Last chance to take in some Pro-League action
AFC qualification and relegation issues to be decided on final weekend of season
Dubai: At last, this weekend we witness the conclusion of the fifth season of the professional Etisalat Pro-League. What a competition it has turned out to be, with Al Ain successfully reclaiming the crown more than one month before the conclusion of the competition.
Last week, Al Ahli secured a 3-0 win over Ajman to assure themselves of the second spot in the standings along with one of three automatic qualification spots reserved for the UAE in next season’s AFC Champions League.
One would think that with the champions decided, the fag end of the league would be just a matter of formality. But this is far from true as we head into the 26th and final week of action with plenty remaining to be settled.
One, of course, is who will be the third team in the AFC Champions League. Will it be Al Jazira (with 46 points) or Bani Yas (with 44 points)? Or will Al Shabab, who are in fifth place with 42 points, finish fourth should Bani Yas falter?
However, all this will depend on how many places the AFC allocates to the UAE. Will it be the three-and-a-half (the fourth team has to qualify for the group stage) spots that the country has been getting for the past couple of years? Or will there be changes here and the UAE end up with just the three? We will have to wait for that.
In the meantime, there is going to be abundant action at the bottom of the standings. For sure, Ittihad Kalba are one of the two teams out of the top league for next season. But the second team to be relegated is going to be one tough battle.
Dibba Fujairah are in 13th place with 20 points and they have to win against Ajman, while Al Shaab (who are in 12th with 22 points) make the short trip to Dubai to play Al Shabab. Should Dibba Fujairah lose or draw, they will be the second team to be relegated irrespective of the Al Shabab versus Al Shaab result.
But should Dibba Fujairah win against Ajman and Al Shaab lose to Al Shabab, then the team from Sharjah will have to move down.
All in all, it is going to be an engrossing weekend of football, where we will see which team will book the third spot in the AFC Champions League and which one will get relegated for next season. Maybe it is time to step up and take in a football match before the summer sets in.
