm16-logos-fm16/

How to add the leagues into your game:

Download the file of the specific nation that you want
Copy it into the folder that is usually found in your Documents: “Sports Interactive -> Football Manager 2016 -> Editor Data”
Go onto Football Manager 2016
Start a new game
Make sure you tick the nations from the editor files that you want
Confirm (found on the bottom right of the screen)
Once again, tick the nations that you want
Load up your preferred leagues
Click on Database Size -> Advanced
Add (Regions) -> Middle East -> Tick all the boxes under it
Voila, you can start!

We also have a set of challenges that you may want to try out. Please note, these are ones that you can embark on on your own, not ones in-game. This is to give you something to do if you are out of ideas or have no idea what to do:

EASY:

Win the Asian Champions League with Al-Hilal, Saudi Arabia – Al-Hilal fans have long been waiting to participate in the Club World Cup, also known as the “Alamiya” in Arabic. With the club having one of the strongest squads in Asia never mind the region, it shouldn’t be too hard a task.

Win the Qatar Stars League at the first time of asking with Al-Rayyan, Qatar – Al-Rayyan have just been promoted from the Q-League to the Qatar Stars League, and in real life they are absolutely bossing the league despite playing in the second tier just over 6 months ago. Can you replicate that in-game?

Avoid relegation from the Arabian Gulf League with Kalba, U.A.E – Ittihad Kalba have been promoted to the Arabian Gulf League on 3 occasions in the past 7 years, and on each attempt they have gone straight back down. Can you break the duck?

Win the AFC Cup with a Kuwaiti club – They may be banned from AFC competitions in real life, but Kuwaiti clubs are still going strong in-game. Can you make it another consecutive win for the nation in the second tier competition?

Win the Saudi League with Al-Ahli (KSA) – They were the Invincibles of 2014/15 but failed to win the league trophy. They’ve also failed to so since 1984. It’s up to you to win the league with a team boasting the likes of Omar Al-Somah, Fetfatzidis, Taisir Al-Jassim and Marquinho.

Get promoted to the Dawry Abdullateef Jameel with Al-Ettifaq – Dammam-based Al-Ettifaq are missed in the top flight. It’s your job to bring them back.

MEDIUM:

Get past the Asian Champions League Group Stages with a team NOT from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E or Iran – Teams from Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Palestine, Yemen, Oman, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq have been rooted to the AFC Cup or AFC Champions League Group Stages due to their low ranking. Qadsia attempted to qualify for the group stages in the #ACL2015 but lost out to Al-Ahli, and Jordan’s Wehdat will take on Saudi giants Ittihad in the #ACL2016 qualifying rounds. Can you do so with a team, but more so, ensure qualification from the group stages too?

Take Dhofar back to the Omani Premier League title – The best team in Oman historically, Salalah-based Dhofar, are in need of a revival and they have a big challenger list in the form of Al-Orouba, Sohar, Al-Suwaiq, Fanja, Al-Masna’a and more. Can you overtake them all and head Dhofar towards the league title?

Take the U.A.E/Qatar to the World Cup – Both these teams have the promise to do so, with the former hosting the 2019 Asian Cup and impressing with their Golden Generation, they have to qualify for the World Cup to prove it, right? And will Qatar grab their last chance to make a World Cup before 2022? It’s your chance to find out…

Win the league with Hussein Irbid, Jordan – The Kings of Jordan’s Northern Governorate, Irbid, are struggling to answer their fans’ wants. While their fans believe they can win the title, they are rooted to a mid-table position. The big task at hand? Breaking the duopoly of Wehdat and Al-Faisaly.

Win the Palestine Cup with a Gaza-based team and take them to the AFC Cup – Ittihad Shujaiya made history when they travelled to the West Bank and faced Ahli Khaleel in the play-off for an AFC Cup spot in the Palestine Cup. Unfortunately for them, they lost in the 93^rd minute to an Ahmed Maher free-kick and failed to create more history. You can change that.

HARD:

Win a game with Yemen at the Gulf Cup – P: 24, D: 5, L: 19, W: 0. That’s right, in 7 Gulf Cup tournaments Yemen have failed to win a game and they are going by the current motto of the poor get poorer and the rich get richer. The catch? They are the only poor ones in the 8-team tournament!

Win the AFC Cup with Ahed in 2016 – Lebanese Champions Ahed have qualified for the AFC Cup with one of the most tactically efficient teams in Lebanese football history, if there ever was a tactically efficient team. Here, you have to take them from the group stages of the AFC Cup to glory.

Win the Persian Gulf Pro League with Esteghlal Khuzestan – The Leicester City of Iran are second in the PGPL at the current time of writing. They finished in the relegation playoffs last season, so their in-game team will be poor.

BONUS: SLEEPING GIANTS

Al-Wasl, United Arab Emirates – have one of the best fan bases in the region but haven’t tasted a league title win since 2006/07.

Dhofar, Oman – They are the best team in Oman but have failed to win a league title since 2005

Al-Ettifaq, KSA – One of the best Saudi clubs, rooted in the first division…

Muharraq, Bahrain – No longer the Sheikh of Gulf clubs, but they have been lacking identity in the last decade

Ansar, Lebanon – They are far behind Nejmeh and Al-Ahed in Lebanon, and as the best club in Lebanon league titles-wise; they need to get back on the map

Al-Gharafa / Al-Arabi, Qatar – Both clubs have 7 league titles each and at least the same number amount of Emir Cup wins, but Lekhwiya, Al-Sadd, Al-Rayyan and El-Jaish have taken their spots at the top.

Al-Faisaly, Jordan – Not exactly sleeping giants but they have teetered of the title scene in the last few years.

Al-Karkh, Iraq – They won almost everything as Al-Rasheed in the 1980s but haven’t touched a trophy since then.

Persepolis, Iran – Persepolis are a sleeping giant because they’ve never won the ACL, they’re the team with the most semi final appearances without actually making it to the final.

LEGEND:

Keep the Al-Ahli (KSA) Invincible streak going for at least another season – It is near impossible to achieve an Invincible season on FM. Doing it on your first try, even harder. If you can avoid defeat with Al-Ahli (who at the time of writing are undefeated for more than 45 league games consecutively), for the 2015/16 league season, you are a legend.

Win the Gulf Cup of Nations with Yemen – Says it in the name. Near impossible.

IMPOSSIBLE: British Steel Challenge? No, we have the Middle Eastern Steel Challenge!

You will be tasked to win every single top-level competition there is in the Middle East, and we say top-level because there are more than 70 if you take lower divisions into account. Also, due to the natural power of foreigners in the Middle East we do have a bit of rules around it, so bear with us. With our tweaks, you will only have 50 competitions to win.

The trophies:

Country	Competition 1	Competition 2	Competition 3	Competition 4	Competition 5
U.A.E	Arabian Gulf League	President’s Cup	Arabian Gulf Cup	Super Cup
Saudi Arabia	Dawry Abdullateef Jameel	Crown Prince Cup	Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup	Super Cup
Qatar	Qatar Stars League	Q-Cup	Emir Cup	Sheikh Jassim Cup
Iran	Persian Gulf Pro League	Hazfi Cup		Super Cup
Kuwait	VIVA Kuwait League	Crown Prince Cup	Federation Cup	Super Cup	Emir Cup
Bahrain	VIVA Bahrain League	King Cup	FA Cup	Super Cup
Oman	Omantel Professional League	Mazda Pro Cup	Sultan Qaboos Cup	Super Cup
Jordan	Manaseer Pro League	Jordan Cup		Super Cup
Palestine	Wataniya Mobile Pro League	Yasser Arafat Cup (West Bank)	West Bank Cup	Palestine Cup	Shahda Abu Attiya Cup (Gaza)
Lebanon	Alfa Lebanese Premier League	Lebanese Elite Cup	Lebanese Cup	Super Cup
Syria	Syrian Premier League	Syrian Cup		Super Cup
Yemen	Yemeni First Division	President’s Cup	Unity Cup	Super Cup
Iraq	Fuchs Premier League	Iraq Cup
National	Gulf Cup of Nations	WAFF Championship
Regional	Gulf Clubs Champions League

Rules:

Season 1: You are allowed to maximise your foreign spots, whether it is 3 or 4 (depends on the country)

Season 2: You have to play with one less foreigner. That is, if you were allowed 4 foreigners you can only sign 3 now. If you were allowed 3, you can only sign 2.

Season 3: You can only play with 1 foreigner.

Season 4-6: You can only play with a local squad + foreigners FROM the Middle East ONLY.

Season 7+: You can only play with a fully local squad. By now, you should be a renowned manager who is able to maximise local player quality.

Saudi-Iranian Tensions and the AFC Champions League

Wael Jabir — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 23:46:07 +0000

No two countries in the world could claim to have a more fierce rivalry equally in the footballing world and in the political arena as much as Saudi Arabia & Iran do.

The two largest Middle Eastern nations have long vied for supremacy of Asian Football, they share the second most number of Asian Cup of Nations titles (3 times each), only Japan has more (4 titles). They are also the two West Asian countries with most Asian Champions League/Asian Club Championship titles (4 titles for Saudi Arabia and 3 titles for Iran). Both countries have qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals four times.

Politically, the two giants have historically been involved in a non-ending cold war throughout the past 100 years. Very rarely did their views about any subject coincide. Iran embraced the Shia sect of Islam as early as the 16^thcentury and their perception as protectors/promoters of this ideology was strengthened by the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Meanwhile Saudi Arabia’s formation as a modern nation from the 18^th century was very much associated with a traditional school of Sunni Islam and thus the ruling house of Al Saud presented themselves as leaders of the Sunni Muslim World (Roughly 90% of the world’s Muslim population). This nervous relationship has had its occasional periods of calm and even peaceful cooperation, most notably in the 1960 under Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi of Iran and King Faisal of Saudi.

Back on the green pitch (and in the stands), the relationship was not any calmer. The AFC Champions League geographic grouping system means Iranian & Saudi team have to meet every year and the strength of both national teams meant they often played each other in the final stages of world cup qualifiers. Matches were often heated occasions in the stands, fans booing the opponents during their national anthem became a habit, alleged chants and signs denouncing each other’s governments were not unusual even as both FAs and multiple clubs from the two countries received warnings and fines by the Asian Football Confederation. After every trip to the “enemy’s land” teams would come back with loads of complaints starting with poor hospitality and mistreatment and not ending with religious slogans being shouted at them.

Al-Hilal fans raise a sign in support of Sunni people of Ahvaz in Iran

The latest chapter in this Middle Eastern Cold War comes this week as Saudi Arabia executed 47 individuals, mostly Saudis, following court rulings convicting them with terrorism. Among the executed was Shia cleric and political dissident Nimr Al Nimr who hails from the Shia stronghold town of Qatif in Eastern Saudi Arabia. Al Nimr’s family, Shia religious institutions as well as many Iranians protested the killing of one of their own important religious figures. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani condemned the execution calling it an extension of Saudi’s “Sectarian Policies”. Iranian protesters attacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran and the consulate in Mashhad and set the former on fire according to Reuters. In the following sequence of events, Saudi Arabia accused Iran of not doing enough to maintain the safety of its diplomatic mission and in response expelled the Iranian ambassador from Riyadh, ordered all Iranian diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours and withdrew its own representatives from the Islamic Republic with an immediate effect announcing the cutting of all diplomatic ties with Iran. Other Gulf countries commended the Saudi stance but stopped short of cutting their own ties with Iran.

The naming of the water body separating Saudi & Iran has always been a sensitive issue. Iranian fans seen here with a sign expressing their view.

This recent escalation of hostilities between the two nations may have a direct impact on the upcoming 2016 AFC Champions League games. The two Riyadh based teams, Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr have been drawn against Iranian opponents, Tractor Sazi & Zob Ahan, respectively. And If Ittihad of Saudi Arabia and Naft Tehran of Iran make it through the play-offs, all four groups of the West Asia zones will feature Saudi-Iranian encounters. The Four Saudi clubs have sent a letter to the Saudi football federation asking the federation to request the AFC on their behalf to move all their games against Iranian teams to neutral grounds. Vice-President of the Saudi FF endorsed the request while former Al-Hilal president Abdulrahman Bin Musaad called Iran “an enemy country” claiming “the security of our boys cannot be guaranteed…” Bin Musaad added in his tweets, “We do not want to go there and we do not want them to come here.”

The first group stage round will take place on March 1^st, and is supposed to see Zob Ahan travel to Riyadh to play Al Nassr. The AFC will have to move quickly and decisively to contain the situation and reach a solution that satisfies both parties if they are to avoid major disruptions to the continent’s prime club competition. In their turn, clubs and football associations in both countries need to work to ease the tensions and be a beacon for peace in this difficult time in the region.

AHDAAF END OF YEAR AWARDS – 2015

Hamoudi — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 11:43:11 +0000

Ahdaaf Manager of the Year – 2015

In this article we have two awards that have been decided by Ahdaaf members and fans across the world. First of all, the manager of the year award was contested by Yahya Golmohammadi (Zob Ahan), Cosmin Olaroiu (Al-Ahli Dubai), Christian Gross (Al-Ahli Jeddah) and Zlatko Dalic (Al-Ain.) It seems that Cosmin Olaroiu’s Asian Champions League run was enough to get the fans on his side, as his Al-Ahli side bounced back from a disastrous first half to the year to embark on a historical period:

Cosmin Olaroiu.

Cosmin’s 2015 in numbers:

Trophies: 1 – U.A.E Super Cup

Total: P – 51 W – 27 D – 14 L – 10

First Half of 2015: P – 27 W – 12 D – 7 L – 7

Second Half of 2015: P – 24 W – 15 D – 6 L – 3

Cosmin and Al-Ahli have only lost 3 out of their last 24 games
Taking out the AG Cup (second-tier cup in the U.A.E), Cosmin has won in 13 of his last 18 games
Cosmin’s Al-Ahli were the first team to inflict defeat on Al-Hilal in 2015-16
Cosmin’s Al-Ahli were the only team to avoid defeat at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh during 2015-16 until their namesake Al-Ahli Jeddah defeated Al-Hilal there 2 weeks ago
Al-Ahli have averaged 2.75 goals per game in the league over the course of 2015-16

Ahdaaf Player of the Year – 2015

With 16 nominees hailing from the 4 best leagues in the Middle East – U.A.E, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Qatar – it would only come down to the final four by January the 1^st, 2016. The final four were predicted to have made it by the Ahdaaf team, but we needed the fans’ opinions via the Twitter polls to see how Middle Eastern football followers see it. Here are the final four, with the winner being announced last:

Yasser Al-Shahrani – Al-Hilal, Saudi Arabia

Yasser Al-Shahrani may be an odd choice for many, but when a full back wins the hearts of millions then there must be a reason. Place him on the right, place him on the left, Al-Shahrani will always perform. It even came to a point where fans were praising him for his performances that were even better on the left hand side as opposed to his favoured right.

Although done by the vote of many Al-Hilal fans and possibly not fully deserved, Yasser Al-Shahrani was crowned the best GCC Player of the Year at the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards. He overcame the likes of Mohammad Al-Sahlawi and Omar Abdulrahman to be crowned as the GCC POTY and did the same yesterday when he turned out victor over Al-Sahlawi, Yaseen Hamza and Al-Ahli’s Syrian starlet Omar Al-Soma.

The only question is how far will Al-Shahrani go? We know how GCC players are often reluctant to play abroad. His place on the cover of FIFA 16 Middle East was another achievement he earned, and that will no doubt have increased his popularity, but it will only count if he can form a good cause for a move abroad. With his shy character, it’s unlikely that we will ever see Al-Shahrani ever ply his trade away from Al-Hilal.

Hassan Al-Haydos – Al-Sadd, Qatar

Hassan Al-Haydos is our 2015 Qatar Player of the Year and it’s no big surprise. The 26 year old had an impressive calendar year, leading from the front for both club and country. It started with a blip, Qatar going out at the Asian Cup group stage although Al-Haydos scored a goal. As the year progressed, however, he grew in stature and achieved a number of personal bests – scoring in the league, cup and Asia for the first time before ending the 2014/15 season with a career high 17 goals. To top it all, QFA went on to name him Player of the Season in May.

With the start of the new 2015/16 season, Al-Haydos has continued in a similar vein of form, scoring 4 goals and making 3 assists so far for Al-Sadd. At the international level, he celebrated getting the captain’s armband by netting five times for Qatar and leading the team to a 100% record in the World Cup/Asian Cup qualifiers after 6 matches. It ensured that Qatar became the first team to reach the 2019 Asian Cup and the fourth round of World Cup qualifiers.

Mehdi Taremi – Persepolis, Iran

Mehdi Taremi is 2015’s Persian Gulf Pro League Player of the Year. Taremi was discovered by Ali Daei and transferred from Iran’s Azadegan League (2nd Tier) to Persian Gulf Pro League’s Persepolis. He went on to impress the fans with great performances against Saba and Esteghlal at the end of 2014, which made him a regular starter for the Reds in 2015.

He impressed Perspolis’s fans with his performances in the Asian Champions League, giving an amazing back-heel assist to Persepolis’s deceased captain – Hadi Norouzi – against Lekhwiya, and scoring a beautiful chip penalty against Al-Nassr. He was also praised for intelligently assisting Al-Hilal’s Digao who scored an own goal (Perspolis’s winner) against themselves in the Azadi Stadium.

He earned a call up to Iran’s National Team (Team Melli) and impressed all Iranians with his great performances and perfect chemistry with Azmoun. He also scored an impressive amount of 5 Goals in 7 Games for Iran.

He has been criticized for his “finishing” throughout the 2015/16 Persian Gulf Pro League season, but it seems like he is improving in the last couple of games. Regardless of the criticisms about his finishing, he is Persian Gulf Pro League’s 2015/16 leading top scorer until now with 10 Goals (2 more than Beitsaeid in the 2nd place).

Taremi also gets many penalties for Persepolis and Iran (against teams like Bunyodkor, Al-Nassr in ACL – Saipa, Zob Ahan, and many other teams in Persian Gulf Pro League, and Guam in the International games). Taremi’s movement off the ball is also incredible and he has amazing decision making which has been evident in games like: Perspolis vs. Lekhwiya, Tehran Derby, Iran vs. Guam, etc.

He has amazing potential and could become one of Iran’s best players (with many comparing him to the likes of Ali Daei and Vahid Hashemian), and he also has received good offers from European teams. However, he has claimed that he wants to stay in Perspolis for the remainder of the season and will most likely move to Europe in the summer of 2016.

AHDAAF Player of the Year

Omar Abdulrahman – Al-Ain, U.A.E

Despite enduring a 2015 that was topped by Ahmed Khalil in terms of awards and team achievement, Omar also known as “Amoory” had a wonderful year and his fans were behind him as always. With a majority of the votes from the United Arab Emirates going to Amoory himself, we are going to look at why he’s deserved so and not just due to his fuzzy hair and the large fan base that follows him.

Omar Abdulrahman on the PES 2016 cover.

By and large, the best creator in the region (aesthetically and statistically), it’s a certain shame that Amoory’s 2015 lacked a lethal striker. Asamoah Gyan was injured during the early stages of 2015 before moving to Shanghai in the summer, while Emmanuel Emenike failed to replace Gyan by any means. That hasn’t stopped Omar from scoring himself, and continuing with his creative duties. The partnership that he has struck up with his brother, Mohammad, recently is also another thing to look out for.

In the end, he lost out to Ahmed Khalil for the AFC Player of the Year title and the GCC Player of the Year award to Yasser Al-Shahrani, but that hasn’t taken anything away from his on-pitch performances that helped Al-Ain to the 2014-15 AG League title and being crowned as the 2015-16 Winter Champions of the AG League.

With recent figures claiming that he earns almost $4m a year in wages (excl. bonuses and advertising), it’s no wonder that the player has not even thought about plying his trade in the lower European leagues. Although with Omar only being 24 years old at the time of writing, he still has many years ahead and we hope he continues.

Omar Abdulrahman in 2015:

Games – Club: 34

National Team Caps: 13

Goals: 7

Assists: 25

Friday With… David Martinez

Wael Jabir — Fri, 25 Dec 2015 13:54:56 +0000

The year is 1983. A 36-years-old Saudi coach named Khalil Al-Zayani leads an unfancied Ettifaq FC to their first ever Saudi league title. This was in more than one way a revolutionary moment; Al-Zayani became the first ever Saudi manager to win the league. He would go on to become a legend of the game, leading his country to their maiden Asian Cup triumph in 1984 and taking the football team to the 1988 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Ettifaq, based in the eastern coast city of Dammam became Saudi Arabia’s original Invincibles, winning the 10-teams league without a single defeat. They would go on and bring the Kingdom its first taste of regional silverware in the shape of the Gulf Clubs Championship and its more coveted counterpart, the Arab Clubs championship. Five years later, Ettifaq would repeat the feat, winning the 1988 “treble”.

That same year, Five thousand miles away, in the Spanish city of Leon, our man today had just been born. David Martinez Castrillo grew up playing football, dreaming of a professional playing career with one of Spain’s giants. Not in his furthest stretches of imagination did he envisage that at the age of 27, he would become head of Performance, Strength and Conditioning at an Arabian second tier team.
Life has not been kind to Saudi’s fallen giants since the glory days of the eighties as the fans watched their beloved “Knights of the East” slip into mid-table mediocrity, then slowly find themselves dragged into repeated relegation battles before eventually succumbing to misery in 2014 to play in the less glamorous Saudi first division. Trips to the likes of Al-Hilal & Al-Ittihad, once title deciders, have now become occasional cup ties seeing Ettifaq reduced to mere minnows. But the club remains defiant and so does David Martinez who knows very well what is it like having to face adversity. “I stopped playing football at the early age of 20 when a severe injury ended my once promising career at Levante.” Recounts David. “It was difficult but life goes on.” With this spirit he picks himself up and draws himself a different career path. “I love football, so I knew I would still work in the football world. I decided to study Sports Science.” The Spaniard’s career would see him work at Villarreal as part of the backroom staff under current Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini, before deciding to try his luck abroad with stints in the Far East, United States and for a brief period in Abu Dhabi before his move to Saudi Arabia’s Ettifaq came about this summer.

His decision to take up the post in the conservative Gulf Kingdom with a first division team intrigues me, but David has full faith in his decision. “At 27, I’m still young, and I have lived in many countries, so I have an open mind and a good football background. So I decided to take up the challenge to move to Saudi Arabia.” He adds citing his reasons to join Ettifaq, “They are a historic team, they are one of the first teams to win an international tournament for Saudi, but the team struggled because of financial problems”. Life in Saudi can be daunting for a newcomer, but having spent some time in the region has helped David adapt to life, “For me, it was not very dramatic. I lived in Dubai. It’s shocking if you’re coming straight from Spain and it is your first time out of your country. Being in Dubai made the transition a bit easier.” Explains David, “It’s more religiously strict here, the food is different, and people here work more at night than we are used to in Spain.” But he has no plans to let anything get in his way, “It’s all about your mentality, the power is in your mind! It’s important to travel to realize your true potential. You can study a lot, read a lot but you only find out how much you can achieve when you are living out of your comfort zone.”

After a historic elections campaign earlier this year, Dammam based businessman Khalid Al-Dabal took over as chairman of the club, following in the footsteps of his father, former club president Abdullah Al-Dabal. The ‘New Ettifaq’ list headed by Al-Dabal has an ambitious project to bring Ettifaq back to the top of Saudi football. The list boasts some of the city’s most influential industrialists and following their electoral success, they are already reshaping the club. Recruiting David was part of this transformation and he is not short of faith in the project, “The new president and the board are all young and have fresh and smart ideas, they want to create something different and do something big in this country. They brought me and another 2 coaches from Spain.”

New Ettifaq president Khalid Al Dabal has big plans for the team.

It is not all roses and butterflies, though, as the coach from Leon finds out. “The pace of doing things here is very slow, you always hear ‘Inshallah Bokra’, then you have to wait” sighs David as he remains optimistic “But they are ambitious, they want to do something different and that mentality is the most important thing. They are working hard not just in football, but also in terms of marketing, managing the team and also in the sporting side.”
The lack of resources in English, or for that matter Spanish, language was one of the main drivers behind the creation of Ahdaaf.me and David is adamant to the difficulties this challenge poses. “I try to understand the culture and also how people perceive Ettifaq and the team’s reputation, but it’s difficult because most of the information around is only in Arabic and in this aspect Ahdaaf has been great help.”
Comparing what it is like to work with Middle Eastern players compared to Europeans, David explains “First it is the mentality and quality: When you are living and breathing football 24/7 it makes a big difference. Here, it is not the same, some of the young kids have other priorities than football. The mentality, to be focused, organized, to work hard and come to training every day is not there sometimes.” As those youngsters grow into professional footballers, those differences become more evident “With European players, they learn a lot during their development as youngsters. So when they are professionals, they have already learned about these situations they face in the game and in life. But here, you have to teach them when they are already professional, which is more difficult.”
David started his career working with U-16s and U-18s at Villarreal but is now coaching first team players, “When you are working with young players, you have to take care of them. They are growing as a person, as a man and as a sportsman next. But when you are working with first team, results come first.” Fitness is a big part of this challenge, comments David. “Fitness is a big challenge, because of the body structures of the players. It’s different than in Europe and any league I have worked in. I think they haven’t spent enough time growing up to prepare physically and mentally to become professionals. When you are a footballer, you are a footballer 24/7, you have to take care of your sleep, diet and training sessions. Your body is the main tool when you’re a sportsman. Your body should be like a god!”
Back at Ettifaq, it’s midway through the Saudi season, The New Ettifaq project is in full fledge but results are yet to come with the team lingering in mid-table, 10 points behind the last promotion spot. David is of the opinion that the drastic changes being made are part of the problem now but will eventually deliver. “We are not performing very well at the moment, but the league is long. I think the players right now are confused, with all the changes, new president, new coach and so many changes mid-season. But we hope the results will come.” He adds about their objectives for the season, “I have been here for a couple of months, our target for this season is to create a proper structure in terms of coaching, a model for the youth academy to bring up a strong group of players to play for the first team in the next few years.” There is an economic sense to it as well, “If we can bring up players from the academy and create quality players from within, those players can then help us compete in the premier division. So we don’t have to invest heavily in buying players.”

As part of the team, the 27 years old is tasked with creating a brand of football and entrenching it in the youth products, “We are trying to create an identity for the team. What I want when people see a player, they recognize they came through Ettifaq, regardless of what team they are playing for.”
The staff enjoy the full backing of Al-Dabal & the board of directors, “The club are very supportive, they are always asking me what do I need to make things work, they are investing in the technologies we need but it’s step by step. It’s not going to happen overnight. Without resources we don’t have a chance to create something special.” David adds, “The most important thing in a “new club” like Ettifaq is the knowledge and the human resource, after that you have to invest in the right tools, material and technologies to develop their thoughts.”
Where next for David Martinez? “I am a Spanish coach and eventually, I would like to return to Spain.” David clearly has some unfinished business in La Liga. “At the moment, the job market there is difficult. It’s not the right time to return. For now, I will stay, abroad, build a name for myself and discover more. Right now, my mind is with Ettifaq. My life is football and football is around the world.”

A Night At MBZ: Where Did The Fans Go?

Wael Jabir — Sun, 13 Dec 2015 15:03:04 +0000

It’s a cool Sunday night in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi. A gentle breeze enters through the half-opened car window as I drive along 19^th street towards the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium.

Earlier in the day, I checked today’s fixtures in the Arabian Gulf League and found myself spoiled for choice as three matches take place within a radius of 20 kilometres from my home. Al-Wahda, Al-Jazira and Baniyas are all playing at home this week, a rare coincidence. Partly driven by the lack of any worthy European league games that day on TV, I decide to get a dose of live local football. This time, I tell myself, I’m not going into the media box as usual. Rather, I will wear the hat of the average Abu Dhabian fan spending an evening out enjoying a home game. Convenience and a certain affection to the MBZ stadium meant that my pick for the night was to watch midtable Al-Jazira host Dubai based Al-Nasr who are fighting for a Champions League spot. Far from being the pinnacle of local football, this is a real embodiment of an ordinary league match.

“Fans” queue to enter the “Borealis Stand” at MBZ Stadium

15 minutes ahead of kick-off, I arrive to a fairly empty carpark just outside the capital’s most modern stadium. Think of a typical European football night; fans are arriving into the game in groups, walking to the stadium from the nearby train station, donning their team colours and holding scarves they probably bought just outside the stadium. Now, completely delete this thought off your head. There are no trains in Abu Dhabi. Few locals, all men in their 20s and 30s, are arriving around the same time; disembarking off their 4x4s and Porsches, smartly dressed in Kanduras, many of them wrapping traditional Hamdaniyas around their heads. One or two are snapchatting their way into the gate. I leave my media pass in my back pocket, just in case, and head to the ticket box. There is no queue; no questions asked, the Arab expat manning the counter casually hands me a ticket and gets back to his WhatsApp conversation as a smile returns to his face. I almost feel apologetic for interrupting his online amusement!

The ticket category reads 10 Dirhams but I need not to worry about that. At least, I bothered to come with no one paying me for it. I navigate a line of Indian & Pakistani blue-collar workers being brought in yellow school buses to watch the game, some of them seem pleased to be here in this lovely late November evening, a few others clearly would have rather liked to be in their beds recovering from a long day of manual labour or even watching cricket instead of football. Five minutes later, I’m making my way up the “Borealis stand”, the northern stand at MBZ stadium is named after Europe’s second largest polymers manufacturer, partially owned by Abu Dhabi government and one of the main sponsors of Al Jazira FC.

Buses lined up at the car park outside MBZ Stadium where they bring in hundreds of migrant workers to cheer on Al Jazira

There are roughly a thousand fans in the stand. A group of school age local kids in the first few rows and the workers I just came across filled up the remaining seats. The crowd is led by two local lead singers; one banging on a drum and the other shouting into a megaphone a generic “Alayhom..Alayhom”, a marching chant that could be heard in any pitch across the Middle East. You can’t tell which team are they supporting, and for what it’s worth many of the “fans” present don’t know either.

The locals take their seats away from this central “loud” crowd, after all there are plenty of seats to choose from in this 42,000 all seater stadium. I snap a few pictures then make my way up to the top row. I spot three Caucasian men seemingly enjoying the game, being the unusual sight it is in this part of the world, curiosity gets the best of me and I head to have a conversation with them. Richard greets me with a distinctive Scouse accent, he lives in Abu Dhabi and frequents Al-Jazira’s home games. He finds joy in analysing the tactics and discovering players he might have come across in Europe in the past, he points at Al-Nasr’s Chilean attacker Luis Jimenez, “This lad played for West Ham, didn’t he?”, exclaims Richard, joyed to share his most recent discovery in the Arabian Gulf League. I nod in agreement and exchange a few remarks with Richard about the state of local football and Al-Jazira’s chaotic tactics under manager Abel Braga. “It’s League One or maybe League two level”, he declares. This evening, Richard is accompanied by his brother and their father, both of which are visiting from the UK. “My father is a York City fan”, he introduces me to his old man. The trio are enjoying boys night out watching football in this pleasant weather. “Would you say the lack of beer is a deterrence to attending local football games here?” I ask, driven by a remark recently spelt to a colleague by a member of the league’s organizing committee, the PLC. Richard seems baffled by this notion as he responds: “Not really, I wasn’t expecting it to be available anyway!” I shake hands with the boys from Liverpool and take a seat elsewhere to watch as the 2015 Asian Cup’s top goalscorer Ali Mabkhout singlehandedly overturned a 2-0 first half deficit to bring the hosts level. His heroics would go in vain as former Villarreal & Lyon starlet Nilmar delivers a second half winner for the visitors.

The travelling fans are restricted to a tiny area at the corner of the stadium.

The few hundred travelling fans cornered in an enclosed section of the “Arabtec Stand” are now louder than the home crowd as many of the locals start leaving with their team trailing 10 minutes to the final whistle. By the time the electronic board announced 3,820 fans in attendance, half of them were already gone. Gate receipts are non-existent since tickets go for free, but Al-Jazira don’t care. They have the backing of Abu Dhabi owned International Petroleum Investments Company (IPIC), most recently in the news for agreeing a $25 million dollar deal for the naming rights of Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. This support enables them to attract players in the mould of Mirko Vucinic, Jefferson Farfan and Manuel Lanzini (currently on loan at West Ham). Incidentally, I arrive home that night to watch highlights of West Ham’s 4-1 demolition by Spurs where the Argentine helped himself to a fourth Premier League goal this season to further raise his stock in England. Al-Jazira look sure to make a profit on their $10m investment in the South American youngster with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool the latest to be associated with Al-Jazira’s talisman.

“The pride of Abu Dhabi” may be one of the most financially stable clubs in the world, but will their financial strength ever succeed in bringing real fans? Many clubs across the country are asking themselves the same question and unless fundamental changes are made, it’s not looking likely in the near future.