Abu Dhabi: Ali Saleh of Al Wasl won the Golden Ball for Best Emirati Player in the 2023-24 UAE Pro League season during a glittering ceremony at the Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental in Abu Dhabi. The 22-year-old who played a key role in Al Wasl’s triumph in UAE Pro League and President’s Cup win last season emerged the winner ahead of his teammate Fabio De Lima and Yahya Al Ghassani from Shabab Al Ahli.
The event was attended by Abdulla Naser Al Jneibi, Chairman of the UAE Pro League, along with board members, representatives from sponsoring institutions, clubs, and an elite line-up of sports and media personalities.
Al Jneibi, said that this annual celebration has become a highly anticipated event in every professional football season, serving as a driving force for creativity in UAE football, which thrives under the support of the nation’s wise leadership. He also expressed his appreciation for the UAE Pro League’s partners, rights holders, and various media outlets, praising the role and efforts of professional clubs in the “journey of success” across the Pro League’s competitions and events throughout the season, in pursuit of achieving strategic goals.
Al Jneibi said: “Today, we gather at the UAE Pro League Awards Ceremony for the 2023-2024 season, a season filled with remarkable successes and cherished memories in the journey of UAE football. This brilliance in the realm of creativity would not have been possible without the boundless contributions and generous support from our wise leadership, which has been our weapon in facing challenges and driving us toward achieving our strategic goals.”
During the ceremony, the winners of the 2023-2024 season awards were announced across 15 categories, divided into three groups: statistics-based awards, voting-based awards, and criteria-based awards.
Key Award winners of the night:
• Ali Saleh, a player of Al Wasl, won the Golden Ball for Best Emirati Player after competing against his teammate Fabio De Lima and Yahya Al Ghassani from Shabab Al Ahli.
• Nicolas Gimenez, also from Al Wasl, secured the Golden Ball for Best Foreign Player, outshining Soufian Rahimi (Al Ain) and Mehdi Ghayedi (Kalba).
• Soufian Rahimi of Al Ain won the Fans’ Player of the Year Award, with the fans favouring him over Fabio De Lima (Al Wasl) and Ismaeil Matar (Al Wahda).
• Milos Milojevic, coach of Al Wasl, received the Leader Award for Best Coach, prevailing against Alfred Schreuder (Al Nasr) and Goran Tufegdzic (Al Wahda).
• Khaled Al Senaani, goalkeeper of Al Wasl, won the Golden Glove Award for Best Goalkeeper, surpassing Khalid Eisa (Al Ain) and Ali Khaseif (Al Jazira).
• Ismaeil Matar, the veteran player of Al Wahda, was awarded the Fan’s Goal of the Year for his stunning goal, winning against Soufian Rahimi (Al Ain) and Fabio De Lima (Al Wasl).
• Sultan Adill of Kalba claimed the Golden Boy Award for Best Young Emirati Player, with the final nominees including Mohammed Abbas Al Balooshi (Al Ain) and Bader Nasser (Shabab Al Ahli).
• Seko Baba Gassama of Al Bataeh secured the Golden Boy Award for Best Young Player
(Resident/Born), winning over Siaka Sidibe (Al Wasl) and Guilherme Bala (Shabab Al Ahli).
In the statistics-based awards, Omar Khribin, the Syrian international striker for Al Wahda, won the Golden Shoe for Adnoc Pro League Top Scorer with 19 goals. Fabio De Lima (Al Wasl), Facundo Daniel (Al Wahda), and Daniel Bessa (Kalba) shared the Golden Shoe for ADIB Cup Top Scorers. Mansoor Saeed of Al Wahda won the Silver Shoe for U23 Pro League Top Scorer.
In the criteria-based awards, Al Ain FC won the Fans’ League Award, surpassing Al Wasl and Al Jazira, while Al Wasl FC took home the Professional Excellence in Club Licensing Award, competing against Shabab Al Ahli and Al Ain.
Ahmed Humaid Al Haroush won the Fantasy Manager of the Year Award in the Adnoc Pro League Fantasy game with a total of 1,926 points.
