Langbahn Team – Weltmeisterschaft

2024–25 Al Ain FC season

Al Ain
2024–25 season
PresidentMohammed Bin Zayed
ChairmanHazza Bin Zayed
Head coachHernán Crespo
StadiumHazza Bin Zayed
UAE Pro League6th
President's CupRound of 16
League CupFirst round
AFC Champions League EliteLeague stage
FIFA Intercontinental CupFirst round
FIFA Club World CupGroup stage
Top goalscorerLeague: Kodjo Laba (4)
All: Soufiane Rahimi (9)

The 2024–25 Al Ain Football Club season is the club's 57th in existence and their 50th consecutive season in the top-level football league in the UAE.

Season overview

Pre-season

On 27 June 2024, Al Ain announced they would be touring in Rabat, Morocco, with four friendly matches against Union de Touarga on 24 July, Kénitra on 1 August, Chabab Mohammédia on 5 August and Raja CA on 10 August.[1][2]

Management

Position Name
Coaching staff
Head coach Argentina Hernán Crespo
Assistant coaches Argentina Juan Branda
Argentina Nicolás Domínguez
United Arab Emirates Ahmed Abdullah
Chief analyst Spain Carles Martínez
Analyst Portugal Tiago Freire
Goalkeeping coaches Argentina Gustavo Nepote
Fitness coach Argentina Federico Martinetti
U-21 team head coach United Arab Emirates Ismail Ahmed
Physiotherapist Argentina Santiago Thompson
Brazil Felipe Perseu Pianca
Egypt Abdelnasser Aljohny
Club Doctor Greece Nikos Tzouroudis
Nutritionist Portugal Ricardo Pinto
Scout Italy Daniele Di Napoli
Administration staff
Team manager United Arab Emirates Ahmed Al Shamsi
Front office
Sporting Director Brazil Rodrigo Mendes[3]

Board of Directors

Office Name
Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al Ain SCC
Chairman of the Executive Committee
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Sultan bin Hamdan bin Zayed
Supervising Sports affairs Mohammed Al Mahmoud
Supervising Media affairs Mohammed Al Ketbi
Supervising of Financial and Administrative affairs Ziad Amir Ahmed Saleh
Supervising the Academy and Talents sector Abdullah Mohammed Abdullah Khouri

Source: AlAinClub.ae

Players

First Team

[4][5][6]

N Position Nation Player Age Since Notes
Goalkeepers
1 GK United Arab Emirates Mohammed Abo Sandah 29 2014
17 GK United Arab Emirates Khalid Eisa (VC) 35 2013
36 GK United Arab Emirates Amer Al-Faresi 19 2024 U21
Defenders
3 DF United Arab Emirates Kouame Autonne 24 2021
15 DF United Arab Emirates Erik Jorgens 23 2020
16 DF United Arab Emirates Khalid Al-Hashemi 27 2023
46 DF Mali Dramane Koumare 19 2024
50 DF United Arab Emirates Manea Al Shamsi 23 2021
66 DF United Arab Emirates Mansour Al Shamsi 23 2020
DF United Arab Emirates Khalid Butti 33 2024
DF Brazil Marlon Santos 29 2024 on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk
Midfielders
5 MF South Korea Park Youg-woo 31 2023
6 MF United Arab Emirates Yahia Nader 26 2018
8 MF United Arab Emirates Mohammed Abbas 22 2021 U21
10 MF Paraguay Kaku 29 2023
11 MF United Arab Emirates Bandar Al-Ahbabi (C) 34 2016
13 MF United Arab Emirates Ahmed Barman 30 2013
18 MF United Arab Emirates Khalid Al-Balochi 25 2018
20 MF United Arab Emirates Matías Palacios 22 2022
21 MF Morocco Soufiane Rahimi 29 2021
26 MF United Arab Emirates Ahmed Al-Qatesh 23 2021
30 MF United Arab Emirates Hazem Mohammad 19 2023 U19
70 MF Mali Abdoul Karim Traoré 19 2023 U19
MF Morocco El Mehdi El Moubarik 23 2022
Forwards
9 FW Togo Kodjo Laba 32 2019
77 FW Nigeria Rilwanu Sarki 20 2023 U19
90 FW United Arab Emirates Eisa Khalfan 21 2021 U21
99 FW Republic of the Congo Josna Loulendo 20 2023 U21
FW United Arab Emirates Mohamed Awadalla 22 2020 U21

New contracts

Date Pos No. Player Ref. Notes
12 July 2024 GK 1 United Arab Emirates Mohammed Abo Sandah [7] 2026

Transfers

In

No. Position Player From Fee Date Ref.
Summer
MF United Arab Emirates Mohammed Khalfan United Arab Emirates Khor Fakkan Loan return 1 July 2024
FW United Arab Emirates Mohamed Awadalla U21 United Arab Emirates Khor Fakkan [8]
DF Brazil Rafael Pereira United Arab Emirates Khor Fakkan
MF Morocco El Mehdi El Moubarik Morocco Raja [9]
DF United Arab Emirates Khalid Butti United Arab Emirates Al Wahda Free 12 July 2024 [10]
Total €0 million

Out

No. Pos. Player Transfer to Fee Date Source
Summer
22 MF United Arab Emirates Falah Waleed United Arab Emirates Dibba Al-Hisn End of contract 25 June 2024 [11][12]
4 DF United Arab Emirates Mohammed Shaker United Arab Emirates Khor Fakkan End of contract 27 June 2024 [11][13]
44 DF United Arab Emirates Saeed Juma End of contract 1 July 2024 [11]
27 MF United Arab Emirates Sultan Al-Shamsi United Arab Emirates Khor Fakkan End of contract 1 July 2024 [11][14]
12 GK United Arab Emirates Sultan Al-Mantheri United Arab Emirates Kalba End of contract 1 July 2024 [11][15]
MF United Arab Emirates Mohammed Khalfan United Arab Emirates Dibba Al-Hisn End of contract 3 July 2024 [16]

Loans in

No. Pos Player From Start date End date Ref.
DF Brazil Marlon Santos Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 3 July 2024 End of season [17]

Pre-season and friendlies

On 27 June 2024, Al Ain announced they would be touring in Rabat, Morocco, with four friendly matches against Union de Touarga on 24 July, Kénitra on 1 August, Chabab Mohammédia on 5 August and Raja on 10 August.[1]

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

24 July 2024 1 Union de Touarga Morocco v United Arab Emirates Al Ain Rabat, Morocco
1 August 2024 2 Kénitra Morocco v United Arab Emirates Al Ain Rabat, Morocco
5 August 2024 3 Chabab Mohammédia Morocco v United Arab Emirates Al Ain Rabat, Morocco
10 August 2024 4 Raja Morocco v United Arab Emirates Al Ain Casablanca, Morocco
Stadium: Stade Larbi Zaouli

Competitions

Overview

Competition First match Last match Starting round Final position Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
Pro-League 24 August 2024 TBD 2025 Matchday 1 TBD 9 5 3 1 28 15 +13 055.56
President's Cup TBD TBD Round of 16 TBD 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4 100.00
League Cup 18 August 2024 TBD First round TBD 2 2 0 0 6 3 +3 100.00
AFC Champions League 16 September 2024 TBD League phase TBD 6 0 2 4 10 18 −8 000.00
FIFA Intercontinental Cup 22 September 2024 TBD First round African-Asian-Pacific Cup Runners-up 2 1 0 1 6 5 +1 050.00
FIFA Club World Cup June 2025 July 2025 First round TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 !
Total 20 9 5 6 54 41 +13 045.00

Last updated: 27 August 2024
Source: Competitions

Pro League

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
3 Al Nasr 10 6 1 3 24 18 +6 19
4 Al Wahda 10 5 3 2 18 13 +5 18[a]
5 Al Ain 9 5 3 1 28 15 +13 18[a]
6 Al Jazira 10 5 2 3 23 16 +7 17
7 Kalba 10 3 5 2 17 12 +5 14
Updated to match(es) played on 16 December 2024. Source: UPLeague
Rules for classification: [18] 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
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head points: Al Wahda 3; Al Ain 0.


Results summary

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
0 0 0 0 0 0  0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Source: Soccerway

Results by round

Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526
GroundHAAHHAHAHAHAH
Result
Position
Source: UPLeague
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; P = Postponed

Matches

The league fixtures were announced on 6 July 2024.[19]

TBC 1 Al Ain v Khor Fakkan Al Ain
TBC GMT+4 (UAE Time) Report Stadium: Hazza Bin Zayed
TBC 2 Al Bataeh v Al Ain Sharjah
TBC Report Stadium: Khalid bin Mohammed
TBC 3 Kalba v Al Ain Kalba
TBC Report Stadium: Ittihad Kalba
TBC 4 Al Ain v Al Wasl Al Ain
TBC Report Stadium: Hazza Bin Zayed
TBC 5 Al Ain v Al Wahda Al Ain
TBC Report Stadium: Hazza Bin Zayed
TBC 6 Dibba Al-Hisn v Al Ain Dibba Al-Hisn
TBC Report Stadium: Dibba
TBC 7 Al Ain v Shabab Al Ahli Al Ain
TBC Report Stadium: Hazza Bin Zayed
TBC 8 Al Orooba v Al Ain Fujairah
TBC Report Stadium: Al Sharqi
TBC 9 Al Ain v Baniyas Al Ain
TBC Report Stadium: Hazza Bin Zayed
TBC 10 Al Jazira v Al Ain Abu Dhabi
TBC Report Stadium: Mohammed bin Zayed
TBC 11 Al Ain v Sharjah Al Ain
TBC Report Stadium: Hazza Bin Zayed
TBC 12 Ajman v Al Ain Ajman
TBC Report Stadium: Rashid Bin Saeed
TBC 13 Al Ain v Al Nasr Al Ain
TBC Report Stadium: Hazza Bin Zayed

UAE President's Cup

UAE League Cup

First round

First leg Kalba v Al Ain Kalba
Report Stadium: Ittihad Kalba
Second leg Al Ain v Kalba Al Ain
Report Stadium: Hazza Bin Zayed

AFC Champions League Elite

League phase


Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal (Q) 6 5 1 0 20 6 +14 16 Advance to round of 16
2 Saudi Arabia Al-Ahli (Q) 6 5 1 0 14 5 +9 16
3 Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr (Q) 6 4 1 1 13 6 +7 13
4 Qatar Al-Sadd (Q) 6 3 3 0 8 4 +4 12
5 United Arab Emirates Al Wasl (Q) 6 3 2 1 8 6 +2 11
6 Iran Persepolis 6 1 3 2 5 6 −1 6
7 Qatar Al-Rayyan 6 1 2 3 6 9 −3 5
8 Iran Esteghlal 6 1 2 3 5 8 −3 5
9 Uzbekistan Pakhtakor 6 0 4 2 2 4 −2 4
10 Qatar Al-Gharafa 6 1 1 4 7 14 −7 4
11 United Arab Emirates Al Ain 6 0 2 4 10 18 −8 2
12 Iraq Al-Shorta 6 0 2 4 4 16 −12 2
Updated to match(es) played on 3 December 2024. Source: Asian Football Confederation
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) number of matches won; 5) penalty shoot-out if only two teams remain tied and played each other on the final matchday 6) fair play ranking; 7) drawing of lots
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

16 September 2024 (2024-09-16) 1 Al Ain United Arab Emirates 1–1 Qatar Al-Sadd Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
20:00 UTC+4 Report
Attendance: 18,926
Referee: Sadullo Gulmurodi (Tajikistan)
1 October 2024 (2024-10-01) 2 Al-Gharafa Qatar 4–2 United Arab Emirates Al Ain Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor[note 1]
19:00 UTC+3
Report
Attendance: 3,878
Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan)
21 October 2024 (2024-10-21) 3 Al Ain United Arab Emirates 4–5 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
20:00 UTC+4
Report
Attendance: 24,126
Referee: Nazmi Nasaruddin (Malaysia)
5 November 2024 (2024-11-05) 4 Al-Nassr Saudi Arabia v United Arab Emirates Al Ain King Saud University Stadium, Riyadh
21:00 UTC+3
25 November 2024 (2024-11-25) 5 Al Ain United Arab Emirates v Saudi Arabia Al-Ahli Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
20:00 UTC+4
3 December 2024 (2024-12-03) 6 Pakhtakor Uzbekistan v United Arab Emirates Al Ain JAR Stadium, Tashkent[note 2]
19:00 UTC+5
3 February 2025 (2025-02-03) 7 Al Ain United Arab Emirates v Qatar Al-Rayyan Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
20:00 UTC+4
17 February 2025 (2025-02-17) 8 Al-Shorta Iraq v United Arab Emirates Al Ain Karbala International Stadium, Karbala[note 3]
19:00 UTC+3

FIFA Intercontinental Cup

Al Ain qualified for the tournament by winning the 2023–24 AFC Champions League.

First round

African–Asian–Pacific Cup play-off

22 September 2024 (2024-09-22) First round Al Ain United Arab Emirates 6–2 New Zealand Auckland City Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
20:00 GST
Report
Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria)

Second round

African–Asian–Pacific Cup

29 October 2024 (2024-10-29) Second round Al Ahly Egypt 3–0 United Arab Emirates Al Ain Cairo International Stadium, Cairo
EGY
Report Attendance: 52,000
Referee: Halil Umut Meler (Turkey)

FIFA Club World Cup

Group stage

18 June 2025 Group Al Ain United Arab Emirates v Italy Juventus Washington, D.C., United States
21:00 EDT (UTC−4) Stadium: Audi Field
22 June 2025 Group Manchester City England v United Arab Emirates Al Ain Atlanta, United States
21:00 EDT (UTC−4) Stadium: Mercedes-Benz Stadium
26 June 2025 Group Wydad AC Morocco v United Arab Emirates Al AIn Washington, D.C., United States
15:00 EDT (UTC−4) Stadium: Audi Field

Notes

  1. ^ Al-Gharafa played their home matches at Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor, instead of their regular home stadium Thani bin Jassim Stadium, Al Rayyan.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pakhtakor was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Al-Shorta was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

References

  1. ^ a b Al Ain Football Club [@alainfcae_en] (27 June 2024). "Our Pre-Season Camp is Confirmed in preparations for the new season 2024-2025" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 July 2024 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Al Ain Football Club [@alainfcae_en] (11 July 2024). "Check out the latest details of our camp in Rabat" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 July 2024 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ Al Ain Football Club [@alainfcae_en] (5 July 2024). "Al Ain Football Club have appointed Rodrigo Mendes as the Sporting Director" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 July 2024 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ "Team | ALAINFC". Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  5. ^ "UAEFA; Players". Archived from the original on 6 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  6. ^ "UAEProLeague; Squad and Manager". Archived from the original on 6 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  7. ^ Al Ain Football Club [@alainfcae_en] (12 July 2024). "Al Ain FC renews goalkeeper Mohamed Bu Sanda's contract for two more years" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 July 2024 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Al Ain Football Club [@alainfcae_en] (11 July 2024). "The return of our player Mohamed Awadallah after his loan spell with Khorfakkan" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 July 2024 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ Al Ain Football Club [@alainfcae_en] (2 July 2024). "Al Mahdi Mubarak.. One of the Moroccan Double Champions is Back to Al Ain" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 July 2024 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ Al Ain Football Club [@alainfcae_en] (12 July 2024). "Khalid Butti .. Ainawi" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 July 2024 – via Twitter.
  11. ^ a b c d e Al Ain Football Club [@alainfcae_en] (1 July 2024). "By the end of last month, their contracts ended" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 July 2024 – via Twitter.
  12. ^ Dibba AL Hisn FC [@DHCLUB1980] (25 June 2024). "يسعدنا أن نعلن عن أولى تعاقداتنا للفريق الأول لكرة القدم مع اللاعب فلاح وليد قادماً من نادي العين في صفقة انتقال حر" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 July 2024 – via Twitter.
  13. ^ Khor Fakkan Football Club [@khorfakkanfc] (27 June 2024). "محمد شاكر بقميص خورفكان ولمدة موسمين" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 July 2024 – via Twitter.
  14. ^ Khor Fakkan Football Club [@khorfakkanfc] (10 July 2024). "النسر ســلــطــان الشامسي بقميص خورفكان" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 July 2024 – via Twitter.
  15. ^ Kalba FC [@ittihadkalbafc] (1 July 2024). "نادي كلباء لكرة القدم يعلن عن تعاقده مع الحارس سلطان المنذري لمدة موسمين" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 July 2024 – via Twitter.
  16. ^ Dibba AL Hisn FC [@dhclubfc] (3 July 2024). "Welcome Mohammed Baroot" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 July 2024 – via Twitter.
  17. ^ Al Ain Football Club [@alainfcae_en] (3 July 2024). "The Champion of Asia.. Signs the Brazilian defender Marlon Santos" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 July 2024 – via Twitter.
  18. ^ "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.
  19. ^ "ADNOC Pro League and ADIB Cup Draws Announced for 2024-2025 Season". UAE Pro League Committee. 6 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.