Al Ain have been crowned champions for the 15th time after clinching the 2025-26 UAE Pro League with two games to spare.
Abdoul Karim Traore, Kodjo Laba, Erik, Soufiane Rahimi and Rami Rabia all scored as they routed Sharjah 5-0 on Wednesday night to seal the title in style.
At the same time, second-placed Shabab Al Ahli were labouring to a 2-1 draw with their city rivals Al Nasr.
Even though the outgoing champions from Dubai can still match Al Ain's points total – as they are six points behind with two games to play – the leaders have still been confirmed as champions.
Pro League competition rules stipulate that head-to-head results between two clubs on level points is the first tiebreaker, followed by goal difference.
Al Ain beat Shabab Al Ahli in both their league encounters this season, meaning a win against Sharjah was all that was required to wrap up the title. Even their goal difference is far superior to their rivals.
Once Al Ain had assumed an early lead in Sharjah, it was basically a procession. Their dominance was typical of their excellence over the course of the campaign.
Now the club from the Garden City have two games left to attempt to remain unbeaten throughout the campaign.
They also have another prize to play for after that. On May 22, they will meet Al Jazira in the final of the President’s Cup, which is the country’s most sought-after cup title.
If they win that, it will continue a quirky trend. Shabab Al Ahli also won the domestic double last season, as did Al Wasl the season before that.
Al Ain actually came into the game on the back of rare disappointment in an otherwise outstanding season.
On their previous outing, they had lost the Adib Cup final in a bad-tempered affair with Al Wahda in Abu Dhabi.
They seemed intent on righting that wrong from the off in Sharjah. They dominated the ball from the kick-off, and only had to wait until the 10th minute before they were ahead.
The opener arrived when Traore, their midfield powerhouse, thundered in a header after a free-kick on the right-hand side.
They doubled their lead in broadly similar fashion. This time from a cross in open play, Laba stole in at the near post a glanced a header in the far corner.
Although they failed to add to their tally before the break, they were in cruise control.
They started the party with two more goals early in the second half. First, Erik, their UAE national team left-back, made the most of a lapse in the Sharjah defence to claim a rare goal.
The fourth came from a far more regulation source: Soufiane Rahimi, the hero of Al Ain’s AFC Champions League title win two seasons ago, struck from the edge of the box.
The Moroccan forward proceeded to sprint to the other end of the field to celebrate in front of the travelling fans, as well as with Khalid Essa, the side’s goalkeeper-captain.
The players were queuing up to score. The next to add their name to the tally was Rabia. Again, the Egyptian centre-back profited from limp defending as he crashed in a header from close in.
