ABU DHABI, The UAE Pro League (UAEPL) approved the calendar for the first half of the Arabian Gulf League season, which includes 13 matchweeks and takes place from 19th August, 2021, to 7th January, 2022.
Hassan Taleb Al Marri, UAEPL Board Member and Chairman of the Technical Committee, confirmed that the UAEPL sought to hold the highest possible number of matches at weekends while putting the international breaks into consideration. The UAEPL also seeks to support the UAE national team in the final round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers and Al Wahda and Sharjah in the AFC Champions League and will show flexibility in support of the UAE representatives on the continental stage.
Al Marri added that the UAEPL was keen to finalise the fixtures schedule and share it with the clubs around a month ahead of the Arabian Gulf League kick-off. As per the UAEPL’s partnership with the clubs, it was keen to provide the clubs with a chance to appropriately prepare for the season to ensure the competition adheres to the best technical, marketing, and promotional practices.
According to the approved calendar, the opening matchweek will be held on 19th and 20th August. Emirates Club will face Shabab Al Ahli, Al Orooba will play against Al Wahda, and Ajman will face Al Nasr on 19th August, while Khorfakkan will face Al Ain, Al Jazira will face Al Dhafra, Bani Yas play with Al Wasl and Sharjah clash with Ittihad Kalba on 20th August.
Matchweek 2 will be held on 25th and 26th August, with Ittihad Kalba facing Al Jazira, Shabab Al Ahli playing with Ajman, Al Wasl facing Khorfakkan, and Al Ain playing against Emirates Club on the first day. The second day will see Al Nasr will face Al Orooba, Al Dhafra will face Sharjah, and Al Wahda play against Bani Yas.
Matchweek 3 will see Emirates Club face Al Dhafra, Khorfakkan play with Al Wahda, Sharjah face Al Wasl on 10th September. It resumes on 11th September as Bani Yas faces Al Ain, Al Orooba faces Shabab Al Ahli, Ittihad Kalba plays against Ajman, and Al Jazira faces Al Nasr.
Matchweek 4 will be played on 15th, 17th and 18th September, with Al Dhafra and Bani Yas, and Al Nasr and Khorfakkan playing on the opening day. Ajman will face Al Orooba, Al Jazira will play against Emirates Club, Al Ain will face Ittihad Kalba on 17th September, while the final day will see Al Wasl face Al Wahda and Shabab Al Ahli play against Sharjah.
Matchweek 5 will see Al Orooba play against Al Ain, Ittihad Kalba face Al Wasl, and Al Wahda play against Shabab Al Ahli on 23rd September. The next day will witness matches between Bani Yas and Ajman, Khorfakkan and Al Dhafra, Emirates Club and Al Nasr, and Sharjah and Al Jazira.
It will be followed by matchweek 6 on 28th and 29th September, with Al Dhafra facing Ittihad Kalba, Al Jazira playing with Al Orooba, and Al Wasl facing Shabab Al Ahli on the first day. The second day will see Ajman face Sharjah, Al Nasr face Bani Yas, Khorfakkan play against Emirates Club, and Al Ain face Al Wahda.
Matchweek 7 will be played on 21st and 22nd October, and whoever qualifies from Al Wahda and Sharjah in the AFC Champions League will see their match postponed to 23rd October. Bani Yas will face Khorfakkan, Ittihad Kalba will face Al Orooba, and Al Wasl will play against Al Ain on 21st October. Ajman will face Al Dhafra, Shabab Al Ahli will face Al Jazira, Al Wahda will play against Emirates Club, and Sharjah will face Al Nasr on 22nd October.
Matchweek 8 will see Al Nasr face Ittihad Kalba, Emirates Club face Al Wasl, and Al Jazira play against Bani Yas on 28th October. They will be followed by Al Dhafra vs Al Wahda, Al Orooba vs Sharjah, Khorfakkan vs Ajman, and Shabab Al Ahli vs Al Ain matches on 29th October.
Matchweek 9 will see Ittihad Kalba face Shabab Al Ahli, Al Ain play against Al Dhafra, Ajman face Al Jazira, and Al Wasl face Al Nasr on 2nd November. The following day will witness matches between Al Orooba and Khorfakkan, Bani Yas and Emirates Club, and Sharjah and Al Wahda.
Matchweek 10 will be played on 20th and 21st November, with Bani Yas facing Al Orooba, Khorfakkan facing Sharjah, Emirates Club playing against Ittihad Kalba, and Al Jazira playing with Al Ain on the first day. The next day will see matches between Al Wahda and Ajman, Al Dhafra and Al Wasl, and Al Nasr and Shabab Al Ahli.
Matchweek 11 will see Ajman face Al Wasl, Al Jazira face Khorfakkan, Al Orooba play against Emirates Club, and Al Ain face Al Nasr on 25th December. Ittihad Kalba will face Al Wahda, Shabab Al Ahli will play with Al Dhafra, and Sharjah will play against Bani Yas on 26th December.
Matchweek 12 will take place on 30th and 31st December, as Al Wasl faces Al Orooba, Al Dhafra faces Al Nasr, Bani Yas plays against Shabab Al Ahli on the first day. The last day of the year will see Al Ain face Ajman, Khorfakkan face Ittihad Kalba, Emirates Club play with Sharjah, and Al Wahda play against Al Jazira.
Matchweek 13 will be played on 6th and 7th January, with Al Orooba facing Al Dhafra, Shabab Al Ahli facing Khorfakkan, and Al Jazira playing against Al Wasl on the first day. The second day will see Al Nasr face Al Wahda, Ittihad Kalba face Bani Yas, Ajman play against Emirates Club, and Sharjah play with Al Ain.
The UAEPL also announced the calendar for the first half of the Arabian Gulf League U21 season, which will be held from 20th August, 2021, to 8th January, 2022. It will follow the same schedule as the Arabian Gulf League but will be played 24 hours after the first team matches.
Source: Emirates News Agency
