The 2015–16 UAE Pro League (also known as Arabian Gulf League for sponsorship reasons) was the 41st top-level football season in the United Arab Emirates. Fourteen teams participated with Al-Ain as the defending champions after securing the championship last season for the twelfth time. Al-Ahli won its 7th title on 29 April despite being held to a 2-2 draw at home.
| Season | 2015–16 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Al-Ahli (7th title) |
| Relegated | Fujairah Al-Shaab |
| 2017 AFC Champions League | Al-Ahli Al-Jazira Al-Ain Al-Wahda |
| 2017 GCC Champions League | Al-Wasl Al-Dhafra |
| Matches played | 182 |
| Goals scored | 573 (3.15 per match) |
| Average goals/game | 3.15 |
| Top goalscorer | Sebastián Tagliabué (25 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Al-Ahli 8-1 Fujairah (19 August 2015) |
| Biggest away win | Dibba Al Fujairah 0-4 Al-Wahda (20 August 2015) Dibba Al Fujairah 0-4 Al-Dhafra (23 April 2016) |
| Highest scoring | Al-Shaab 3-6 Fujairah (22 January 2016) |
| Longest winning run | 8 games Al-Ahli |
| Longest unbeaten run | 16 games Al-Ahli |
| Longest winless run | 16 games Al-Shaab |
| Longest losing run | 8 games Emirates |
| Highest attendance | Al-Ain vs. Al-Wahda (18,126) |
| Lowest attendance | Dibba Al Fujairah vs. Al-Shaab (168) |
| Average attendance | 2,557 |
← 2014–15 2016–17 → | |
Teams edit
Stadia and locations edit
| Team | Stadium | Town | Capacity | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ahli | Al-Rashid Stadium | Dubai | 8,844 |  Cosmin Olăroiu
|
| Al-Ain | Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium | Al Ain | 22,717 |  Zlatko Dalić
|
| Al-Dhafra | Al Dhafra Stadium | Madinat Zayed | 5,000 |  Mohammad Kwid
|
| Al-Jazira | Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium | Abu Dhabi | 42,056 |  Henk ten Cate
|
| Al-Nasr | Al-Maktoum Stadium | Dubai | 10,750 |  Ivan Jovanović
|
| Al-Shaab | Khalid Bin Mohammed Stadium | Sharjah | 5,000 |  Stefano Cusin
|
| Al-Shabab | Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium | Dubai | 8,011 |  Caio Júnior
|
| Al-Wahda | Al Nahyan Stadium | Abu Dhabi | 11,456 |  Javier Aguirre
|
| Al-Wasl | Zabeel Stadium | Dubai | 8,439 |  Gabriel Calderón
|
| Baniyas | Baniyas Stadium | Abu Dhabi | 8,954 |  Abdullah Mesfer
|
| Dibba Al Fujairah | Fujairah Club Stadium | Fujairah | 10,645 |  Theo Bücker
|
| Emirates | Emirates Club Stadium | Ras al-Khaimah | 5,127 | Paulo Comelli
|
| Fujairah | Fujairah Club Stadium | Fujairah | 10,645 |  Ivan Hašek
|
| Sharjah | Sharjah Stadium | Sharjah | 11,073 | Abdulaziz Al-Anbari
|
Foreign players edit
The number of foreign players is restricted to four per team, including a slot for a player from AFC countries. A team could use four foreign players on the field during each game including at least one player from the AFC country.
- Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.
- Players in italics were out of squad or left club within the season, after pre-season transfer window, or in the mid-season transfer window, and at least had one appearance.
^1 Luis Jiménez has Palestinian citizenship and was counted as Asian player.
^2 Célio Santos has East Timorese citizenship and was counted as Asian player.
^3 Caio Canedo has East Timorese citizenship and was counted as Asian player.
^4 Wanderley has Indonesian citizenship and was counted as Asian player.
League table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Ahli (C) | 26 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 60 | 20 | +40 | 66 | Qualification to the 2017 AFC Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Al-Ain | 26 | 18 | 3 | 5 | 53 | 24 | +29 | 57 | |
| 3 | Al-Wahda | 26 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 45 | 28 | +17 | 43 | Qualification to the 2017 AFC Champions League play-off round and the 2016–17 Arab Club Championship Group Stage |
| 4 | Al-Nasr | 26 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 47 | 36 | +11 | 41 | |
| 5 | Al-Shabab | 26 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 34 | 27 | +7 | 40 | |
| 6 | Al-Wasl | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 42 | 36 | +6 | 39 | Qualification to the 2017 GCC Champions League |
| 7 | Al-Jazira | 26 | 11 | 4 | 11 | 51 | 50 | +1 | 37 | Qualification to the 2017 AFC Champions League group stage |
| 8 | Al-Dhafra | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 37 | 39 | −2 | 34 | Qualification to the 2017 GCC Champions League |
| 9 | Baniyas | 26 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 41 | 47 | −6 | 33 | |
| 10 | Dibba Al Fujairah | 26 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 32 | 46 | −14 | 29 | |
| 11 | Sharjah | 26 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 32 | 40 | −8 | 28 | |
| 12 | Emirates | 26 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 34 | 47 | −13 | 27 | |
| 13 | Fujairah (R) | 26 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 43 | 62 | −19 | 26 | Relegation to the UAE Division One |
| 14 | Al-Shaab (R) | 26 | 1 | 4 | 21 | 22 | 71 | −49 | 7 |
Updated to match(es) played on 8 May 2016. Source: UAE League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Statistics edit
Top scorers edit
- As of matches played 8 May 2016
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals | Penalty Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastián Tagliabué
|
Al-Wahda | 25 | 1 |
| 2 | Ali Mabkhout
|
Al-Jazira | 23 | 5 |
| 3 | Fábio Lima
|
Al-Wasl | 20 | 1 |
| 4 | Wanderley
|
Sharjah | 15 | 2 |
| 5 | Joaquín Larrivey
|
Baniyas | 15 | 1 |
| 6 |  Patrick Friday Eze
|
Fujairah | 14 | 0 |
| 7 |  Makhete Diop
|
Al-Dhafra | 13 | 3 |
| 8 | Moussa Sow
|
Al-Ahli | 13 | 2 |
| 9 |  Ishak Belfodil
|
Baniyas | 11 | 1 |
| 10 | Nilmar
|
Al-Nasr | 11 | 0 |
Source: Soccerway
Fair Play Ranking edit
- As of matches played 8 May 2016
| Pos | Team | Yellow Cards | Red Cards | Points |
| 1 | Al-Ain | 41 | 2 | 46 |
| 2 | Al-Ahli | 60 | 2 | 64 |
| 3 | Al-Nasr | 57 | 5 | 69 |
| 4 | Dibba Al Fujairah | 51 | 7 | 69 |
| 5 | Sharjah | 59 | 5 | 71 |
| 6 | Al-Dhafra | 64 | 4 | 75 |
| 7 | Emirates | 65 | 5 | 76 |
| 8 | Al-Shaab | 62 | 6 | 77 |
| 9 | Fujairah | 69 | 4 | 79 |
| 10 | Al-Shabab | 69 | 5 | 80 |
| 11 | Baniyas | 71 | 5 | 83 |
| 12 | Al-Jazira | 72 | 5 | 84 |
| 13 | Al-Wasl | 62 | 10 | 84 |
| 14 | Al-Wahda | 82 | 5 | 94 |
Rules for fair play ranking: 1) 3 points for direct red card. 2) 2 points for indirect red card 3) 1 point for every yellow card
The team with the lowest number of points will be ranked top.