The UAE Pro League (), also known as the ADNOC Pro League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the highest level of the Emirati football league system.
The first team to win the title was Al Orouba (Sharjah), whilst Al Ain has the record with 15 league titles to their name. Fourteen clubs compete in the league that operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the First Division League.
The League was founded in 1973 as the UAE Football League. The first 1973–74 season was a "trial" championship but was declared official by the UAE FA in 2001. In February 2007, the Pro League Committee was formed, and became the organising body of the league.
Name change Starting from the 2006–07 season the name was changed from UAE League to Etisalat League. And since the 2013–14 season, the name was changed from Etisalat Pro League to Arabian Gulf League, which was named after the Arabian Gulf as per the chairman of Pro League Committee. However, the name change has been viewed as a revival of the Persian Gulf naming dispute with Iran accusing the United Arab Emirates of bigotry, and the Iranian Football Federation barring the transfer of Javad Nekounam to a UAE club. After about four months of the name change a 70 million AED one-year renewable partnership deal was announced with Arabian Gulf Development to be named Official Title Partner. On 8 August, the Pro League signed a new partnership deal with ADNOC worth 80 million AED, from the start of the 2021–22 season, the league was renamed to the UAE's ADNOC Pro League.
Ranking
As of 26 May 2024 RankingMember associationClub pointsTotal2025–26 Competition2023–24202220152016201720182019202120222023–24ACL EliteACL TwoChallenge11 —W 1 Saudi Arabia 15.2509.50018.60010.00026.35020.95019.07527.100103.1483+01+0022 —E 1 Japan 15.25010.50021.85013.85021.80017.87520.08821.35096.9993+01+0033 —E 2 South Korea 16.75020.7509.95018.35013.60022.75015.80022.35093.6002+11+0046 +2W 2 United Arab Emirates 25.00018.00011.3508.1007.63314.4008.08324.00073.3732+11+00
Clubs Member clubs (2025–26)
Note: Table lists clubs in alphabetical order.
ClubHome cityStadiumCapacityAjmanAjmanAjman StadiumAl AinAl-AinHazza Bin Zayed StadiumAl BataehAl BataehAl Bataeh StadiumAl DhafraMadinat ZayedAl Dhafra StadiumAl JaziraAbu Dhabi (Al Nahyan)Mohammad Bin Zayed StadiumAl NasrDubai (Oud Metha)Al-Maktoum StadiumAl WahdaAbu Dhabi (Al Nahyan)Al Nahyan StadiumAl WaslDubai (Zabeel)Zabeel StadiumBaniyasAbu Dhabi (Al Shamkha)Baniyas StadiumDibba Al FujairahDibba Al FujairahDibba New StadiumKalbaKalbaIttihad Kalba StadiumKhor FakkanKhor FakkanSaqr bin Mohammad al Qassimi StadiumShabab Al AhliDubai (Deira)Rashid StadiumSharjahSharjahSharjah Stadium Prior to UAE League's transition to the professional era in 2008, many clubs have competed in the country's top tier division from 1973–74 to 2007–08. The below list is clubs that have competed in the UAE top-tier league since the Pro League era starting in 2008–09.
Seasons in Pro League
16 seasons: Al Ain, Al Jazira, Al Nasr, Al Wahda, Al Wasl 15 seasons: Sharjah 14 seasons: Baniyas 13 seasons: Ajman, Al Dhafra 10 seasons: Emirates, Kalba 9 seasons: Al Ahli, Al Shabab 7 seasons: Shabab Al Ahli 6 seasons: Dibba Al Fujairah, Khor Fakkan 4 seasons: Al Shaab, Dubai, Fujairah, Hatta 3 seasons: Al Bataeh 2 seasons: Al Urooba 1 season: Dibba Al Hisn
Notes:
Italtics indicates that the club no longer exists Bold indicates that the club is still competing in the UAE Pro League as of 2024–25
Managers Nat.NameClubAppointedTime in chargePaulo SousaShabab Al-AhliGoran TufegdžićAjmanVuk RašovićKalbaFarhad MajidiAl BataehVladimir IvićAl AinSlaviša JokanovićAl NasrJosé MoraisAl WahdaHassan Al AbdooliKhor FakkanŽeljko PetrovićAl DhafraMarino PušićAl JaziraDaniel IsăilăBaniyasCiprian PanaitDibbaMesut MeralAl WaslAbdulmajid Al NimerSharjah
List of champions Source: yasNoSeasonChampionRunner up 11973–74SharjahAl Ahli 21974–75Al AhliSharjah 31975–76Al Ain 41976–77Al AinSharjah 51977–78Al NasrAl Ain 61978–79Sharjah 71979–80Al AhliAl Shaab 81980–81Al AinAl Nasr 91981–82Al WaslAl Ain 101982–83Sharjah 111983–84Al AinAl Wasl 121984–85Al WaslAl Shaab 131985–86Al NasrAl Wasl 141986–87Sharjah 151987–88Al WaslSharjah 161988–89SharjahAl Wasl 171989–90Al Shabab×1990–91Cancelled 181991–92Al WaslSharjah 191992–93Al AinAl Wasl 201993–94SharjahAl Ain 211994–95Al Shabab 221995–96SharjahAl Wasl 231996–97Al WaslAl Nasr 241997–98Al AinSharjah 251998–99Al WahdaAl Ain 261999–00Al AinAl Nasr 272000–01Al WahdaAl Ahli 282001–02Al AinAl Jazira 292002–03Al Wahda 302003–04Al Shabab 312004–05Al WahdaAl Ain 322005–06Al AhliAl Wahda 332006–07Al Wasl 342007–08Al ShababAl Jazira 352008–09Al Ahli 362009–10Al Wahda 372010–11Al JaziraBaniyas 382011–12Al AinAl Nasr 392012–13Al Ahli 402013–14Al AhliAl Wahda 412014–15Al AinAl Jazira 422015–16Al AhliAl Ain 432016–17Al JaziraAl Wasl 442017–18Al AinAl Wahda 452018–19SharjahShabab Al Ahli×2019–20Cancelled 462020–21Al JaziraBaniyas 472021–22Al AinSharjah 482022–23Shabab Al AhliAl Ain 492023–24Al WaslShabab Al Ahli 502024–25Shabab Al AhliSharjah 512025–26Al AinShabab Al Ahli Notes
1. Competition cancelled due to Gulf War
2. Competition cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates
Champions Performance by club As of 2024, following clubs are officially allowed to wear stars while playing in the League. Each country's usage is unique and in UAE the practice is to award one star for each five titles won. The number in parentheses is for League titles won. ClubWonRunners-upWinning seasonsAl Ain 1976–77, 1980–81, 1983–84, 1992–93, 1997–98, 1999–00, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2017–18, 2021–22, 2025–26Shabab Al Ahli 1974–75, 1975–76, 1979–80, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2022–23, 2024–25Al Wasl 1981–82, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1987–88, 1991–92, 1996–97, 2006–07, 2023–24Sharjah 1973–74, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1993–94, 1995–96, 2018–19Al Wahda1998–99, 2000–01, 2004–05, 2009–10Al Jazira2010–11, 2016–17, 2020–21Al Nasr1977–78, 1978–79, 1985–86Al Shabab1989–90, 1994–95, 2007–08Al Shaab—Baniyas— Notes
1. Al Shabab and Dubai CSC merged into Al-Ahli to form Shabab Al Ahli in 2017.
2. Al Shaab folded in 2017.
Performance by city City / AreaTitlesClubsWinning seasonsDubaiShabab Al-Ahli(9): 1974–75, 1975–76, 1979–80, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2022–23, 2024–25Al Wasl(8): 1981–82, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1987–88, 1991–92, 1996–97, 2006–07, 2023–24Al Nasr(3): 1977–78, 1978–79, 1985–86Al Shabab(3): 1989–90, 1994–95, 2007–08Al AinAl Ain(15): 1976–77, 1980–81, 1983–84, 1992–93, 1997–98, 1999–00, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2017–18, 2021–22, 2025–26Abu DhabiAl Wahda(4): 1998–99, 2000–01, 2004–05, 2009–10Al Jazira(3): 2010–11, 2016–17, 2020–21SharjahSharjah(6): 1973–74, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1993–94, 1995–96, 2018–19
Performance by emirates EmiratesTitlesClubsWinning seasonsDubaiShabab Al Ahli(9): 1974–75, 1975–76, 1979–80, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2022–23, 2024–25Al Wasl(8): 1981–82, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1987–88, 1991–92, 1996–97, 2006–07, 2023–24Al Nasr(3): 1977–78, 1978–79, 1985–86Al Shabab(3): 1989–90, 1994–95, 2007–08Abu DhabiAl Ain(15): 1976–77, 1980–81, 1983–84, 1992–93, 1997–98, 1999–00, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2017–18, 2021–22, 2021–22Al Wahda(4): 1998–99, 2000–01, 2004–05, 2009–10Al Jazira(3): 2010–11, 2016–17, 2020–21SharjahSharjah(6): 1973–74, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1993–94, 1995–96, 2018–19
Players All-time top scorers Source: RankNatNameClubYearsGoalsApps1Ali MabkhoutAl Jazira Al Nasr2009–2263132Sebastián TagliabúeAl Wahda Al Nasr Sharjah2013–20241842393Fahad KhameesAl Wasl1980–19971754Fábio LimaAl Wasl2014–1702305Mohammad OmarAl Wasl Al Ain Al Jazira Al Dhafra Al Nasr Ajman1992–20111326Adnan Al TalyaniAl Shaab1980–19991317Abdulaziz MohamedSharjah1980–20031288Ahmed AbdullahAl Ain1978–19951229Youssouf Al-Atiq HassanAl Ahli1988–200211910Faisal KhalilAl Ahli Al Wasl Al Shaab1999–201311430211Kodjo Fo-Doh LabaAl-Ain2019–11311912Makhete DiopAl Dhafra Shabab Al Ahli Sharjah2011–2018, 2021–202310818013Asamoah GyanAl-Ain Al Ahli2011–20171019714Ismail MatarAl Wahda2001–202410141815Anderson BarbosaSharjah Al Wasl2003–20099912816Caio CanedoAl Ain Al Wasl2014–9921817Ahmed KhalilAl Ain Shabab Al Ahli Al Bataeh2007–9627318Ali ThaniSharjah9319Aissa SangourAl Shabab8820Zuhair BakheetAl Wasl8821Saeed Al-KassSharjah Al Wasl8722Majid Al OwaisAl Ain8623Mohammed Salem Al-EnaziAl Wahda Al Wasl Al Jazira||8324Boris Kabi8214625Nasir KhameesAl Wasl8226Ibrahim DiakyAl Ain Al Jazira8027Khalid Ismail7528Omar KhribinAl Wahda Al Dhafra Shabab Al Ahli|7511729André Senghor7311830Caio LucasAl Ain Sharjah73169
Top scorers by season SeasonPlayerClubGoals1973–74 Saeed Hareb AlFalahiAl Ahli1974–75 Suhail SalimAl Ahli141975–76 Ali Nawaz BalochEmirates131976–77 Alfadel SantoAl Nasr111977–78 Mohieddine HabitaAl Ain201978–79 Mostafa MahrousAl Ahli161979–80 Alo Ali MohamedEmirates141980–81 Karim Abdul Razak1981–82 Ahmed AbdullahAl Ain131982–83 Luiz CarlosAl Nasr121983–84 Ahmed Abdullah Fahad KhameesAl Ain Al Wasl201984–85 Fahad Khamees Adnan Al TalyaniAl Wasl Al Shaab141985–86 Mohammed SalemAl Wahda161986–87 Adnan Al Talyani Khalil GhanimAl Shaab Khor Fakkan131987–88 Zuhair BakheetAl Wasl241988–89 Fahad Khamees131989–90 Hussain YaslamBaniyas161990–91Cancelled1991–92 Youssouf AtiqAl Ahli251992–93 Saif SultanAl Ain211993–94 Abdulaziz MohamedSharjah181994–95 Bader JassimAl Wahda101995–96 Jassim Al DokhiAl Shaab1996–97 Bader JassimAl Wahda111997–98 Ali ThaniSharjah191998–99 Alboury LahAl Wahda291999–00182000–01 Mohammed Al Enazi222001–022002–03 Cristián MontecinosDubai192003–04 Ali KarimiAl Ahli142004–05 Valdir Anderson BarbosaAl Nasr Sharjah232005–06 Anderson BarbosaSharjah202006–07 Anderson Barbosa Ali SamerehAl Wasl Al Shaab182007–08 Faisal Khalil Anderson BarbosaAl Ahli Sharjah162008–09 Fernando BaianoAl Jazira242009–10 José SandAl Ain2010–11 André SenghorBaniyas182011–12 Asamoah GyanAl Ain222012–13312013–14292014–15 Mirko VučinićAl Jazira252015–16 Sebastián TagliabúeAl Wahda2016–17 Ali MabkhoutAl Jazira332017–18 Marcus BergAl Ain252018–19 Sebastián TagliabúeAl Wahda272019–20 Kodjo LabaAl Ain192020–21 Ali MabkhoutAl Jazira252021–22 Kodjo LabaAl Ain262022–23282023–24 Omar KhribinAl Wahda182024–25 Kodjo LabaAl Ain20
Top scorers by country CountryPlayersSeasons172246243411
Honours Tournaments
Intercontinental Club World Cup (7 appearances): 2009, 2010, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2024, 2025 Runners-up (1): 2018 (Al Ain) Granada City Cup (1 appearance): 2025 Champions (1): 2025 (Al Ain) Morocco Friendship Cup (2 appearances): 2015, 2016 Champions (2): 2015 (Al Ain), 2016 (Shabab Al Ahli) Continental Asian Champions League 1 (35 appearances): 1985-86, 1990-91, 1991, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-00, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023-24, 2024-25 Champions (2): 2002-03 (Al Ain), 2023-24 (Al Ain) Runners-up (3): 2005 (Al Ain), 2015 (Shabab Al Ahli), 2016 (Al Ain) Third Place (2): 1992-93 (Al Wasl), 1998-99 (Al Ain) Asian Champions League 2 (13 appearances): 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-00, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2024-25 Champions (1): 2024-25 (Sharjah) Runners-up (1): 1994-95 (Sharjah) Regional Arabian Gulf Champions League (32 appearances): 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2024-25 Champions (8): 1992 (Shabab Al Ahli), 2001 (Al Ain), 2007 (Al Jazira), 2009 (Al Wasl), 2011 (Shabab Al Ahli), 2013 (Baniyas), 2014 (Al Nasr), 2015 (Shabab Al Ahli) Runners-up (4): 1993 (Shabab Al Ahli), 2005 (Al Wasl), 2011 (Shabab Al Ahli), 2012 (Al Wasl)