Arabian Gulf League clubs are big spenders, but do not get much in return

According to last month's Fifa annual Global Transfer Market report, the UAE were the biggest spenders in Asia with $47 million on 42 international deals in 2013 – a spending increase of 88 per cent over 2012 – but have AGL clubs got more bang for their buck?

Players of Al Qadsia, right, celebrate following a goal against Baniyas during their Asian Champions League play-off. Abdullateef Al Marzouqi / Al Ittihad

Last month, Fifa released its annual Global Transfer Market report, which showed global spending on international transfers for 2013 was US$3.7 billion (Dh13.5bn) – 41 per cent more than the previous 12 months.

Nine countries – England, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and Portugal – accounted for 82 per cent ($3bn) of the spending on 12,309 international deals that were done in 2013; the next 14 countries on the list contributed 15 per cent ($516 million) in transfer spending, while the remaining three per cent was spent by the bottom 116 countries.

The UAE features prominently on that index, in 13th position, topping the list of spenders in Asia with $47m on 42 international deals in 2013 – a spending increase of 88 per cent over 2012.

Qatar was second in Asia with an expenditure of $46m, followed by Saudi Arabia at $40m.

The UAE and Qatar have spent more than double the amount committed by Argentina teams ($22m) but, unfortunately, for the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) clubs, that amount is really not well spent.

On the same day last month that Fifa released their Global Transfer Market report, the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) announced their list of the “strongest national leagues in the world” for 2013, and the UAE had slipped from No 58 in 2012 to No 71.

In Asia, the UAE are a disappointing 10th, behind South Korea (No 23), Saudi Arabia (24), Japan (30), China (34), Iran (37), Kuwait (56), Thailand (63), Qatar (66) and Uzbekistan (69).

A week later, the IFFHS announced its list of the world’s top clubs for January 2014, and not one of the AGL clubs made it to the top 10 of Asia. A Thai club (Buriram United) and a Kuwaiti (Al Qadsia) were on that list.

What should really disappoint the AGL chiefs is that “amateur” leagues and clubs of Kuwait and Thailand are ranked significantly higher than them.

The rankings, according the IFFHS, are based on all national, continental and Fifa club competitions, and UAE clubs have not done much in the continental championship to enhance the reputation of the AGL.

Since 2009, the UAE has had four teams in the Asian Champions League (ACL) every season and only three of them have managed to reach the second round in those five years.

Nine of the 20 representatives have finished at the bottom of their groups in this period, while Sharjah seemed destined for the bottom before withdrawing in 2009 after four successive defeats.

This year, the AGL will have three representatives in the Asian Champions League after Baniyas were thrashed 4-0 at home by Kuwait's Qadsia in a play-off last week. Just four days before that important game, Baniyas decided to dismiss their manager, Jorge da Silva. Al Jazira did the same with Paulo Bonamigo last year, then won one ACL game from six.

The instability caused by the trigger-happy club executives is one of the primary reasons for domestic clubs not getting value for their money spent. And hiring international players on the basis of YouTube videos, which some insiders insist happens at some clubs, does not help, either.

At the moment, 27 foreign players are under contract at AGL clubs but are not part of their registered teams. The 27 receive salaries because their deals have not expired.

This January, we saw a few instances of those musical chairs, with players coming in, then being replaced and then brought back in again …

Such practises perhaps explain the UAE’s high ranking among the spenders in international football. But this “shoot first and aim later” policy will not really bring results.