Al-Ahli (UAE)
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| Full name | Al Ahli Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Red Knights |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Ground |
Rashed Stadium Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
| Capacity | 9,415 |
| Owner | Hamdan Al Maktoum |
| Chairman | Abdullah Saeed Al Naboodah |
| Manager | Cosmin Olăroiu |
| League | UAE Pro-League |
| 2015–16 | UAE Pro-League, 1st |
| Website | Club home page |
Al Ahli Club (Arabic: النادي الأهلي) is a United Arab Emirates professional association football club based in Dubai, that currently play in the UAE Arabian Gulf League.They're considered to be one of the strongest clubs from UAE. The club is abbreviated as A.C.
Al Ahli is one of the most successful clubs in the UAE. Al Ahli, literally translating to "domestic or national" in Arabic, was established in 1970, when three local teams joined together to form the club. The club won three UAE Arabian Gulf League titles in the 1970s and won its fourth in 2006, fifth in 2009 and sixth in 2014 and seventh in 2016.
A club with a strong and rich history, Al Ahli has won 7 league titles, a joint-record 8 UAE's President Cup titles, 4 UAE super Cup titles and 3 UAE League Cup titles, earning a total of 22 domestic titles, making them the second most successful team in UAE. In the latest ranking by IFFHS, Al Ahli is the 7th best Asian club and ranked 110 in the world.
The club was established in 1970, when two local football teams Al Wehdah and Al Shabab (est. 1958) joined together for a training camp in Egypt but decided to merge as one single club under first club president H.E. Nasser Abdulla Hussain Lootah. Four years later another local team Al Najah joined to form Al Ahli Club.
It took Al Ahli only four years after its establishment to win the UAE Arabian Gulf League twice consecutively in 1974-75 and 1975-76 then again in 1979-80 for the third time, which allowed them to permanently keep the league trophy. The victorious team, led by coach Mohammed Shehta and featuring players such as Hassan Nazari and Hassan Roshan. The team also won three President Cup titles during that period. Drawing home-town fans, Al Ahli has been and continues to be one of the most popular sports teams in the UAE. However,the club went into decline for few decades, the result of which saw the club relegated to the second division (1995–96) in a dramatic way, when Al Ahli played against neighbour rival Al Shabab, Al Ahli needed just one point from the match to stay in the first division. Al Ahli has lost the match and Al Shabab has won the league title. The same year, Al Ahli won the President Cup title. After a period of decline, Al Ahli went back on top under new leadership of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Deputy Ruler of Dubai, winning its fourth league title in 2006 and in the following years, Al Ahli continued to be a successful club in the UAE by winning 6 President Cups.
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