2018–19 UAE Pro League
# 2018–19 UAE Pro League

The 2018-19, UAE Pro League was the 45th edition with Al Ain being the defending champions after winning their 13th title. Both Baniyas and Kalba returned to the pro league after getting relegated back at 2017. After losing Al Shabab and Dubai last season the league has been reduced to 12 teams. Both the teams needed to get back to 14 teams so they held a relegation play off between bottom two teams of last year and the 3rd and 4th placed teams of the 2nd division. Sharjah set a record of the longest unbeaten run in a UAE Pro League season for 23 games before losing to Al Wasl 3–2. In 2019, Sharjah won their first title since 1996 after beating Al Wahda 3–2, this was the first time a team outside of Dubai and Abu Dhabi won the league since the 1996. On 26th May, Emirates and Dibba Al Fujairah were relegated after a fixed match between Shabab Al Ahli and Fujairah favored Fujairah and got them out of relegation. The Emirates demanded that the UAEFA investigate on the match between Shabab Al Ahli and Fujairah, questioning the legitimacy of the two penalties that was rewarded to Fujairah and the two goals that was disallowed for Shabab Al Ahli. However the UAE court later rejected their complaint and the team got relegated

## Team Changes

### To Division 1

Relegated to UAE Division 1

* Hatta

### From Division 1

Promoted to UAE Pro League

* Baniyas
* Kalba
* Fujairah

## Stadia and locations

    Note: Table lists clubs in alphabetical order.

| Club | Home city | Stadium | Capacity |
| - | - | - | - |
| Ajman | Ajman | Ajman Stadium | 5,537 |
| Al Ain | Al-Ain | Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium | 25,965 |
| Al Dhafra | Madinat Zayed | Al Dhafra Stadium | 5,020 |
| Al Jazira | Abu Dhabi (Al Nahyan) | Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium | 42,056 |
| Al Nasr | Dubai (Bur Dubai) | Al-Maktoum Stadium | 15,058 |
| Al Wahda | Abu Dhabi (Al Nahyan) | Al Nahyan Stadium | 12,201 |
| Al Wasl | Dubai (Bur Dubai) | Zabeel Stadium | 8,439 |
| Baniyas | Abu Dhabi (Al Shamkha) | Baniyas Stadium | 10,000 |
| Dibba Al-Fujairah | Fujairah* | Fujairah Club Stadium* | 10,645 |
| Emirates | Ras Al Khaimah | Emirates Club Stadium | 5,200 |
| Fujairah | Fujairah | Fujairah Club Stadium | 10,645 |
| Kalba | Kalba | Ittihad Kalba Stadium | 8,500 |
| Shabab Al Ahli-Dubai | Dubai (Deira) | Dubai Club Stadium | 7,500 |
| Sharjah | Sharjah | Sharjah Stadium | 11,073 |

* = Dibba Al Fujairah Stadium doesn't fit UAE Pro League requirements, therefore Dibba Al-Fujairah shares Fujairah Club Stadium with Fujairah club

## Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| Team | Head Coach | Captain | Kit Manufacturer | Shirt Sponsor |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Ajman | Ayman Elramady | Rashed Malallah | Hummel | Ajman Bank |
| Al Ain | Juan Carlos Garrido | Ismail Ahmed | Nike | First Gulf Bank |
| Al Dhafra | Vuk Rašović | Ahmed Ali | Adidas | Ruwais |
| Al Jazira | Damiën Hertog | Ali Khasif | Adidas | IPIC |
| Al Nasr | Beñat San José | Álvaro Negredo | Nike | Emirates NBD |
| Al Wahda | Henk ten Cate | Ismail Matar | Adidas | Cadillac |
| Al Wasl | Laurențiu Reghecampf | Caio | New Balance | Emaar |
| Baniyas | Krunoslav Jurčić | Yousif Jaber | Adidas | Secure Engineering |
| Dibba Al-Fujairah | Mohamed Al Khaddeim | Driss Fettouhi | uhlsport | Unknown |
| Emirates | Jalal Qaderi | Ahmed Al-Shaji | uhlsport | Al Naeem City Center |
| Fujairah | Abdulla Masfer | Hilal Saeed | Nike | Asas |
| Kalba | Fabio Viviani | Mansor Abbas | Erreà | Unknown |
| Shabab Al-Ahli | Rodolfo Arruabarrena | Majed Naser | Nike | Nakheel |
| Sharjah | Abdulaziz Mohamed | Shahin Abdulrahman | Adidas | Saif Zone |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Date of vacancy | Manner of departure | Pos. | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Fujairah | Diego Maradona | 28 April 2018 | Sacked | Pre-season | Ivan Hašek | 29 May 2018 |
| Al Jazira | Henk ten Cate | 17 May 2018 | End of Contract | Pre-season | Marcel Keizer | 2 June 2018 |
| Al Wasl | Rodolfo Arruabarrena | 30 June 2018 | End of Contract | Pre-season | Gustavo Quinteros | 12 May 2018 |
| Al Dhafra | Gjoko Hadžievski | 30 June 2018 | End of Contract | Pre-season | Vuk Rašović | 20 May 2018 |
| Baniyas | Goran Tufegdzic | 30 May 2018 | End of Contract | Pre-season | Krunoslav Jurčić | 28 May 2018 |
| Shabab Al Ahli | Mahdi Ali | 30 May 2018 | End of Contract | Pre-season | José Luis Sierra | 28 May 2018 |
| Emirates | Nizar Mahrous | 30 May 2018 | End of Contract | Pre-season | Jalal Qaderi | 28 May 2018 |
| Kalba | Jorvan Vieira | 4 September 2018 | Sacked | 13th | Fabio Viviani | 2 September 2018 |
| Shabab Al Ahli | José Luis Sierra | 14 October 2018 | Sacked | 8th | Rodolfo Arruabarrena | 14 October 2018 |
| Al Wasl | Gustavo Quinteros | 23 October 2018 | Sacked | 9th | Laurențiu Reghecampf | 26 December 2018 |
| Dibba Al Fujairah | Paulo Comelli | 26 October 2018 | Sacked | 14th | Mohammad Kwid | 26 October 2018 |
| Al Jazira | Marcel Keizer | 9 November 2018 | Signed by Sporting CP | 2nd | Damiën Hertog | 8 November 2018 |
| Al Wahda | Laurențiu Reghecampf | 25 November 2018 | Sacked | 5th | Henk ten Cate | 8 December 2018 |
| Al Nasr | Ivan Jovanović | 2 December 2018 | Sacked | 10th | Beñat San José | 15 December 2018 |
| Al Ain | Zoran Mamić | 30 January 2019 | Signed by Al-Hilal | 3rd | Juan Carlos Garrido | 18 February 2019 |
| Dibba Al Fujairah | Mohammad Kwid | 1 March 2019 | Sacked | 14th | Mohamed Al Khaddeim | 2 March 2019 |
| Fujairah | Ivan Hašek | 1 March 2019 | Sacked | 12th | Abdullah Mesfer | 2 March 2019 |
| Al Nasr | Beñat San José | 31 March 2019 | Sacked | 11th | Caio Zanardi | 31 March 2019 |

### Foreign players

All teams could register as many foreign players as they want, but could only use four on the field each game.

* Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.
* Players in italics were out of squad or left club within the season, after pre-season transfer window, or in the mid-season transfer window, and at least had one appearance.

| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Former Players |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ajman | Vander Vieira | Adil Hermach | Stanley Ohawuchi | Mame Baba Thiam | |
| Al Ain | Caio | Tsukasa Shiotani | Rúben Ribeiro | Marcus Berg | Hussein El Shahat |
| Al Dhafra | Diego | Rômulo | Amine Attouchi | Nicolás Milesi | Hélder Guedes |
| Al Jazira | Leonardo | Sébastien Siani | Ernest Asante | Nacer Barazite | |
| Al Nasr | Junior Dutra | Ronnie Fernández | Joan Oumari | Álvaro Negredo | Iury Yohan Cabaye Marquinhos Gabriel Samuel |
| Al Wahda | Sebastián Tagliabué | Leonardo | Rim Chang-woo | Mourad Batna | |
| Al Wasl | Caio | Fabio Lima | Ronaldo Mendes | Vinícius Lima | Oh Ban-suk |
| Baniyas | Róbson | Michael Ortega | Leroy George | Pedro Conde | |
| Dibba Al-Fujairah | Diogo Acosta | Yaseen Al-Bakhit | Yousef Al-Rawashdeh | Driss Fettouhi | Guilherme Schettine Yahya Jabrane Masoud Juma |
| Emirates | Marcao | Kaio | Cheick Diabaté | Saber Khalifa | Aboubacar Sylla Bernie Ibini-Isei Bakare Kone |
| Fujairah | Mohamed Benyettou | Omar Kossoko | Fernando Gabriel | Samuel | Jorge Ronaldo Mendes Lee Seung-hee |
| Kalba | Myke | Tommy Tobar | Balázs Dzsudzsák | Giovanni Sio | Florentin Matei Raheem Lawal |
| Shabab Al-Ahli | Emiliano Vecchio | Mauro Díaz | Jaime Ayoví | Henrique Luvannor | |
| Sharjah | Igor Coronado | Welliton | Ryan Mendes | Otabek Shukurov | |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Sharjah (C) | 26 | 17 | 8 | 1 | 57 | 30 | +27 | 59 | Qualification for AFC Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Shabab Al Ahli | 26 | 17 | 2 | 7 | 57 | 36 | +21 | 53 | Qualification for AFC Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Al Wahda | 26 | 14 | 4 | 8 | 63 | 40 | +23 | 46 | Qualification for AFC Champions League group stage |
| 4 | Al Ain | 26 | 14 | 4 | 8 | 45 | 35 | +10 | 46 | Qualification for AFC Champions League play-off round |
| 5 | Al Jazira | 26 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 66 | 41 | +25 | 45 | Qualification for Arab Champions League |
| 6 | Baniyas | 26 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 50 | 40 | +10 | 40 | |
| 7 | Ajman | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 41 | 40 | +1 | 37 | |
| 8 | Al Nasr | 26 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 42 | 41 | +1 | 36 | |
| 9 | Al Wasl | 26 | 10 | 4 | 12 | 45 | 54 | −9 | 34 | Qualification for Arab Champions League |
| 10 | Al Dhafra | 26 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 37 | 49 | −12 | 29 | |
| 11 | Kalba | 26 | 5 | 10 | 11 | 41 | 51 | −10 | 25 | |
| 12 | Fujairah | 26 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 36 | 63 | −27 | 21 | |
| 13 | Emirates (R) | 26 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 30 | 62 | −32 | 18 | Relegation to UAE Division 1 |
| 14 | Dibba Al Fujairah (R) | 26 | 4 | 5 | 17 | 34 | 62 | −28 | 17 | Relegation to UAE Division 1 |

* ↑ Since league runners-up Shabab Al Ahli were also UAE President's Cup winners, the league 3rd place qualified for the AFC Champions League group stage.

## Results

| Home \ Away | AJM | AIN | DHA | JAZ | NAS | WAH | WAS | YAS | DAF | EMI | FUJ | KAL | SAD | SHR |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ajman | | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–5 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 |
| Al Ain | 0–4 | | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 |
| Al Dhafra | 3–4 | 3–0 | | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–5 | 0–2 | 0–5 | 0–4 |
| Al Jazira | 3–0 | 5–1 | 1–1 | | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 6–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Al Nasr | 0–1 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 3–1 | | 2–2 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 |
| Al Wahda | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 1–2 | | 4–1 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 6–2 | 2–2 | 2–3 |
| Al Wasl | 0–2 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 6–3 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 3–2 |
| Baniyas | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 1–1 | | 6–1 | 3–3 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 1–2 |
| Dibba Al Fujairah | 0–3 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 3–3 | | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 2–3 |
| Emirates | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 0–3 | 3–3 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 3–2 | | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 1–2 |
| Fujairah | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 0–3 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | | 3–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Kalba | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–3 | | 1–3 | 1–1 |
| Shabab Al Ahli | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 4–5 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | | 1–2 |
| Sharjah | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 6–3 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | |

## Season statistics

    As of 26 May 2019

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Sebastián Tagliabué | Al Wahda | 27 |
| 2 | Ali Mabkhout | Al Jazira | 20 |
| 2 | Welliton | Sharjah | 20 |
| 4 | Pedro Conde | Baniyas | 18 |
| 5 | Igor Coronado | Sharjah | 17 |
| 6 | Álvaro Negredo | Al Nasr | 16 |
| 7 | Mohamed Benyettou | Fujairah | 14 |
| 8 | Caio | Al Wasl | 13 |
| 8 | Fábio Lima | Al Wasl | 13 |
| 8 | Leonardo | Al Wahda | 13 |
| 11 | Leonardo | Al Jazira | 12 |
| 11 | Henrique Luvannor | Shabab Al Ahli | 12 |
| 11 | Jaime Ayoví | Shabab Al Ahli | 12 |

## Number of teams by Emirates

| | Emirate | Number of teams | Teams |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Abu Dhabi | 5 | Al Ain, Al Jazira, Al Wahda, Baniyas and Al Dhafra |
| 2 | Dubai | 3 | Shabab Al Ahli, Al Nasr and Al Wasl |
| 3 | Sharjah | 2 | Sharjah and Kalba |
| 3 | Fujairah | 2 | Dibba Al Fujairah and Fujairah |
| 4 | Ajman | 1 | Ajman |
| 4 | Ras Al Khaimah | 1 | Emirates |
