Time to remove stumbling blocks

General secretary of Sharjah Sports Council wants Asian Champions League improvement.

Pro League sides, such as Al Jazira, have struggled in the Asian Champions League.

DUBAI // Ahmed Nasser al Fardan, the general secretary of the Sharjah Sports Council, has called for changes in the Pro League after the repeated failure of clubs in the Asian Champions League.

Four teams have represented the UAE in each of the past three years in Asia, but none have managed to progress beyond the group stages.

The performance of these sides in the continental championships has brought disappointment for the fans and officials, and al Fardan said the Pro League needs to have a look at itself.

"It is time for the UAE Football Association [UFA] to rewrite some of the rules," he said. "We know they are working hard, but the results have not been satisfying. The clubs have been spending a lot of money and the returns are not up to expectations.

"The performance of our clubs in Asia is proof of that. Our clubs have failed to progress beyond the group stages for the third year in a row. This means there is something lacking and we need to work together to find solutions."

Tariq al Tayer, the chairman of the UFL, also expressed his disappointment with the club's performance in Asia, but is confident of a better showing next year.

"There are so many reasons for that," he said. "One of the reasons is that the clubs wanted to be in the Club World Cup. So the focus was there. They wanted to be champions here [at home].

"This year we had high hopes from Al Jazira to perform better, but they were focusing on winning the league.

"Next year I don't see any excuses, and I am very sure, if the four foreign players are approved, of a much better performance in the Champions League."

Another consistent problem with the Pro League has been its inability to attract crowds. The UAE has one of the lowest average attendance in Asia and al Tayer admits it is becoming one of their biggest challenges.

"We are very concerned about the fan attendance, but we know there are certain reasons," he said. "We are talking about the club infrastructures, we are talking about the live telecast of all the matches. That is the main concern.

"Very soon, we will engage in a discussion with both TV networks to see if we can reduce the live coverage."

The sports councils of Dubai and Sharjah also signed a Memorandum of Understanding yesterday to enhance their co-operation and take sports in the country to the next level.

"We have signed this MOU to increase the level of co-operation between the two sides," al Fardan said. "We hope this agreement will give sports a major boost all across UAE."

Ahmed al Sharif, the secretary general of Dubai Sports Council, said: "It is a very special day for sports in the country as two big councils are coming to work together. We will pool our experience and expertise together, and work for the betterment of sports. We will be holding workshops and seminars together.

"We will also work together to host events, local and international. Sharjah have made a bid for the [2012] Asian Futsal Championship and we will be hosting it jointly.

"The UAE is leading in many different spheres and we want it to be the same in sports as well, and not lag behind.

"We don't want to sit back and watch, we want to do our best to increase the UAE's presence on the global sports map."