ABU DHABI // The stand-out fixture on the opening day of the new UAE Etisalat Pro League is the Abu Dhabi derby between Al Wahda and Al Jazira on the weekend of Sept 19-20. Another intriguing outcome of today's draw made at the Football Association headquarters at Zayed Sports City was the pairing of the Dubai giants Al Shabab and Al Ahli in the final round of the 22 fixtures on May 22-23. Those two arch rivals, respective winners of last season's league championship and President's Cup, meet in the curtain-raiser to the new campaign, the Super Cup, on Sept 14 at Al Nasr's ground. Excitement is rising about the launch of the new Pro-League judging by the interest in today's fixture meeting presided over by Mohammed al Mahmood, vice chairman of the newly named UAE Football League (UFL), Romy Gai, the organisation's recently appointed chief executive, and Yaha Abdul Karim, head of the competitions committee. A big injection of funding through the sale of television rights for Dh350million over five years and the continued sponsorship of Etisalat to the tune of Dh250m during that period promises to increase the playing standards of the 12 competing clubs. Gai, who spent 14 years running the financial affairs of Juventus before accepting the challenge of organising the launch of the new UAE league, expects clubs to be able to afford better quality players from now on, especially when it comes to recruiting foreigners. He said: "We want our clubs to be signing the younger stars from overseas rather than the ones at the end of their careers who want a bit of sunshine and a bit of extra money." There are no plans, however, to follow the example of European leagues and open the door for an invasion of foreign mercenaries. "The present system of allowing clubs to select up to three foreigners is a fantastic one which we don't see the need to change," added Gai. "We are not governed by the same laws as in Europe allowing freedom of movement by footballers and other workers so we can continue with our rules which definitely help in terms of promoting and developing local talent." Mahmood, who is also general secretary of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, enthused: "I think all our clubs will benefit from the higher level of competition in this new league, both on the technical and financial side." Today's draw was carefully stage managed to bring a geographical balance to the fixtures on each of the 22 match days. The categorisation of the clubs into three regions -- Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Northern Emirates - enabled the programme to avoid the staging of more than two matches in the same emirate at the same time. Once the Pro League fixtures had been finalised the draw was made for the Etisalat Cup. Group A: Al Shabab, Al Sharjah, Al Wahda, Al Dhafra. Group B: Al Jazira, Al Shaab, Al Wasl, Al Khaleej. Group C: Al Ahli, Al Ain, Al Nasr, Ajman. wjohnson@thenational.ae
Al Khaleej v Al Dhafra Al Ain v Al Sharjah Al Shabab v Al Shaab Al Nasr v Al Ahli Ajman v Al Wasl Al Wahda v Al Jazira sluckings@thenational.ae
