Al Arabi third UAE’s Division One club to pull out with financial woes

The Umm Al Qaiwain side follows the two Ras Al Khaimah clubs, Al Rams and Al Jazira Al Hamra, with all three citing the difficulty of maintaining a football team with their limited budgets.

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DUBAI // The financial woes afflicting Division One clubs has claimed another victim with Al Arabi becoming the latest to opt out of the league.

The Umm Al Qaiwain club is the third withdrawal from Division One this summer after the two Ras Al Khaimah clubs, Al Rams and Al Jazira Al Hamra, with all three citing the difficulty of maintaining a football team with their limited budgets.

Al Arabi’s pull-out has reduced the number of teams in Division One to 11 and there are rumours a few other clubs are contemplating a similar move.

“It is a very difficult decision for us, but we have been forced to take this step,” Abdulkarim Mohammed, the secretary general of Al Arabi, told Arabic daily Al Bayan.

“The local government has not failed us, but the expenses have been mounting, and we do not have patrons who could help us out.

“We have not been able to find the support we need to meet our commitments, so we have chosen to withdraw.”

Mohammed claims clubs in Division One, which is scheduled to kick off on November 15, are becoming “victims of professionalism” with the pay cheques offered to players in the Arabian Gulf League leading to an increase in demands from their own recruits.

“Sometimes, just one deal made by the professional clubs is more than the combined budgets of all Division One clubs,” said Mohammed, whose club could be fined Dh100,000 by the UAE Football Association for their withdrawal, as Rams and Hamra were.

“Our players look at what is being offered to their colleagues by the professional clubs and they expect similar amounts from us, both foreign and Emirati players, and we are forced to do that to support the team.

“The problems are not just restricted to the players and our obligations towards them. It goes beyond. You have to pay the wages of the other employees and then there is the issue of water and electricity bills, which keeps rearing its head.

“We have issued cheques amounting to Dh500,000 during the past few days towards the electricity bills.

“So it is a really difficult situation for us and the other clubs, and I do not rule out the possibility of more withdrawals.”

With the big-spending AGL clubs and their stars hogging the limelight, the financial plight of the amateur clubs has generally gone unnoticed.

According to estimates, the Division One clubs spend an average of Dh200,000 a month on their first team, while their receipts, for all the club’s different activities, might not exceed Dh120,000.

The issue first came to the fore after the 2008/09 season when Al Hamriya decided to disband their first football team and compete in only age-group tournaments.

Masfout followed suit two years ago, and that list has grown to eight with Al Arabi joining Al Rams, Al Jazira Al Hamra, Fallaj Al Moalla, Al Bataeh and Al Madam. Media reports have suggested Masafi and Al Tawoon could be headed that way as well, but that has been denied by officials from the two clubs.

“We get Dh60,000 a month, while our expenditure on players alone could amount to Dh200,000,” said Saif Al Mazroui, a Masafi official. “In addition, we have the water and electricity bills, and other expenses.

“So, like the other clubs, we are in a really difficult situation, but we do not want to withdraw.

“Most of them do not have the money or the resources and we need to find solutions urgently. The Football Association needs to intervene to save the situation.”

arizvi@thenational.ae

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