Shabab Al Ahli have won the 2022/23 Adnoc Pro League with one round to spare, marking the club’s first UAE championship since their 2017 merger.
The Dubai side, needing one victory from their remaining two matches, won 2-1 at Baniyas on Sunday night, meaning neither second-placed Al Ain - last season's league winners - nor Al Wahda in third could catch them.
Both teams sit three points off the summit, but have inferior head-to-head records against the newly crowned champions.
Against Baniyas, Shabab Al Ahli had to rebound from 1-0 down after Sasa Ivkovic gave the hosts the lead just after the hour.
However, two goals in three minutes turned around the game , with Azizjon Ganiev’s deflected effort drawing the visitors level and then Yahya Al Ghassani finishing brilliantly to give Shabab Al Ahli the decisive win.
There were scenes of celebration from the moment the final whistle went, where manager Leonardo Jardim was thrown into the air by his players and staff, and then soaked when the team gatecrashed his post-match press conference.
The former Monaco coach, who guided Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal to 2021 Champions League success, took charge of Shabab Al Ahli last summer.
The title triumph represents the club’s eighth in total, and first since 2016, when they lifted the trophy as Al Ahli. The club was then merged with Al Shabab and Dubai club the following year.
Shabab Al Ahli bring to a conclusion their league campaign at home to Ajman, although the date for the final round of Adnoc Pro League action has yet to be confirmed.
Haemoglobin disorders explained
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
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About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
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Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
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