Al Wahda FC
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| Full name | Al-Wahda Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | The Clarets (الكلاريت) The Maroons (العنابي) | ||
| Founded | 1984 | ||
| Ground | Al Nahyan Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 15,894[1] | ||
| Owner | Diab Bin Zayed Al Nahyan | ||
| Chairman | Rashid Bin Diab Al Nahyan | ||
| Head coach | Péricles Chamusca | ||
| League | UAE Pro League | ||
| 2025–26 | UAE Pro League, 5th | ||
| Website | www | ||
|
| |||
Al-Wahda Football Club (Arabic: نادي الوحدة لكرة القدم, romanized: al-waḥda, lit. 'Union') is an Emirati professional football club based in Abu Dhabi, that competes in the UAE Pro League.[2] The club was founded in 1984 and plays its home games at the Al Nahyan Stadium. The club's colours are maroon, navy blue and white.
History
[edit]Foundation
[edit]The first team created in Abu Dhabi was Al-Ahli in 1966, followed respectively by Al-Ittihad in 1968, Al-Falah and Al-Wahda in 1969. In 1974, a decision was made by the Minister of youth and sport to create Abu Dhabi SC by merging Al-Ittihad and Al-Wahda on 13 March 1974, and to create Al-Emirates SC by merging Al-Ahli and Al-Falah on 3 June 1974. In 1984, Abu Dhabi SC and Al-Emirates SC merged to create Al-Wahda FC.
Modern era
[edit]In 1999, Al Wahda won their maiden UAE League title with 8 points ahead of their rivals Al Ain. In 2018, Al Wahda changed its official logo as part of a new club redesign.
Honours
[edit]Leagues
[edit]- Champions: 1976–77, 1984–85
Cups
[edit]- Champions: 1999–2000, 2016–17
- Champions: 1986, 1995, 2001
Regional
[edit]- Champions: 2024–25
- Champions: 2025–26
Home stadium
[edit]
The Al Nahyan Stadium is the home of Al Wahda.[3] Built in 1995 and renovated for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, it seats 15,895 supporters. It lays beside Al Wahda Mall, on Ahmed Bin Khalaf Al Otaiba Street, and is hence located in the centre of the city of Abu Dhabi.
Performance in AFC competitions
[edit]Al Wahda has been qualifying for Asian competitions since the late 90s. They have made multiple appearances in the AFC Champions League. Al Wahda FC made two appearances in the Asian Cup Winners Cup, in the 1998–99 and the 2000–01 seasons, reaching the first round on both occasions.
| Al Wahda's season-by-season record in international competitions | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Group stage. Highest-ranked eliminated team in case of qualification, lowest-ranked qualified team in case of elimination. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Arab Club Champions Cup | |||||||||||||||||||
| Season | Preliminary stages | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||||
| 2017 |  Al Ahly1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 |  Bourj |  ASFAR |  CR Belouizdad1 |  Al Shabab | |||||||||||||||
| FIFA Club World Cup | |||||||||||||||||||
| Season | Preliminary stages | Semi-finals / Fifth match | Final / Third match | ||||||||||||||||
| 2010 |  Hekari United |  Seongnam |  Pachuca | ||||||||||||||||
| Season | AFC Champions League |
|---|---|
| Asian Club Championship | |
| 1999–00 | First round |
| 2000-01 | Did not qualify |
| 2001–02 | Group stage |
| AFC Champions League | |
| 2002-03 | Did not qualify |
| 2004 | Quarter-finals |
| 2005 | Did not qualify |
| 2006 | Group stage |
| 2007 | Semi-finals |
| 2008 | Group stage |
| 2009 | Did not qualify |
| 2010 | Round of 32 |
| 2011 | |
| 2012 | Did not qualify |
| 2013 | |
| 2014 | |
| 2015 | Play-offs |
| 2016 | Did not qualify |
| 2017 | Round of 32 |
| 2018 | |
| 2019 | Round of 16 |
| 2020 | Withdrew |
| 2021 | Quarter-finals |
| 2022 | Did not qualify |
| 2023-24 | |
| AFC Champions League Elite | |
| 2024–25 | Did not qualify |
| 2025–26 | Qualified |
Players
[edit]As of 8 September, 2026 UAE Pro-League:
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Out on loan
[edit]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
Players with Multiple Nationalities
Coaching staff
[edit]| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head Coach |  Péricles Chamusca |
| Assistant Coach |  Abdullslam Jumaa |
| Goalkeeper Coach | Christopher Sales |
| Conditioning Coach |  Helder Fernandes Soares |
| Chief Analyst | Tiago Albuquerque Freire |
| Club Doctor |  Waleed Al-Shikh |
| Physiotherapist |  Ninad Martino Rodrigo de Queiroz Aires |
| Masseur |  Božo Sinkovic Vladimir Harfman |
Managerial history
[edit]* Served as caretaker coach.
| Name | Nat. | From | To | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helmy Toulan |  |
1979 | 1984 | |
| Heshmat Mohajerani |  |
1984 | 1986 | |
| Slobodan Halilović |  |
1991 | 1992 | |
| Mahmoud El-Gohary | |
1995 | 1996 | |
| Jo Bonfrère |  |
1998 | 1999 | |
| Ruud Krol | 1999 | 1999 | ||
| Dimitri Davidovic |  |
1999 | 2000 | |
| Rinus Israël | |
2000 | 2001 | |
| Jo Bonfrère | |
2001 | February 2002 | |
| Arie van der Zouwen* | 2002 | 2002 | [4][5][6] | |
| Cemşir Muratoğlu |  |
2002 | 2003 | |
| Rolf Fringer |  |
14 March 2003 | 30 June 2003 | |
| Rolland Courbis |  |
1 July 2003 | 30 November 2003 | |
| Rinus Israël | |
1 December 2003 | 30 June 2004 | |
| Ahmad Abdel-Halim | |
2004 | 2005 | |
| Reiner Hollmann |  |
1 July 2005 | 3 April 2006 | |
| Richard Tardy | |
2006 | 4 August 2006 | |
| Horst Köppel | |
5 August 2006 | 11 October 2006 | [7] |
| Jo Bonfrère | |
13 December 2007 | 10 December 2008 | |
| Josef Hickersberger | |
10 December 2008 | 1 June 2010 | |
| László Bölöni |  |
29 May 2010 | 2 September 2010 | [8] |
| Tite | |
31 August 2010 | 19 October 2010 | |
| Josef Hickersberger | |
22 October 2010 | 30 June 2012 | |
| Branko Ivanković | |
20 May 2012 | 28 April 2013 | |
| Josef Hickersberger | |
28 April 2013 | 15 July 2013 | |
| Karel Jarolím |  |
15 July 2013 | 9 November 2013 | |
| José Peseiro | |
11 November 2013 | 11 January 2015 | |
| Sami Al-Jaber | |
11 January 2015 | 19 May 2015 | |
| Javier Aguirre | |
18 June 2015 | 20 May 2017 | [9] |
| Laurențiu Reghecampf | |
3 July 2017 | 25 November 2018 | |
| Henk ten Cate | |
7 December 2018 | 26 May 2019 | |
| Maurice Steijn | 9 June 2019 | 17 October 2019 | ||
| Manuel Jiménez |  |
17 October 2019 | 18 July 2020 | [10] |
| Mark Wotte | |
18 July 2020 | 8 September 2020 | |
| Vuk Rašović | |
8 September 2020 | 12 March 2021 | [11] |
| Henk ten Cate | |
13 March 2021 | 25 October 2021 | |
| Grégory Dufrennes |  |
26 October 2021 | 3 June 2022 | |
| Carlos Carvalhal | |
1 July 2022 | 2 October 2022 | [12] |
| Manuel Jiménez | |
5 October 2022 | 12 March 2023 | |
| Arno Buitenweg* | |
13 March 2023 | 17 June 2023 | |
| Pitso Mosimane |  |
18 June 2023 | 10 November 2023 | [13] |
| Arno Buitenweg* | |
10 November 2023 | 5 January 2024 | |
| Goran Tufegdžić | |
5 January 2024 | 5 July 2024 | |
| Ronny Deila |  |
5 July 2024 | 18 December 2024 | |
| Darko Milanič |  |
18 December 2024 | 20 June 2025 | |
| José Morais | |
20 June 2025 | 12 December 2025 | |
| Dimas* | |
13 December 2025 | 2 February 2026 | |
| Darko Milanič | |
3 February 2026 | 18 April 2026 | |
| Hassan Al-Abdooli* | |
18 April 2026 | 19 May 2026 | |
| Péricles Chamusca | |
6 June 2026 | present |
Pro-League record
[edit]| Season | Level | No. of teams | Position | President's Cup | League Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | 1 | 12 | 4th | Semi-Finals | Runner-ups |
| 2009–10 | 1st | Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | ||
| 2010–11 | 5th | Runner-ups | |||
| 2011–12 | 6th | Semi-Finals | First Round | ||
| 2012–13 | 14 | 7th | Semi-Finals | ||
| 2013–14 | 2nd | Quarter-Finals | First Round | ||
| 2014–15 | 4th | Round of 16 | |||
| 2015–16 | 3rd | Champions | |||
| 2016–17 | 5th | Champions | First Round | ||
| 2017–18 | 12 | 2nd | Semi-Finals | Champions | |
| 2018–19 | 14 | 3rd | Round of 16 | Runner-ups | |
| 2019–20a | 5th | Quarter-Finals | |||
| 2020–21 | 7th | First Round | |||
| 2021–22 | 3rd | Runner-ups | Semi-Finals | ||
| 2022–23 | Preliminary Round | Quarter-Finals | |||
| 2023–24 | 5th | Round of 16 | Champions | ||
| 2024–25 | |||||
| 2025–26 |
Notes^ 2019–20 UAE football season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "نبذة عن منشآت نادي الوحدة الرياضي". Archived from the original on 2015-03-17. Retrieved 2015-03-10.
- ↑ Al Wahda FC (UAE): club profile, squad, fixtures and achieves Archived 2021-04-30 at the Wayback Machine Soccerway.com. Retrieved 16 April 2021
- ↑ "Al Wahda – Clubs – UAE Pro League Committee". Al Wahda Club. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- ↑ "Arie van der Zouwen trainer Dongen". Nieuws.nl. 15 June 2011.
Verder werkte hij in het verleden als assistent onder Jo Bonfrère bij Al Wahda in de Verenigde Arabische Emiraten waar hij zelfs nog kortstondig hoofdtrainer was.
- ↑ Vervelde, Daniel (3 February 2021). "Tholense Boys legt Arie van der Zouwen voor twee jaar vast: 'De gedroomde kandidaat'". Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
Tholense Boys strikt met Van der Zouwen bovendien een trainer met ervaring in het buitenland. Hij was in het verleden bondscoach van Hongkong, assistent van Jo Bonfrère bij Al-Wahda in de Verenigde Arabische Emiraten en bij die club na het ontslag van Bonfrère ook interim-coach.
- ↑ "Bonfrère ontslagen bij Al Wahda". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 13 February 2002. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
Bonfrères assistent Arie van der Zouwen is aangesteld als interim-coach. Binnen enkele weken hoopt Al Wahda een nieuwe coach te kunnen presenteren.
- ↑ "Köppel wechselt in die VAE". kicker (in German). 5 August 2006. Archived from the original on 18 May 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
- ↑ Bölöni appointed as head coach of Al-Wahda Archived 6 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Cerezo, Hugo (18 June 2015). "Javier Aguirre ficha por el Al Wahda". Marca (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 5 August 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- ↑ Jose, James (17 October 2019). "Al Jazira, Al Wahda appoint new managers". Khaleej Times. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- ↑ "Al Wahda set to name Vuk Rašović as new coach ahead of Asian Champions League resumption". thenational. Archived from the original on 3 July 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- ↑ "Carlos Carvalhal leaves Al Wahda". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
- ↑ Mahlatse Mphahlele. "Pitso Mosimane joins UAE side Al Wahda". timeslive. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
External links
[edit]- Official website
(in Arabic) - Al Wahda FC on Facebook
