2022–23 UAE Pro League

The 2022–23 UAE Pro League was the 48th edition of the UAE Pro League. Al Ain were the defending champions after winning their fourteenth title last season. There was a mid-season break due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

UAE Pro League
Season2022–23
Dates2 September – 13 May
ChampionsShabab Al Ahli (8th title)
RelegatedAl Dhafra
Dibba Al Fujairah
2023–24 AFC Champions LeagueAl Ain
Shabab Al Ahli
Sharjah
Matches played137
Goals scored414 (3.02 per match)
Top goalscorerKodjo Laba
(28 goals)
Biggest home winAl Ain 7–0 Al Dhafra
(10 September 2022)
Biggest away winAl Bataeh 0–6 Shabab Al Ahli
(4 November 2022)
Highest scoringKalba 5–3 Al Nasr
(29 October 2022)
Longest winning runAl Ain
Al Wahda
(7 games)
Longest unbeaten runShabab Al Ahli
(13 games)
Longest winless runAl Dhafra
(11 games)
Longest losing runAl Dhafra
(11 games)
All statistics correct as of 14 May 2023.

Shabab Al Ahli won the Pro League for the eighth time.

Teams

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Team changes

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Dibba Al Fujairah would get promoted back after winning the First Division league by beating Al Arabi 2–1, they would return after being absent for three seasons. Al Bataeh would secure promotion on the last day after beating Al Hamriyah 4–2, this will be their first ever season on the top flight in the clubs history.

Relegated to the First Division

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Emirates would get relegated back to the First Division after a 0–1 home defeat to Al Urooba on the 17th of May. Al Urooba would also get relegated after losing to Al Dhafra 2–1 on the final matchday.

Stadia and locations

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Locations of teams in the 2022–23 UAE Pro League
Note: Table lists clubs in alphabetical order.
Team Home city Stadium Capacity
Ajman Ajman Ajman Stadium 5,537
Al Ain Al-Ain Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium 25,965
Al Bataeh Al Bataeh Al Bataeh Stadium 2,000
Al Dhafra Madinat Zayed Al Dhafra Stadium 5,020
Al Jazira Abu Dhabi (Al Nahyan) Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium 42,056
Al Nasr Dubai (Al Nasr) Al-Maktoum Stadium 15,058
Al Wahda Abu Dhabi (Al Nahyan) Al Nahyan Stadium 12,201
Al Wasl Dubai (Zabeel) Zabeel Stadium 8,439
Baniyas Abu Dhabi (Al Shamkha) Baniyas Stadium 10,000
Dibba Al Fujairah Dibba Al-Fujairah New Dibba Stadium 9,500
Kalba Kalba Ittihad Kalba Stadium 8,500
Khor Fakkan Khor Fakkan SBM Al Qassimi Stadium 7,500
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai (Deira) Al-Rashid Stadium 12,052
Sharjah Sharjah Sharjah Stadium 20,000

Personnel and kits

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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   Goran Tufegdžić   Ali Al-Hosani Adidas Ajman Bank
Al Ain   Serhiy Rebrov   Bandar Al-Ahbabi Nike First Abu Dhabi Bank
Al Bataeh   Said Chkhit   Khamis Esmaeel Nike N/A
Al Dhafra   Aleksandar Veselinović   Ahmed Ali Kelme ADNOC
Al Jazira   Marcel Keizer   Ali Khasif Zat Outfit Healthpoint
Al Nasr   Goran Tomić   Tareq Ahmed N45 Emirates Islamic
Al Wahda   Arno Buitenweg   Mohammed Barqesh Adidas N/A
Al Wasl   Juan Antonio Pizzi   Ali Salmeen Macron Dubai Real Estate Centre
Baniyas   Daniel Isăilă   Fawaz Awana Macron ADIB
Dibba Al Fujairah   Hassan Al Abdouli   Mohamed Al Rowaihy uhlsport Fujairah Investment
Kalba   Farhad Majidi   Mansor Abbas Errea Caltex
Khor Fakkan   Abdulaziz Al Yassi   Saif Mohammed Adidas N/A
Shabab Al Ahli   Leonardo Jardim   Majed Naser Nike Nissan
Dubai Integrated Economic Zones
Sharjah   Cosmin Olăroiu   Shahin Abdulrahman Adidas SAIF Zone
University Hospital Sharjah

Foreign players

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  • Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.
  • Players in italics were out of the squad or left the club within the season, after the 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 Player 5 Former players
Ajman   Miral Samardžić   Firas Ben Larbi   Walid Azaro   Ali Madan   Prestige Mboungou
Al Ain   Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba   Soufiane Rahimi   Andriy Yarmolenko   El Mehdi El Moubarik   Tin Jedvaj   Danilo Arboleda
Al Bataeh   Anatole Abang   Lourency   Artur Jorge   João Novais   Kwame Bonsu   Thibang Phete
Al Dhafra   Mohamed Rayhi   Cláudio   Walid Karoui   Tiago Leonço   Georgi Milanov   Mitchell te Vrede
  Lucas Cândido
Al Jazira   Miloš Kosanović   Thulani Serero   Florin Tănase   Achraf Bencharki   Aymen Hussein   Filip Novák
  Abdoulay Diaby
Al Nasr   Tozé   Ryan Mendes   Adel Taarabt   Samir Memišević   Peniel Mlapa   Jája Silva
  Dembo Darboe
  Lucão
Al Wahda   João Pedro   Adrien Silva   Allan   Matheus Pereira   Fábio Martins
  Maracás
  Pizzi
  Ahmed Refaat
Al Wasl   Djamel Benlamri   Soufiane Bouftini   Gerónimo Poblete   Tomás Chancalay   Felipe Gutiérrez   Gilberto
  Gabrielzinho
Baniyas   Saša Ivković   Gastón Álvarez Suárez   Nicolás Giménez   Rafael Elias   Opa Nguette
Dibba Al Fujairah   Marcelo   Jája Silva   Edu   Pedro Castro   China   Joey Sleegers
  Aleksandar Šćekić
  Saliou Guindo
  Kabelo Seakanyeng
Kalba   Filip Kiss   Daniel Bessa   Igor Rossi   Alexandru Cicâldău   Abdoulay Diaby   Peniel Mlapa
Khor Fakkan   Dodô   Aylton Boa Morte   Lazar Rosić   Fábio Abreu   Mehdi Abeid   Ramon Lopes
  Panagiotis Tachtsidis
Shabab Al Ahli   Federico Cartabia   Azizjon Ganiev   Ahmad Nourollahi   Omar Khribin   Jason Denayer
Sharjah   Caio   Paco Alcácer   Miralem Pjanić   Kostas Manolas   Djaniny   Makhete Diop

Managerial changes

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Team Outgoing manager Date of vacancy Manner of departure Pos. Incoming manager Date of appointment
Al Nasr   Salem Rabie 19 May 2022 Caretaker tenure ended Pre-season   Thorsten Fink 19 May 2022
Al Wahda   Grégory Dufrennes   Carlos Carvalhal 1 July 2022
Kalba   Jorge da Silva 26 May 2022 End of contract   Farhad Majidi[1] 8 June 2022
Khor Fakkan   Gabriel Calderón   Abdulaziz Al Yassi[2] 14 June 2022
Shabab Al Ahli   Mahdi Ali   Leonardo Jardim 8 June 2022
Al Dhafra   Mohammad Kwid   Nebojša Vignjević 11 July 2022
Al Bataeh   Tarek Hadhiri   Caio Zanardi 27 May 2022
Al Wasl   Odair Hellmann[3] 28 June 2022 Mutual consent   Juan Antonio Pizzi 1 July 2022
Al Wahda   Carlos Carvalhal 3 October 2022 Sacked 9th   Manolo Jiménez 5 October 2022
Dibba Al Fujairah   Zoran Popović 8 October 2022 14th   Grégory Dufrennes 8 October 2022
Al Dhafra   Nebojša Vignjević 30 October 2022 14th   Aleksandar Veselinović 30 October 2022
Al Bataeh   Caio Zanardi 4 November 2022 10th   Saeed Shakhit[4] 5 November 2022
Al Nasr   Thorsten Fink 5 November 2022 12th   Goran Tomić[5]
Dibba Al Fujairah   Grégory Dufrennes 14 January 2023 Mutual consent 13th   Hassan Al Abdouli[6] 15 January 2023
Al Wahda   Manolo Jiménez[7] 12 March 2023 Sacked 4th   Arno Buitenwega 13 March 2023

Notes
1.^ Interim

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Shabab Al Ahli (C) 26 17 6 3 53 25 +28 57 Qualification for AFC Champions League play off round
2 Al Ain 26 16 6 4 67 31 +36 54 Qualification for AFC Champions League group stage[a]
3 Al Wahda 26 15 7 4 48 26 +22 52
4 Al Wasl 26 13 8 5 53 32 +21 47
5 Al Jazira 26 14 4 8 50 39 +11 46
6 Ajman 26 13 5 8 41 38 +3 44
7 Sharjah 26 12 7 7 42 21 +21 43 Qualification for AFC Champions League play off round[b]
8 Kalba 26 9 6 11 32 41 −9 33
9 Al Nasr 26 7 6 13 27 43 −16 27
10 Khor Fakkan 26 6 7 13 28 44 −16 25
11 Baniyas 26 6 6 14 34 46 −12 24
12 Al Bataeh 26 5 6 15 30 57 −27 21
13 Dibba Al Fujairah (R) 26 5 5 16 20 44 −24 20 Relegation to UAE Division 1
14 Al Dhafra (R) 26 3 3 20 26 64 −38 12
Source: UPLeague
Rules for classification: [8] 1) points; 2) head-to-head goal difference; 3) head-to-head goals scored; 4) head-to-head away goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored; 7) number of away goals scored; 8) head-to-head points; 9) fair play ranking 10) draw
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ since Al Ain won the 2021–22 UAE Pro League, they qualified directly to the AFC Champions League group stage meanwhile this seasons league champions will qualify for the play-off round.
  2. ^ since Sharjah won both President's Cups, they qualified for the AFC Champions League play-off round.


Results

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Home \ Away AJM AIN BTH DHA JAZ NAS WAH WAS YAS DAF KAL KHF SAD SHR
Ajman 1–1 2–1 2–1 1–1 4–1 2–3 4–2 2–0 3–2 1–0 0–0 1–3 2–3
Al Ain 5–1 5–2 7–0 3–2 0–1 2–3 1–1 2–2 3–0 3–0 2–1 1–1 2–0
Al Bataeh 1–1 2–3 1–1 2–4 2–0 0–4 1–2 3–3 0–1 2–2 2–2 0–6 0–1
Al Dhafra 0–1 1–4 1–2 4–1 1–1 1–3 0–2 2–4 2–1 0–2 1–3 3–2 0–1
Al Jazira 0–1 2–1 3–1 3–2 4–3 0–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 1–1 2–3 3–3
Al Nasr 2–0 1–3 2–2 1–0 0–2 0–1 1–2 1–0 0–1 3–0 1–0 2–2 1–0
Al Wahda 0–1 0–3 2–1 4–2 3–1 4–0 3–3 1–1 3–0 0–1 2–2 1–1 0–0
Al Wasl 2–1 2–3 3–1 4–0 1–2 2–0 2–2 3–0 1–1 2–2 3–0 1–2 1–1
Baniyas 2–3 2–2 0–1 5–0 1–1 1–1 0–1 1–3 0–2 1–2 1–0 1–2 0–4
Dibba Al Fujairah 1–3 0–2 0–1 1–1 0–1 2–1 1–1 0–1 1–4 2–2 1–0 1–2 0–2
Kalba 0–2 2–3 0–2 2–0 2–1 5–3 0–2 1–1 2–1 2–0 1–1 1–2 0–4
Khor Fakkan 2–2 0–3 3–0 4–3 2–4 0–0 0–2 1–5 1–2 1–0 2–1 0–1 1–0
Shabab Al Ahli 1–0 2–1 3–0 2–0 2–1 3–0 2–1 2–2 1–2 5–1 0–0 3–1 0–2
Sharjah 4–0 2–2 3–0 1–0 2–3 1–1 0–1 0–1 3–0 1–1 1–2 3–0 0–0
Source: UPLeague
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Number of teams by Emirates

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Emirate Number of teams Teams
1   Abu Dhabi 5 Al Ain, Al Jazira, Al Wahda, Baniyas and Al Dhafra
2   Sharjah 4 Sharjah, Kalba, Khor Fakkan and Al Bataeh
3   Dubai 3 Shabab Al Ahli, Al Nasr and Al Wasl
4   Ajman 1 Ajman
  Fujairah Dibba Al Fujairah


Seasonal statistics

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Positions by round

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Leader and qualification to AFC Champions League Play off round
qualification to AFC Champions League
Relegation to UAE First Division League
Team ╲ Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526
Shabab Al Ahli147577653311211121111111111
Al Ain73844438787777543322222222
Al Wahda51010105542222433355444333333
Al Wasl65733124434644432233454444
Al Jazira22222376566565666667667675
Ajman81111116965855356777776776556
Sharjah31111211143122214555545767
Kalba139468787678888888888888888
Al Nasr9468101011121212121212121212121212109999109
Khor Fakkan1113131411111211111191010910101099911111010910
Baniyas48991212109910109910999101011101011111111
Al Bataeh16359891010911111111111111111112121212131212
Dibba Al Fujairah1214121314141414141413131414141414141414131313121313
Al Dhafra1012141213131313131314141313131313131313141414141414
Source: UPLeague

Top scorers

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As of 15 May 2023[9]
Rank Player Club Goals
1   Kodjo Laba Al Ain 28
2   Ali Mabkhout Al Jazira 27
3   Fábio Lima Al Wasl 19
4   João Pedro Al Wahda 15
5   Lourency Al Bataeh 13
6   Walid Azaro Ajman 12
  Firas Ben Larbi Ajman
8   Soufiane Rahimi Al Ain 11
  Federico Cartabia Shabab Al Ahli
  Andriy Yarmolenko Al Ain
11   Caio Lucas Sharjah 9
  Tomás Chancalay Al Wasl
  Ahmed Al-Naqbi Kalba

Clean sheets

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As of 14 May 2023
Rank Player Club Clean sheets
1   Mohammed Al-Shamsi Al Wahda 9
2   Adel Al-Hosani Sharjah 7
  Khalid Eisa Al Ain
  Khaled Al-Senani Al Wasl
5   Darwish Bin Habib Sharjah 6
  Ali Al-Hosani Ajman
  Ali Khasif Al Jazira
8   Eisa Al-Hooti Kalba 5
  Ahmed Al-Hosani Khor Fakkan
  Hassan Hamza Shabab Al Ahli
  Ahmed Shambih Al Nasr

Hat tricks

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Player For Against Result Date Round
  Ali Mabkhout Al Jazira Khor Fakkan 4–2 (A) 9 September 2022 2
  Kodjo Laba4 Al Ain Al Dhafra 7–0 (H) 10 September 2022
  Fábio Lima Al Wasl 4–0 (H) 8 October 2022 5
  Rafael Elias Baniyas Dibba Al Fujarah 4–1 (A) 22 October 2022 7
  Ali Mabkhout Al Jazira Al Nasr 4–3 (H) 7 April 2023 22
Notes

4 Player scored 4 goals
(H) – Home team
(A) – Away team

References

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  1. ^ "فرهاد مجيدي يشعل «إنستغرام» كلباء". Al Bayan. 8 June 2022.
  2. ^ "عبدالعزيز العنبري مدربا لفريق خورفكان". wam. 14 June 2022.
  3. ^ "الوصل ينفصل عن هيلمان.. وبيتزي البديل". Emaratalyoum. 28 June 2022.
  4. ^ "المغربي شخيت يقود البطائح خلفاً للبرازيلي كايو" (in Arabic). Al Bayan. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  5. ^ "رسميا..غوران توميتش مدربا للنصر" (in Arabic). Al Bayan. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  6. ^ "دبا يتطلع لانطلاقة جديدة" (in Arabic). Al Khaleej. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  7. ^ "خسارة الكلاسيكو تطيح بخيمينيز من الوحدة" (in Arabic). Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  8. ^ "Article (15) P.50 of Arabian Gulf League Regulations" (PDF) (in Arabic). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  9. ^ "UAE Pro League 2022/23 – Top Scorers & Top Assists". Soccerway.