UAE Pro League announces dates for second round of AGL
DUBAI: The UAE Pro League has announced the dates for fixtures in the second round of the Arabian Gulf League, following a coordination meeting with the national teams and technical affairs committee at the UAE Football Association headquarters in Dubai.
The meeting was chaired by UAE Pro League board member and head of the technical committee Abdulhameed Al Mestaka and attended by member of the UAEFA temporary committee and national teams committee member Ali Hamad, deputy secretary general for technical affairs at the UAEFA Ibrahim Al Nimr. A proposal by the national teams committee about the schedule for the second half of the season was discussed during the meeting upon the request of the national team manager.
The UAEPL then held a coordination meeting with the TV broadcast right holders, in which the UAEPL presented the schedule for its competitions. In the light of the meetings, the following dates have been agreed.
It was decided that the Arabian Gulf Cup semi-final matches shall take place on Jan.10 upon the request of national teams committee.
The second round of the Arabian Gulf League kicks-off with matchweek 14 taking place on Jan.28-29, followed by matchweek 15 on Feb.1-2 and matchweek 16 on the Feb.6-7. The league then pauses for the 2020 AFC Champions League and President’s Cup quarter-finals. The competition resumes with matchweek Feb.17 on Feb.27-28.
Matchweek 18 shall take place on March 6-7 followed by matchweek 19 on March 13-14.
The league then stops again for FIFA World Cup qualifiers days where the UAE national team face Malaysia and Indonesia in the Asian qualifiers and the clubs then compete in matchday three of the 2020 AFC Champions League.
The wheels resume turning on April 10-11 with matchweek 20, followed by matchweek 21 on April 16-17 and matchweek 22 on April 23-24 and 25. Matchweek 23 takes place on May 1-2.
The Arabian Gulf League continues with matchweek 24 on May 7, 8th and 9th. Matchweek 25 takes place on May 14 while the competition concludes on May 28 with matchweek 26. Changes to the last two matchweeks may occur based on the position of UAE teams in the AFC Champions League.
Mestake explained that determining the match schedule is always done in coordination with the TV broadacast right holders through coordination meetings attended by various stakeholders. Mestaka added that the UAEPL worked hard to ensure a consistent schedule that meets the requirements of TV channels and complies with the contracts signed in this regard.