Fast facts: Football in the UAE

Professional stars who played for UAE clubs

Famous clubs who have visited the UAE
Brazilian club Santos, led by the legendary Pele, visited Dubai and played against Al Nasr in 1973 at the Al Nasr club sandy stadium. Some of the top European clubs to have visited the UAE and played against UAE clubs include: Liverpool, Arsenal, Everton, Southampton, Tottenham, Rangers, Celtic, Juventus, Eintracht Frankfurt, Redstar Belgrade, Espanyol. Many other clubs from South America, Asia, Africa and Arab countries have also visited the country.

Bu Jsaim calls the shots
Ali Bu Jsaim was one of the most respected referees in the world when he retired last year. He achieved a lot in a short span of time and is still regarded as a hero in UAE football.
Bu Jsaim officiated in three consecutive World Cups: the United States in 1994; France in 1998 and Korea-Japan in 2002. In addition, he was an official in the opening match of the 2002 World Cup Finals between France and Senegal; the Brazil-Holland semi-final in 1998 and the third place play-off between Sweden and Bulgaria in 1994.
Bu Jsaim participated in most of the international and regional tournaments — the Confederations Cup, European Championship qualifiers, the Olympic Games, the Asian Cup, the African Nations Cup, the World Youth Championships and the Asian and Arab clubs tournaments.
He has won several awards as the best referee in Asia or the Middle East.
Bu Jsaim retired in 2004 and is now a member of the UAE FA board of directors and head of the referees committee.

UAE FA Presidents [from 1971 to 2004]
When the UAE FA was established in 1971, its first president was Shaikh Mubarak Bin Mohammad Al Nahyan, the former Minister of the Interior.
The list of former presidents is:

UAE legends
Adnan Al Taliyani was named UAE player of the century thanks to his dazzling performances with his club Al Shaab and the UAE national team from 1982 to 1997. He still retains the UAE record for international goals scored.
The UAE team sheet for the 1990 World Cup Finals in Italy reads like an all-star list of the country's best players.
They were: Adnan Al Taliyani, Zuhair Bakhit, Ali Thani, Fahd Khamis, Mubarak Ganem, Naser Khamis, Abdul Rahman Mohammad, Khalil Ganem, Fahd Abdul Rahman, Khalid Esmail, Hassan Polo, Mohsin Mussabah, Abdul Qader Hassan, Eisa Meer, Ebrahim Meer.

Khalid Esmail was the first UAE player to score a goal in the World Cup. Esmail recorded the only goal for his country in a defeat to Germany (5-1). The UAE's second goal in a World Cup was scored by Ali Thani against Yugoslavia. The UAE lost the game (4-1). The third match in the World Cup was against Colombia which the UAE lost 2-0.

More UAE achievements
The biggest football event the UAE has hosted is the World Youth Championship (Under 20) in November 2003. A total of 24 teams took part across four cities: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Al Ain and Sharjah. The opening ceremony and the final was held at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
The UAE hosted the Asian Cup Finals in 1996. Twelve countries took part in the event. The Gulf Cup in 1982 and 1994 was also held in Abu Dhabi.

Coaches who trained the UAE national team