| 2024–25 season | |
|---|---|
| President | Mohammed Bin Zayed |
| Chairman | Hazza Bin Zayed |
| Head coach | Hernán Crespo |
| Stadium | Hazza Bin Zayed |
| UAE Pro League | 6th |
| President's Cup | Round of 16 |
| League Cup | First round |
| AFC Champions League Elite | League stage |
| FIFA Intercontinental Cup | First round |
| FIFA Club World Cup | Group stage |
| Top goalscorer | League: Kodjo Laba (14) All: Kodjo Laba (16) |
The 2024–25 Al Ain Football Club season is the club's 57th in existence and their 50th consecutive season in the top-level football league in the UAE.
Season overview
Pre-season
On 27 June 2024, Al Ain announced they would be touring in Rabat, Morocco, with four friendly matches against Union de Touarga on 24 July, Kénitra on 1 August, Chabab Mohammédia on 5 August and Raja CA on 10 August.
Management
| Position | Name | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coaching staff | ||||||
| Head coach | Hernán Crespo | |||||
| Assistant coaches | Juan Branda Nicolás Domínguez Ahmed Abdullah | |||||
| Chief analyst | Carles Martínez | |||||
| Analyst | Tiago Freire | |||||
| Goalkeeping coaches | Gustavo Nepote | |||||
| Fitness coach | Federico Martinetti | |||||
| U-21 team head coach | Ismail Ahmed | |||||
| Physiotherapist | Santiago Thompson Felipe Perseu Pianca Abdelnasser Aljohny | |||||
| Club Doctor | Nikos Tzouroudis | |||||
| Nutritionist | Ricardo Pinto | |||||
| Scout | Daniele Di Napoli | |||||
| Administration staff | ||||||
| Team manager | Ahmed Al Shamsi | |||||
| Front office | ||||||
| Sporting Director | Rodrigo Mendes | |||||
Board of Directors
| Office | Name |
|---|---|
| Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al Ain SCC Chairman of the Executive Committee Chairman of the Board of Directors |
Sultan bin Hamdan bin Zayed |
| Supervising Sports affairs | Mohammed Al Mahmoud |
| Supervising Media affairs | Mohammed Al Ketbi |
| Supervising of Financial and Administrative affairs | Ziad Amir Ahmed Saleh |
| Supervising the Academy and Talents sector | Abdullah Mohammed Abdullah Khouri |
Source: AlAinClub.ae
Players
First Team
| N | Position | Nation | Player | Age | Since | Notes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | |||||||||||
| 1 | GK | Mohammed Abo Sandah | 29 | 2014 | |||||||
| 17 | GK | Khalid Eisa (VC) | 35 | 2013 | |||||||
| 36 | GK | Amer Al-Faresi | 20 | 2024 | U21 | ||||||
| Defenders | |||||||||||
| 3 | DF | Kouame Autonne | 24 | 2021 | |||||||
| 15 | DF | Erik Jorgens | 23 | 2020 | |||||||
| 16 | DF | Khalid Al-Hashemi | 27 | 2023 | |||||||
| 46 | DF | Dramane Koumare | 20 | 2024 | |||||||
| 50 | DF | Manea Al Shamsi | 23 | 2021 | |||||||
| 66 | DF | Mansour Al Shamsi | 23 | 2020 | |||||||
| — | DF | Khalid Butti | 33 | 2024 | |||||||
| — | DF | Marlon Santos | 29 | 2024 | on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk | ||||||
| Midfielders | |||||||||||
| 5 | MF | Park Youg-woo | 31 | 2023 | |||||||
| 6 | MF | Yahia Nader | 26 | 2018 | |||||||
| 8 | MF | Mohammed Abbas | 22 | 2021 | U21 | ||||||
| 10 | MF | Kaku | 30 | 2023 | |||||||
| 11 | MF | Bandar Al-Ahbabi (C) | 34 | 2016 | |||||||
| 13 | MF | Ahmed Barman | 30 | 2013 | |||||||
| 18 | MF | Khalid Al-Balochi | 25 | 2018 | |||||||
| 20 | MF | Matías Palacios | 22 | 2022 | |||||||
| 21 | MF | Soufiane Rahimi | 29 | 2021 | |||||||
| 26 | MF | Ahmed Al-Qatesh | 23 | 2021 | |||||||
| 30 | MF | Hazem Mohammad | 19 | 2023 | U19 | ||||||
| 70 | MF | Abdoul Karim Traoré | 20 | 2023 | U19 | ||||||
| — | MF | El Mehdi El Moubarik | 24 | 2022 | |||||||
| Forwards | |||||||||||
| 9 | FW | Kodjo Laba | 33 | 2019 | |||||||
| 77 | FW | Rilwanu Sarki | 21 | 2023 | U19 | ||||||
| 90 | FW | Eisa Khalfan | 21 | 2021 | U21 | ||||||
| 99 | FW | Josna Loulendo | 21 | 2023 | U21 | ||||||
| — | FW | Mohamed Awadalla | 22 | 2020 | U21 | ||||||
New contracts
| Date | Pos | No. | Player | Ref. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 July 2024 | GK | 1 | Mohammed Abo Sandah | 2026 |
Transfers
In
| No. | Position | Player | From | Fee | Date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer | ||||||
| — | MF | Mohammed Khalfan | Khor Fakkan | Loan return | 1 July 2024 | |
| — | FW | Mohamed Awadalla U21 | Khor Fakkan | |||
| — | DF | Rafael Pereira | Khor Fakkan | |||
| — | MF | El Mehdi El Moubarik | Raja | |||
| — | DF | Khalid Butti | Al Wahda | Free | 12 July 2024 | |
| Total | €0 million | |||||
Out
| No. | Pos. | Player | Transfer to | Fee | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer | ||||||
| 22 | MF | Falah Waleed | Dibba Al-Hisn | End of contract | 25 June 2024 | |
| 4 | DF | Mohammed Shaker | Khor Fakkan | End of contract | 27 June 2024 | |
| 44 | DF | Saeed Juma | End of contract | 1 July 2024 | ||
| 27 | MF | Sultan Al-Shamsi | Khor Fakkan | End of contract | 1 July 2024 | |
| 12 | GK | Sultan Al-Mantheri | Kalba | End of contract | 1 July 2024 | |
| — | MF | Mohammed Khalfan | Dibba Al-Hisn | End of contract | 3 July 2024 | |
Loans in
| No. | Pos | Player | From | Start date | End date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | DF | Marlon Santos | Shakhtar Donetsk | 3 July 2024 | End of season |
Pre-season and friendlies
On 27 June 2024, Al Ain announced they would be touring in Rabat, Morocco, with four friendly matches against Union de Touarga on 24 July, Kénitra on 1 August, Chabab Mohammédia on 5 August and Raja on 10 August.
Win Draw Loss Fixtures
| 24 July 2024 1 | Union de Touarga | v | Al Ain | Rabat, Morocco |
| 5 August 2024 3 | Chabab Mohammédia | v | Al Ain | Rabat, Morocco |
| 10 August 2024 4 | Raja | v | Al Ain | Casablanca, Morocco |
| Stadium: Stade Larbi Zaouli |
Competitions
Overview
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Pro-League | 24 August 2024 | TBD 2025 | Matchday 1 | TBD | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 36 | 23 | +13 | 42.86 |
| President's Cup | TBD | TBD | Round of 16 | Quarter Final | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 50.00 |
| League Cup | 18 August 2024 | TBD | First round | Second Round | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 75.00 |
| AFC Champions League | 16 September 2024 | TBD | League phase | TBD | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 18 | −8 | 0.00 |
| FIFA Intercontinental Cup | 22 September 2024 | TBD | First round | African-Asian-Pacific Cup Runners-up | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 50.00 |
| FIFA Club World Cup | June 2025 | July 2025 | First round | TBD | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | — |
| Total | 28 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 65 | 53 | +12 | 39.29 | ||||
Last updated: 27 August 2024
Source: Competitions
Pro League
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Shabab Al Ahli | 13 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 12 | +20 | 35 | Qualification for ACLE play off round |
| 3 | Al Nasr | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 30 | 27 | +3 | 25 | Qualification for AFC CL2 group stage |
| 4 | Al Ain | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 36 | 23 | +13 | 23 | |
| 5 | Al Wahda | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 25 | 20 | +5 | 22 | |
| 6 | Al Jazira | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 27 | 19 | +8 | 21 |
Updated to match(es) played on 31 January 2025. Source: UPLeague
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head goal difference; 3) head-to-head goals scored; 4) head-to-head away goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored; 7) number of away goals scored; 8) head-to-head points; 9) fair play ranking 10) draw
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head goal difference; 3) head-to-head goals scored; 4) head-to-head away goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored; 7) number of away goals scored; 8) head-to-head points; 9) fair play ranking 10) draw
Results summary
| Overall | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: Soccerway
Results by round
Matches
The league fixtures were announced on 6 July 2024.
| TBC 1 | Al Ain | v | Khor Fakkan | Al Ain |
| TBC GMT+4 (UAE Time) | Report | Stadium: Hazza Bin Zayed |
| TBC 2 | Al Bataeh | v | Al Ain | Sharjah |
| TBC | Report | Stadium: Khalid bin Mohammed |
| TBC 3 | Kalba | v | Al Ain | Kalba |
| TBC | Report | Stadium: Ittihad Kalba |
| TBC 4 | Al Ain | v | Al Wasl | Al Ain |
| TBC | Report | Stadium: Hazza Bin Zayed |
| TBC 5 | Al Ain | v | Al Wahda | Al Ain |
| TBC | Report | Stadium: Hazza Bin Zayed |
| TBC 6 | Dibba Al-Hisn | v | Al Ain | Dibba Al-Hisn |
| TBC | Report | Stadium: Dibba |
| TBC 7 | Al Ain | v | Shabab Al Ahli | Al Ain |
| TBC | Report | Stadium: Hazza Bin Zayed |
| TBC 9 | Al Ain | v | Baniyas | Al Ain |
| TBC | Report | Stadium: Hazza Bin Zayed |
| TBC 10 | Al Jazira | v | Al Ain | Abu Dhabi |
| TBC | Report | Stadium: Mohammed bin Zayed |
| TBC 11 | Al Ain | v | Sharjah | Al Ain |
| TBC | Report | Stadium: Hazza Bin Zayed |
| TBC 12 | Ajman | v | Al Ain | Ajman |
| TBC | Report | Stadium: Rashid Bin Saeed |
| TBC 13 | Al Ain | v | Al Nasr | Al Ain |
| TBC | Report | Stadium: Hazza Bin Zayed |
UAE President's Cup
UAE League Cup
First round
| First leg | Kalba | v | Al Ain | Kalba |
| Report | Stadium: Ittihad Kalba |
| Second leg | Al Ain | v | Kalba | Al Ain |
| Report | Stadium: Hazza Bin Zayed |
AFC Champions League Elite
League phase
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Ahli (Q) | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 6 | +11 | 19 | Advance to round of 16 |
| 2 | Al-Hilal (Q) | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 6 | +14 | 16 | |
| 3 | Al-Nassr (Q) | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 6 | +11 | 16 | |
| 4 | Al-Sadd (Q) | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 12 | |
| 5 | Al Wasl (Q) | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 11 | |
| 6 | Al-Rayyan | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 8 | |
| 7 | Persepolis | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 6 | |
| 8 | Esteghlal | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 6 | |
| 9 | Pakhtakor | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 4 | |
| 10 | Al-Gharafa | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 14 | −7 | 4 | |
| 11 | Al-Shorta | 7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 17 | −12 | 3 | |
| 12 | Al Ain (E) | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 20 | −9 | 2 |
Updated to match(es) played on 3 February 2025. Source: Asian Football Confederation
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) number of matches won; 5) penalty shoot-out if only two teams remain tied and played each other on the final matchday 6) fair play ranking; 7) drawing of lots
(E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) number of matches won; 5) penalty shoot-out if only two teams remain tied and played each other on the final matchday 6) fair play ranking; 7) drawing of lots
(E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Win Draw Loss Fixtures
| 16 September 2024 1 | Al Ain | 1–1 | Al-Sadd | Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain |
| 20:00 UTC+4 |
|
Report |
|
Attendance: 18,926 Referee: Sadullo Gulmurodi (Tajikistan) |
| 1 October 2024 2 | Al-Gharafa | 4–2 | Al Ain | Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor |
| 19:00 UTC+3 | Report | Attendance: 3,878 Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan) |
| 21 October 2024 3 | Al Ain | 4–5 | Al-Hilal | Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain |
| 20:00 UTC+4 | Report |
|
Attendance: 24,126 Referee: Nazmi Nasaruddin (Malaysia) |
| 5 November 2024 4 | Al-Nassr | 5–1 | Al Ain | King Saud University Stadium, Riyadh |
| 21:00 UTC+3 | Report | Attendance: 23,324 |
| 25 November 2024 5 | Al Ain | 1–2 | Al-Ahli | Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain |
| 20:00 UTC+4 |
|
Report |
|
Attendance: 17,126 |
| 3 December 2024 6 | Pakhtakor | 1–1 | Al Ain | JAR Stadium, Tashkent |
| 19:00 UTC+5 |
|
Report |
|
Attendance: 1,511 |
| 3 February 2025 7 | Al Ain | v | Al-Rayyan | Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain |
| 20:00 UTC+4 |
| 17 February 2025 8 | Al-Shorta | v | Al Ain | Karbala International Stadium, Karbala |
| 19:00 UTC+3 |
FIFA Intercontinental Cup
Al Ain qualified for the tournament by winning the 2023–24 AFC Champions League.
First round
African–Asian–Pacific Cup play-off
| 22 September 2024 First round | Al Ain | 6–2 | Auckland City | Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain |
| 20:00 GST | Report | Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria) |
Second round
African–Asian–Pacific Cup
| 29 October 2024 Second round | Al Ahly | 3–0 | Al Ain | Cairo International Stadium, Cairo |
| EGY | Report | Attendance: 52,000 Referee: Halil Umut Meler (Turkey) |
FIFA Club World Cup
Group stage
| 18 June 2025 Group | Al Ain | v | Juventus | Washington, D.C., United States |
| 21:00 EDT (UTC−4) | Stadium: Audi Field |
| 22 June 2025 Group | Manchester City | v | Al Ain | Atlanta, United States |
| 21:00 EDT (UTC−4) | Stadium: Mercedes-Benz Stadium |
| 26 June 2025 Group | Wydad AC | v | Al AIn | Washington, D.C., United States |
| 15:00 EDT (UTC−4) | Stadium: Audi Field |
Notes
- ^ Al-Gharafa played their home matches at Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor, instead of their regular home stadium Thani bin Jassim Stadium, Al Rayyan.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Pakhtakorwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Al-Shortawas invoked but never defined (see the help page).
References
- ^ a b Al Ain Football Club [@alainfcae_en] (27 June 2024). "Our Pre-Season Camp is Confirmed in preparations for the new season 2024-2025" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 July 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Al Ain Football Club [@alainfcae_en] (11 July 2024). "Check out the latest details of our camp in Rabat" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 July 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Al Ain Football Club [@alainfcae_en] (5 July 2024). "Al Ain Football Club have appointed Rodrigo Mendes as the Sporting Director" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 July 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Team | ALAINFC". Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ "UAEFA; Players". Archived from the original on 6 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
- ^ "UAEProLeague; Squad and Manager". Archived from the original on 6 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
- ^ Al Ain Football Club [@alainfcae_en] (12 July 2024). "Al Ain FC renews goalkeeper Mohamed Bu Sanda's contract for two more years" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 July 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Al Ain Football Club [@alainfcae_en] (11 July 2024). "The return of our player Mohamed Awadallah after his loan spell with Khorfakkan" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 July 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Al Ain Football Club [@alainfcae_en] (2 July 2024). "Al Mahdi Mubarak.. One of the Moroccan Double Champions is Back to Al Ain" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 July 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Al Ain Football Club [@alainfcae_en] (12 July 2024). "Khalid Butti .. Ainawi" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 July 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b c d e Al Ain Football Club [@alainfcae_en] (1 July 2024). "By the end of last month, their contracts ended" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 July 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Dibba AL Hisn FC [@DHCLUB1980] (25 June 2024). "يسعدنا أن نعلن عن أولى تعاقداتنا للفريق الأول لكرة القدم مع اللاعب فلاح وليد قادماً من نادي العين في صفقة انتقال حر" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 July 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Khor Fakkan Football Club [@khorfakkanfc] (27 June 2024). "محمد شاكر بقميص خورفكان ولمدة موسمين" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 July 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Khor Fakkan Football Club [@khorfakkanfc] (10 July 2024). "النسر ســلــطــان الشامسي بقميص خورفكان" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 July 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Kalba FC [@ittihadkalbafc] (1 July 2024). "نادي كلباء لكرة القدم يعلن عن تعاقده مع الحارس سلطان المنذري لمدة موسمين" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 July 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Dibba AL Hisn FC [@dhclubfc] (3 July 2024). "Welcome Mohammed Baroot" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 July 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Al Ain Football Club [@alainfcae_en] (3 July 2024). "The Champion of Asia.. Signs the Brazilian defender Marlon Santos" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 July 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Article (15) P.50 of Arabian Gulf League Regulations" (PDF) (in Arabic). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
- ^ "ADNOC Pro League and ADIB Cup Draws Announced for 2024-2025 Season". UAE Pro League Committee. 6 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
External links
- Al Ain FC official website (in English and Arabic)