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The interim Pro-League Committee announces important developments

 

The interim Pro-League Committee held its first meeting on Saturday, June 25th at the UAE FA premises, under the chairmanship of Saeed Abdul Ghaffar, and was attended by Abdulla Naser Al Junaibi, the Vice Chairman, along with the other committee members: Khaled Al Fahim, Mohammed Saeed Al Nuaimi and Dr. Khalid Mohammed Abdulla.

After the meeting, the interim Pro-League Committee held a press conference to disclose to the decisions reached in the meeting.

Saeed Abdul Ghaffar stated that the Committee discussed numerous issues during the meeting, including: the new name and the logo; issues related to the professionalism, clubs and Pro-League; the Committees' responsibilities; the Professional Football Development Workshop report; the 2011-2012 season's schedule; the official draw event; as well as marketing.

 

The Pro-League Committee Responsibilities

The Pro-League Committee's members are: Abdulla Naser Al Junaibi: Vice Chairman, Spokesman and the Head of the Technical Committee, Khaled Al Fahim: Marketing Affairs, Mohammed Saeed Al Nuaimi: Vice Chairman of the Technical Committee, Dr. Khalid Mohammed Abdulla: Administrative and Professionalism Affairs.

The Official Draw Event

The interim Pro-League Committee Chairman confirmed that the 2011-2012 season's draw will be held on Wednesday, July 6th at the Intercontinental Hotel, Festival City, with the participation of the 12 professional clubs.

Foreign Players

It was also agreed during the meeting that the 3+1 foreign player rule would apply from next season, with all four being allowed on the pitch.

Decreasing Club Player Numbers

The Committee discussed the number of players' registered to the clubs and it was agreed to put a maximum of 35 local players in addition to the 4 foreign players for each club.

Abdulla Al Junaibi, the interim Pro-League Committee's Vice Chairman said that the Committee had not yet discussed the foreign players registration in the Etisalat Reserve League, as it will be up to the teams to decided which players are to be included in their Reserve League matches.

2011/2012 Season

The new season will start on September 10 with the Etisalat Super Cup as previously announced. Two rounds of the Etisalat Cup will be played on September 15 and 22, whilst the Etisalat Pro-League will start on the last week of September.

The Committee also decided that Etisalat Pro-League matches will be played over 2 days instead of 3 as per the previous seasons.

Sponsor Agreements

"Legally there is no issue with changing the League's name in existing contracts - the former Board of Directors made a great effort in the aspects of marketing, and the agreements with the sponsors will remain the same without any changes," said Khaled Al Fahim, the Interim Committee member in charge of Marketing.

New Name & Logo

The name of the former UAE Football League (UFL) will be changed along with the corporate identity for the organization over the coming weeks.

"Changing the actual logo will not affect our work in any way. We are not in a hurry to change the logo as it needs some time," said Abdul Ghaffar.

Executive Management Remains

The interim Pro-League Committee Chairman said that the existing UFL Executive Management will remain the same.

"They are doing their work as specified, there is no intention to make any changes."

"We do all the work assigned to us in all sincerity for the benefit of the work itself and in the interest of the Professional League Committee," added Abdul Ghaffar.

The Pro-League Committee under UAE FA Umbrella

Abdel Ghaffar asserted that the Pro-League, since its establishment three years, has always been affiliated with the Football Association.

"It is true that it has an independent existence, financially and administratively, but from the beginning it should be subject to the supervision of the Football Association and be under its umbrella, as all other committees of the Association. We should not have two organisations managing football in the country - the main entity is the Football Association, which supervises all other affiliated committees."

Abdul Ghaffar added that there will be only one General Assembly which will include all the UAE FA club members, either Pro-League Clubs or amateur clubs, and that the Board of Directors of the Pro-League Committee will consist of the twelve members of the professional clubs.

Abdul Ghaffar stated that the former Board of Directors has made good efforts, and next season's competitions are set up well.

"We did not say that all this will be canceled and we will go back to the amateur league, but we say that they have done a good job and we appreciate the great efforts they have made during the last period."