Dubai: The Etisalat UAE First Division League title is virtually up in the air as favourites Al Wasl meet Dubai Club and Al Wahda take on Al Nasr in away matches.
Both games kick-off at 8.20pm today.
Al Wasl need to win today's match to deny Al Wahda any chance of getting their hands on the trophy, even should the Abu Dhabi club beat Al Nasr.
With the title hanging in the balance the UAE FA has taken a unique step to ensure that the league trophy will be available for presentation to the winner soon after the match finishes.
Acting on the directives of Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister and President of the FA's general assembly, the league trophy will be placed in a helicopter which will fly between the two match venues, Dubai Club in Al Aweer and Al Nasr Club, before delivering the trophy to the winner at the end of the game.
Switch of venue
The FA were earlier considering switching the Al Wasl-Dubai Club match from the latter's stadium in Al Aweer to Al Shabab Club to ensure that more fans could watch the big match as the Dubai Club stadium has a capacity of not more than 1,600 spectators. Close to 10,000 Al Wasl supporters are expected to attend the match.
Al Wasl can make UAE football history today by winning the double (President's Cup and League title) in the same season.
Al Wasl clinched the President's Cup last month after defeating Al Ain 4-1 at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi. Only three UAE clubs have previously won a double - Al Ahli in 1975, Al Nasr in 1986 and Al Shabab in 1990.
Al Wasl has won the league title on six occasions in the past: 1981-82, 82-83, 84-85, 87-88, 91-92 and 96-97.
Golden past
However, it has been nine long years since they last tasted success in the league. Their golden team led by Zuhair Bakhit and including the likes of Fahad Khamis, Hassan Polo, Nasser Khamis, Fahad Abdul Rahman, Farouq, Adel Anas, Ahmad Mehboub and Esmail Rashid had a momentous six-title haul in the club's glorious days spanning from 1982 to 1997.
Since the golden team retired in 1998, Al Wasl have suffered a lot. They took a long time in reviving the team's fortunes, with the young players lacking in experience.
The team was not in a position to win the league title in recent years and their ranking was between the fifth and ninth spots in most of the seasons.
However, in the current season, they were lucky enough to rope in a good coach in the form of Brazilian Ze Mario and two good foreign players.
One of them is Anderson, the league's top goal scorer in the last season. He had earlier played for three years for Sharjah.
The second professional is Anderson's compatriot, the gifted Oliveira, whom UAE coach Bruno Metsu is keen on getting drafted to the UAE national team for the Asian Cup finals in July. Also, the local players have gained a lot of experience and have become capable of competing effectively to win titles for the club.
Whoever win the title today, the league itself has turned out to be the ultimate winner with such a cliffhanger last-day scenario.
