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Raising the number of clubs in Etisalat Pro-League to 14 under discussion

A technical workshop was held on Tuesday morning at the UAE FA premises to discuss increasing the number of Etisalat Pro-League clubs to 14, a decision which was approved earlier in the UFL General Assembly meeting in October 2010.

Dr. Tariq Humaid Al Tayer, Chairman of the UFL Board of Directors, attended the workshop along with a number of UFL and UAE FA officials, and  some of the coaches.

At the beginning of the workshop, Dr Tariq Al Tayer said: "This workshop is being held in order to understand the opinions of the club's technical experts, the coaches, regarding the benefits  of raising the number of the clubs from 12 to 14". He added: "Increasing the number to 14 clubs will automatically result in additional four matches in the Etisalat Pro-League season. Each team will play 26 league games in one season, a figure which puts us close to the AFC requirements. However there is a large cost implication which must be considered - according to a recent study we have conducted this will cost the League an additional three millions Dirhams."

Mattar Ghorab, Chairman of the UAE FA Competitions Committee, explained that increasing the number of the clubs is set according to technical standards but   the number of clubs in both "A" and "B" first divisions should not be affected. Ghorab added that there are new clubs who are joining the UAE FA, which increases the FA's club members

Mohammed Al Mansi, assistant coach of the UAE Senior team, said" "Increasing the number of clubs means additional matches which necessitates more days to meet this change. It also decreases preparation periods of  the national teams, bearing in mind that every club coach likes to have enough time to get his team ready."

Commenting on the same point, Mahdi Ali, the UAE Olympic Team Coach, said that national teams' players needed to be available to join their warm-up camps earlier. He said that the players still have not yet reached the standard of their European counterparts who gather only three days before playing national team matches.