UAE First Division League is the second tier of
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
league competition in the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
.
As of 2020–21, the league features 15 sides who play each other in a home and away
round-robin format, with a total of 28 games for each team. The top two sides gain promotion to the
UAE Pro-League
The UAE Pro League (), also known as the ADNOC Pro League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the highest level of the Emirati football league system.
The first team to w ...
. On 29 May 2019, UAEFA announced that a
UAE Second Division League
UAE Second Division League is the third tier of football (soccer), football league competition in the United Arab Emirates, the league is organised by United Arab Emirates Football Association, UAE Football Association for private funded clubs a ...
to be established with smaller clubs, privately owned clubs, football academies with semi-professional teams compete for promotion to UAE Division one. On 6 July 2022, UAEFA announced that the number of participants will increase to 17 teams for the 2022–23 season. An increase of 2 teams, promoted from the UAE Second Division, and no relegation for UAE First Division clubs from the 2021–22 season, in an
expansion
Expansion may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''L'Expansion'', a French monthly business magazine
* ''Expansion'' (album), by American jazz pianist Dave Burrell, released in 2004
* ''Expansions'' (McCoy Tyner album), 1970
* ''Expansi ...
season.
Current teams
'' As of 2024-25 UAE First Division League ''
:''Note: Table lists clubs in alphabetical order.
List of champions
Source:
* 1974–75:
Al-Shabab
* 1975–76:
Al Rams
* 1976–77:
Al-Wahda
* 1977–78:
Oman Club
Oman Club (; also known locally as ''Al-Ahmar'', "The Red(s)" or simply as Oman) is an Omani list of football clubs in Oman, football club based in Muscat, Oman, Muscat. The club currently plays in the Oman Professional League, First Division L ...
* 1978–79:
Khor Fakkan Club
Khor Fakkan Club (, formally known as Al Khaleej), usually known simply as Khor Fakkan, is an Emirati professional football club from Khor Fakkan.
History
Founded in 1981, the club won a UAE Federation Cup in the 1993–94 season. In June 201 ...
* 1979–80:
Ittihad Kalba
* 1980–81:
Al Rams
* 1981–82:
Al Khaleej
* 1982–83:
Al-Jazira
Jazira, al-Jazira, Jazeera, al-Jazeera, etc. are all transcriptions of Arabic meaning "the island" or "the peninsula".
The term may refer to:
Business
* Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait
Locations
* Al-Jazira, a traditional ...
* 1983–84:
Al Qadsia Club
* 1984–85:
Al-Wahda
* 1985–86:
Fujairah
Fujairah City () is the capital of the emirate of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. It is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, seventh-largest city in UAE, located on the Gulf of Oman (part of the Indian Ocean). It is the only Em ...
* 1986–87:
Ras Al Khaima
* 1987–88:
Al-Jazira
Jazira, al-Jazira, Jazeera, al-Jazeera, etc. are all transcriptions of Arabic meaning "the island" or "the peninsula".
The term may refer to:
Business
* Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait
Locations
* Al-Jazira, a traditional ...
* 1988–89:
Ittihad Kalba
* 1989–90:
Fujairah
Fujairah City () is the capital of the emirate of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. It is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, seventh-largest city in UAE, located on the Gulf of Oman (part of the Indian Ocean). It is the only Em ...
* 1990–91: Not completed due to
Gulf War
, combatant2 =
, commander1 =
, commander2 =
, strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems
, page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
* 1991–92:
Al Urooba
Al Orooba Club () is a United Arab Emirates professional football club based in the city of Mirbah and Qidfa, Fujairah. The club currently plays in the UAE Pro League.
History
In 1960, two clubs were founded in Mirbah and Qidfa, Al Wehda in ...
* 1992–93:
Al-Shaab
* 1993–94:
Al Khaleej
* 1994–95:
Baniyas
Baniyas ( ') is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal city in Tartous Governorate, western Syria, located south of Latakia and north of Tartous.
It is known for its citrus fruit orchards and its export of wood. North of the city is an B ...
* 1995–96:
Ittihad Kalba
* 1996–97:
Emirates
Emirates may refer to:
* United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective ...
* 1997–98:
Al-Shaab
* 1998–99:
Ittihad Kalba
* 1999–00:
Sharjah
Sharjah (; ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah and forms part of the D ...
* 2000–01:
Al Khaleej
* 2001–02:
Al-Dhafra
* 2002–03:
Emirates
Emirates may refer to:
* United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective ...
* 2003–04:
Dubai
Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
* 2004–05:
Baniyas
Baniyas ( ') is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal city in Tartous Governorate, western Syria, located south of Latakia and north of Tartous.
It is known for its citrus fruit orchards and its export of wood. North of the city is an B ...
* 2005–06:
Fujairah
Fujairah City () is the capital of the emirate of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. It is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, seventh-largest city in UAE, located on the Gulf of Oman (part of the Indian Ocean). It is the only Em ...
* 2006–07:
Al-Dhafra
* 2007–08:
Al Khaleej
* 2008–09:
Baniyas
Baniyas ( ') is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal city in Tartous Governorate, western Syria, located south of Latakia and north of Tartous.
It is known for its citrus fruit orchards and its export of wood. North of the city is an B ...
* 2009–10:
Ittihad Kalba
* 2010–11:
Ajman
Ajman ( '; Gulf Arabic: عيمان ''ʿYmān'') is the capital of the emirate of Ajman in the United Arab Emirates. It is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, fifth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Al Ain. Loca ...
* 2011–12:
Ittihad Kalba
* 2012–13:
Emirates
Emirates may refer to:
* United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective ...
* 2013–14:
Ittihad Kalba
* 2014–15:
Dibba Al-Fujairah
Dibba Al-Fujairah () is a city in the emirate of Fujairah, located on the northeast part of the United Arab Emirates. It is geographically part of the Dibba region. Dibba Al-Fujairah is considered to be the second largest city in the emirate of ...
*
2015–16:
Hatta
*
2016–17:
Ajman
Ajman ( '; Gulf Arabic: عيمان ''ʿYmān'') is the capital of the emirate of Ajman in the United Arab Emirates. It is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, fifth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Al Ain. Loca ...
*
2017–18:
Baniyas
Baniyas ( ') is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal city in Tartous Governorate, western Syria, located south of Latakia and north of Tartous.
It is known for its citrus fruit orchards and its export of wood. North of the city is an B ...
*
2018–19:
Khor Fakkan
Khor Fakkan () is a city and an exclave of the Emirate of Sharjah, located on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), facing the Gulf of Oman, and geographically surrounded by the Emirate of Fujairah. The city, the second largest on ...
*
2019–20: Not completed due to
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
*
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
:
Al Urooba
Al Orooba Club () is a United Arab Emirates professional football club based in the city of Mirbah and Qidfa, Fujairah. The club currently plays in the UAE Pro League.
History
In 1960, two clubs were founded in Mirbah and Qidfa, Al Wehda in ...
*
2021–22:
Dibba Al Fujairah
Dibba Al-Fujairah () is a city in the emirate of Fujairah, located on the northeast part of the United Arab Emirates. It is geographically part of the Dibba region. Dibba Al-Fujairah is considered to be the second largest city in the emirate of ...
*
2022–23
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
:
Hatta
*
2023–24:
Al Urooba
Al Orooba Club () is a United Arab Emirates professional football club based in the city of Mirbah and Qidfa, Fujairah. The club currently plays in the UAE Pro League.
History
In 1960, two clubs were founded in Mirbah and Qidfa, Al Wehda in ...
Al Khaleej was renamed in June 2017 to the match the name of the city
Khorfakkan
Khor Fakkan () is a city and an exclave of the Emirate of Sharjah, located on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), facing the Gulf of Oman, and geographically surrounded by the Emirate of Fujairah. The city, the second largest on the ...
*
Champions
Performance by club
1 Club no longer exists.
Performance by city
Performance by emirates
Top scorers
*1999–2000:
Razzaq Farhan
Razzaq Farhan Mussa (; born 1 July 1974) is a former Iraqi Association football, footballer and Olympic athlete who is currently the assistant manager of the Iraq national football team.
Razzaq Farhan is an instinctive goalscorer, whose speed ...
(42 goals)
*2007–08:
Modibo Kane Diarra (44 goals) (Record)
*2008–09:
Nabil Daoudi (36 goals)
*2009–10:
Michaël N'dri
Michaël N'dri (born 1 November 1984) is a former France, French professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker.
Club career
N'dri played in his youth career for FC Salon de Provence and Va ...
(10 goals)
*2010–11:
Patrick Fabiano (19 goals)
*2011–12:
Makhete Diop (29 goals)
*2012–13:
Modibo Kane Diarra (24 goals)
*2013–14:
Modibo Kane Diarra (27 goals)
*2014–15:
Michaël N'dri
Michaël N'dri (born 1 November 1984) is a former France, French professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker.
Club career
N'dri played in his youth career for FC Salon de Provence and Va ...
(24 goals)
*2015–16:
Tássio Maia dos Santos (17 goals)
*2016–17:
Adeílson Pereira de Mello
Adeílson Pereira de Mello (born 7 October 1985 in Nova União, Minas Gerais, Nova União), known simply as Adeílson, is a Brazilian professional football Football (soccer), striker who plays for Al Dhaid SC, Al Dhaid.
Career
Adeílson prev ...
(23 goals)
*2017–18:
Marcus Vinícius Araujo Silva (21 goals)
*2018–19:
Vinícius Lopes (16 goals)
*2019–20:
Alexssander azeredo Vinícius Lopes (11 goals)
*2020–21:
Diogo Acosta
Diogo da Silva Farias also known as Diogo Acosta (born 13 June 1990) is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Dibba Al Fujairah as a forward.
Career
Incheon United signed him in January 2013. During the 2013 season, he has scored 7 goals in 32 ...
(20 goals)
*2021–22:
Diogo Acosta
Diogo da Silva Farias also known as Diogo Acosta (born 13 June 1990) is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Dibba Al Fujairah as a forward.
Career
Incheon United signed him in January 2013. During the 2013 season, he has scored 7 goals in 32 ...
(27 goals)
*2022–23:
Diogo Acosta
Diogo da Silva Farias also known as Diogo Acosta (born 13 June 1990) is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Dibba Al Fujairah as a forward.
Career
Incheon United signed him in January 2013. During the 2013 season, he has scored 7 goals in 32 ...
(24 goals)
*2023–24:
Marcelo Torres
Luis Marcelo "Chelo" Torres (born 6 November 1997) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for UAE First Division League club Dubai United.
Club career Boca Juniors
A graduate of the Boca Juniors football academy, havin ...
(26 goals)
References
External links
UAE FA— official website
{{AFC second leagues
Football leagues in the United Arab Emirates
Second level football leagues in Asia