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 26 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.
Changes
To Division 1 Relegated to UAE Division 1 Hatta
From Division 1 Promoted to UAE Pro League Baniyas Ittihad Kalba Fujairah
Teams Stadia and locations
Note: Table lists clubs in alphabetical order. Club Home city Stadium Capacity Ajman Ajman Ajman Stadium Al Ain Al-Ain Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium Al Dhafra Madinat Zayed Al Dhafra Stadium Al Jazira Abu Dhabi (Al Nahyan) Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium Al Nasr Dubai (Bur Dubai) Al-Maktoum Stadium Al Wahda Abu Dhabi (Al Nahyan) Al Nahyan Stadium Al Wasl Dubai (Bur Dubai) Zabeel Stadium Baniyas Abu Dhabi (Al Shamkha) Baniyas Stadium Dibba Al Fujairah Fujairah* Fujairah Club Stadium* Emirates Ras Al Khaimah Emirates Club Stadium Fujairah Fujairah Fujairah Club Stadium Ittihad Kalba Kalba Ittihad Kalba Stadium Shabab Al Ahli Dubai (Deira) Dubai Club Stadium Sharjah Sharjah Sharjah Stadium
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 El Ramady Rashid 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 Caio Zanardi Álvaro Negredo Nike Emirates NBD Al Wahda Henk ten Cate Ismail Matar Adidas Cadillac Al Wasl Laurențiu Reghecampf Caio Canedo New Balance Emaar Properties Baniyas Krunoslav Jurčić Yousif Jaber Adidas Secure Engineering Dibba Al Fujairah Mohamed Al Khaddeim Driss Fettouhi Uhlsport N/A Emirates Jalel Kadri Ahmed Al-Shaji Uhlsport Al Naeem City Center Fujairah Abdullah Mesfer Hilal Saeed Nike Asas Ittihad Kalba Fabio Viviani Mansor Abbas Erreà N/A Shabab Al Ahli Rodolfo Arruabarrena Majed Naser Nike Nakheel Properties Sharjah Abdulaziz Mohamed Shahin Abdulrahman Adidas Saif Zone
Managerial changes TeamOutgoing managerDate of vacancyManner of departureIncoming managerDate of appointment Fujairah Diego Maradona 28 April 2018 SackedPre-season Ivan Hašek 29 May 2018 Al Jazira Henk ten Cate 17 May 2018End of contract Marcel Keizer 2 June 2018 Al Wasl Rodolfo Arruabarrena 30 June 2018 Gustavo Quinteros 12 May 2018 Al Dhafra Gjoko Hadžievski 30 June 2018 Vuk Rašović 20 May 2018 Baniyas Goran Tufegdžić 30 May 2018 Krunoslav Jurčić 28 May 2018 Shabab Al Ahli Mahdi Ali 30 May 2018 José Luis Sierra 28 May 2018 Emirates Nizar Mahrous 30 May 2018 Jalel Kadri 28 May 2018 Ittihad Kalba Jorvan Vieira 4 September 2018 Sacked 13th Fabio Viviani 2 September 2018 Shabab Al Ahli José Luis Sierra 14 October 2018 8th Rodolfo Arruabarrena 14 October 2018 Al Wasl Gustavo Quinteros 23 October 2018 9th Laurențiu Reghecampf 26 December 2018 Dibba Al Fujairah Paulo Comelli 26 October 2018 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 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 Kwid1 March 2019Sacked 14th Mohamed Al Khaddeim2 March 2019 Fujairah Ivan Hašek 12th Abdullah Mesfer Al Nasr Beñat San José 31 March 2019 11th Caio Zanardi 31 March 2019
Foreign players All teams could register as many foreign players as they want, but could only use four professionals 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 Thiam Al Ain Caio Lucas Tsukasa Shiotani Rúben Ribeiro Marcus Berg Hussein El Shahat Al Dhafra Diego Rigonato Rômulo Amine Atouchi Nicolás Milesi Hélder Guedes Al Jazira Leonardo Pereira Sébastien Siani Ernest Asante Nacer Barazite Al Nasr Junior Dutra Ronnie Fernández Joan Oumari Álvaro Negredo Iury Marquinhos Gabriel Samuel Yohan Cabaye Al Wahda Sebastián Tagliabué Leonardo Souza Mourad Batna Rim Chang-woo Al Wasl Caio Canedo Fábio 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 Masoud Juma Yahya Jabrane Emirates Kaio Marcão Cheick Diabaté Saber Khalifa Bernie Ibini-Isei Bakare Kone Aboubacar Sylla Fujairah Mohamed Benyettou Fernando Gabriel Samuel Omar Kossoko Jou Silva Ronaldo Mendes Lee Seung-hee Ittihad Kalba Myke Tommy Tobar Balázs Dzsudzsák Giovanni Sio Raheem Lawal Florentin Matei Shabab Al Ahli Emiliano Vecchio Mauro Díaz Jaime Ayoví Henrique Luvannor Sharjah Igor Coronado Welliton Ryan Mendes Otabek Shukurov
League table
Results
Season statistics
RankPlayerClubGoals1 Sebastián TagliabuéAl Wahda272 WellitonSharjah20 Ali MabkhoutAl Jazira4 Pedro CondeBaniyas185 Igor CoronadoSharjah176 Álvaro NegredoAl Nasr167 Mohamed BenyettouFujairah148 Caio CanedoAl Wasl13 Fábio LimaAl Wasl Leonardo SouzaAl Wahda11 Leonardo PereiraAl Jazira12 Jaime AyovíShabab Al Ahli Henrique LuvannorShabab Al Ahli
Number of teams by Emirates EmirateNumber of teamsTeams1 Abu Dhabi5Al Ain, Al Jazira, Al Wahda, Baniyas and Al Dhafra2 Dubai3Shabab Al Ahli, Al Nasr and Al Wasl3 Sharjah 2Sharjah and Kalba FujairahDibba Al Fujairah and Fujairah 4 Ajman1Ajman Ras Al KhaimahEmirates
References