AFC licences for 11 UAE football clubs
dubai — The First Instance Body (FIB) has decided to grant 2019 AFC licenses to the 11 clubs after verifying that they have met all the requirements of the club licensing system.
At a meeting at the UAE Football Association Headquarters in Dubai on Monday, the FIB has decided to grant 2019 AFC licenses to Shabab Al Ahli Football Company, Al Ain Football Company, Al Dhafra Football Company, Ajman Football Company, Al Nasr Football Company, Al Wahda Football Company, Al Wasl Football Company, Dibba Football Company, Emirates Football Company, Hatta Football Company and Sharjah Football Company.
The FIB decided to deny 2019 AFC License for Al Jazira Football Company after verifying it has not met the financial criteria for club licensing system.
The meeting was chaired by Omar Al Hay Al Maydoor, the body’s president and attended by FIB members Yousef Uzair, Mohammed Ali Al Harthy, Ahmed Al Muhairy, Saif Al Rashedi, Mohammed Abdulrahman and Mohammed Al Hammadi.
Clubs that have not been able to obtain the license will be given a window of five working days from the date of receiving the decision to appeal.
The PLC had organised educational workshops for clubs in November 2017 as applications for the 2018-19 licensing cycle began. August 31, 2018, was agreed as the final deadline to submit documents related to the financial criteria on the AFC’s ‘CLAS’ system, with the process of reviewing and assessing the documents by the PLC Club Development and Club Licensing & Development Department taking place between September 1 and 26.
Feedback was then shared with the clubs in order to address any issues prior to the submission of the final report by the PLC’s Club Development and Licensing Director to the FIB for their Monday decisions.
The above brief demonstrates the role played by the PLC in supporting clubs to meet AFC requirements and following up on pending actions to enable clubs to receive their licenses on time. PLC reiterates its full support to Emirati clubs within the rules and regulations to develop and grow the professional system in UAE football.
The club licensing system was launched in the 2012-13 season, and the current licensing cycle, the first in which all clubs, bar one, are able to obtain the license, is the seventh since the introduction of the licensing program by the AFC.