Team spirit fuels Abu Dhabi Country Club's historic run in AFC Women's Champions League

Midfielder Nouf Al Anzi proud to carry the hopes of UAE and the Arab world at continental showpiece

Abu Dhabi Country's players ahead of their AFC Champions League match against Al Nassr in Riyadh on August 31, 2024. AFP

As Abu Dhabi Country Club (ADCC) get set to make history for the UAE and the Arab region by competing in the inaugural AFC Women’s Champions League on Thursday, star midfielder Nouf Al Anzi says she and her teammates are ready to “leave every single drop of sweat on the pitch” in their chase of a quarter-final spot.

Serial UAE champions ADCC earned their place in the group stage of the Champions League by winning all three games they contested in the preliminary round in late August in Riyadh, defeating Laos’ Young Elephants, Myanmar’s Myawady, and Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr.

In doing so, ADCC became the first Arab club to reach the maiden edition of the continental showpiece, which features 12 of the top women’s football teams in Asia, split across three groups.

“Raising the flag and playing for the UAE, representing the UAE on an international stage is a great pride that we feel very honoured to be able to do,” Al Anzi, 27, told The National on Tuesday. “I’m very excited and looking forward to the matches. We’re on a Champions League level, so the level of the matches is higher, the level of the teams and players is higher.

“I feel like these are the type of games that all players aim for, being at the highest level, so we’re all looking forward to it. Insha’Allah we’ll leave every single drop of sweat on the pitch, we’re going to give it our all and God willing we’ll be able to grab one of the tickets to the quarter-finals.”

ADCC are in Group A alongside Wuhan Jiangda of China, South Korea’s Incheon Red Angels, and Sabah FA of Malaysia. They will begin their campaign on Thursday against the hosts at Hankou Culture Sports Centre in Wuhan.

The format features a centralised group stage, with Group A games taking place in Wuhan, Group B in Pathum Thani, Thailand, and Group C in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam between October 3 and 12. The top two in each group, along with the two best third-placed teams, will qualify for the quarter-finals.

It’s taken a long time for Asia to have its own continental women’s football club competition and it comes on the heels of the establishment of the CAF Women’s Champions League, which launched in 2021 and is now in its fourth edition.

“The AFC Women’s Champions League coming to life is a huge step towards the development of women’s football on the continent,” said Al Anzi.

Abu Dhabi Country Club's midfielder Rashida Ibrahim celebrates victory over Al Nassr. AFP

“It motivates the countries and the clubs in the region to work harder and to develop their respective women’s programmes. Also to motivate clubs to qualify for these kinds of competitions, to compete with the highest level of clubs and teams and players. So, I think this will soon show its results.”

Al Anzi has been making history for UAE football ever since she was called up to the national team at just 17 years old. In 2018, she became the first Emirati woman to play professional football abroad when she signed with Egyptian giants Wadi Degla.

In 2022, Al Anzi made another unprecedented move by signing for Spanish club Leganes, becoming the first woman from her country to play for a European side. The midfielder moved to Cornella the following season, with whom she won the Tercera Federacion league title.

She is now keen to write a new chapter for herself in the history books, this time with her home team of ADCC, whom she joined in July.

“I’ve had very happy moments this year, and for next year I’m aiming to have more achievements with the club and the national team, as well as helping and inspiring young girls in the country with the development of football that the UAE women’s football committee is working on,” said Al Anzi.

Playing a part in the progress of women’s football in the Arab region is something Al Anzi does not take lightly and she knows she has joined a big club, in ADCC, that has won every single domestic league title since the inception of the UAE women’s football league in 2012.

“It means a lot for all of us to be able to represent the UAE and the region as a whole, as the only Arab team to qualify for the Asian Champions League, so I think this is history being made for us and Insha’Allah we will further make everyone proud. We created history, which is really amazing,” said Al Anzi.

“Whether it was a player on the starting XI, or on the bench, or players who played a few minutes – the unity of the team and the spirit made all the difference. Of course with the help and the support of our families and friends as well. We had a nice surprise, we had friends coming over from the UAE to watch our games in Riyadh, so it was a collective effort to get here.”