Mohammad Abdullah, Staff Reporter

The UAE clubs knuckled down to bolster their squad for the next season soon after the decision of the UAE Pro League general assembly to suspend the coronation and relegation for the current season.

Few clubs will launch their bid for the title while others will be eyeing the top three finish to stake a claim for the Asian Champions League berth while some will still be trying to stay afloat for another season in the top flight when the football resumes.

Defending champions Sharjah signed Khalid Bawazeer from Al Dhafra for a period of three years to boost their squad. Bawazeer expressed his great pleasure on joining Sharjah, which is one of the largest clubs in the country.

The national team player, who previously played for Al Wahda, Al Wasl and Al Dhafra, said: “Sharjah have a wide fan base that motivates any player to give everything for the team. The strong support of the fans and their permanent backing was one of the main reasons the Kings returned to the podium again.”

Bawazeer, who is good at playing in more than one position, showed his admiration for the Brazilian Igor Coronado, who was crowned the Best Foreign Player last season.

Bawazeer said: “I am very excited to play alongside him because he has quality and skill and plays in the same position as that of mine, and I aspire to form a duo with him on Kings’ square.”

Bawazeer, who combines sports excellence with his academic achievement – as he holds a Masters degree – revealed that his move to Sharjah was in line with his goals that he set for himself to move in the right direction and towards achieving more success.

Sharjah also succeeded in renewing the contracts of Majid Karam and Abdullah Al Ajmani and new deals were handed out to 18-year-old Sultan Ibrahim and goalkeeper Abdullah Al Yassi, as part of the club’s policy to preserve talented players and support distinguished young footballers.

Meanwhile, Abdullah Al Ajla, the President of the Sharjah Football Club, urged fans to continue their celebration as their team will retain the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) champions title for at least another season.

The UAE Pro League general assembly in an extraordinary meeting decided that there will be no coronation of a new champion, no relegation and no promotion as the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) was suspended in March due to outbreak of the coronavirus.

The cancellation of the league prompted the decision to suspend the relegation, coronation and promotion for the 2019-20 season. The last three teams in the standings at the end of the season are relegated to the first division.

So in that case, Sharjah, who are the current champions, will retain the title for another season automatically. When the league was suspended Khorfakkan, Hatta and Fujairah were in the drop zone. Khorfakkan were on 12th spot in the standing followed by Hatta and Fujairah in 13th and 14th places respectively. While on the top of the standings, Shabab Al Ahli were leading the pack with 43 points followed by Al Ain in second and Al Jazira in third with 37 and 36 points respectively.

The general assembly had also informed that the AFC Champions League berths would be decided according to the standings of the last season.

So being the defending champions, Sharjah will automatically qualify for the ACL next season without having to bother to finish in top three or going through gruelling qualifiers. Ajla praised the decision made by the extraordinary general assembly, describing it as a fair decision and what confirms that crowning titles and winning tournaments in the UAE football is done only after giving all teams their full opportunity to compete.

Meanwhile, Ittihad Kalba made their intent clear with the fourth signing of the season, when they sealed the deal for Mohamed Sabeel from Ajman to join the Tigers’ battalion for the next season.  

Ali Kanoo, President of the Ittihad Kalba, said: “We respect all the decisions of the UAE Pro League regarding the AGL for this year. We are currently focused on preparing a team that will be according to the challenges of the coming season and its benefits. We also met with the technical and administrative staff in order to study their future vision.”