# 2021–22 UAE Pro League

The 2021–22 UAE Pro League was the 47th edition of the UAE Pro League. Al Jazira are the defending champions after clinching their third title in the final day of last season. Al Ain would win its fourteenth title after beating the defending champions Al Jazira 5–0 the eleventh of May.

## Teams
### Team changes
#### Promoted to the Pro League

Both Al Urooba and Emirates secured promotion on the same day after beating Al Dhaid 3–0 and Masafi 6–0 on the second last matchday. Emirates is returning after getting relegated two seasons ago in 2018–19 season meanwhile Al Urooba is getting promoted back to the top tier after almost three decades of absence, only previously being in the competition in 1992–93 season.

#### Relegated to the First Division

On 7 May, despite winning 4–0 against Kalba, Hatta was confirmed relegated back to the First Division after only spending two seasons on the top flight. On 11 May, Fujairah got relegated after a 2–1 defeat to Ajman, both clubs were battling relegation and needed a victory.

### Stadia and locations

    Note: Table lists clubs in alphabetical order.
| Team | Home city | Stadium | Capacity |
| Ajman | Ajman | Ajman Stadium | 5,537 |
| Al Ain | Al-Ain | Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium | 25,965 |
| Al Dhafra | Madinat Zayed | Al Dhafra Stadium | 5,020 |
| Al Jazira | Abu Dhabi (Al Nahyan) | Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium | 42,056 |
| Al Nasr | Dubai (Al Nasr) | Al-Maktoum Stadium | 15,058 |
| Al Urooba | Qidfa / Mirbah (Fujairah) | Fujairah Club Stadium | 10,645 |
| Al Wahda | Abu Dhabi (Al Nahyan) | Al Nahyan Stadium | 12,201 |
| Al Wasl | Dubai (Zabeel) | Zabeel Stadium | 8,439 |
| Baniyas | Abu Dhabi (Al Shamkha) | Baniyas Stadium | 10,000 |
| Emirates | Ras Al Khaimah | Emirates Club Stadium | 5,200 |
| Kalba | Kalba | Ittihad Kalba Stadium | 8,500 |
| Khor Fakkan | Khor Fakkan | SBM Al Qassimi Stadium | 7,500 |
| Shabab Al Ahli | Dubai (Deira) | Al-Rashid Stadium | 12,052 |
| Sharjah | Sharjah | Sharjah Stadium | 20,000 |

## Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Head Coach | Captain | Kit Manufacturer | Shirt Sponsor |
| Ajman | Goran Tufegdžić | Ali Al-Hosani | Adidas | Ajman Bank |
| Al Ain | Serhiy Rebrov | Ismail Ahmed | Nike | First Abu Dhabi Bank |
| Al Dhafra | Badr Al Idrisi | Ahmed Ali | Adidas | Ruwais |
| Al Jazira | Marcel Keizer | Ali Khasif | Puma | Healthpoint |
| Al Nasr | Salem Rabie | Tareq Ahmed | N45 | Emirates Islamic |
| Al Urooba | Fathi Al-Obeidi | Ahmed Khamis | uhlsport | No sponsor |
| Al Wahda | Grégory Dufrennes | Mohammed Barqesh | Umbro | No sponsor |
| Al Wasl | Odair Hellmann | Ali Salmeen | Yellow | Emaar |
| Baniyas | Daniel Isăilă | Fawaz Awana | Macron | No sponsor |
| Emirates | Ayman El Ramady | Abdullah Mohammed | uhlsport | No sponsor |
| Kalba | Jorge Da Silva | Mansor Abbas | Adidas | Caltex |
| Khor Fakkan | Gabriel Calderón | Saif Mohammed | Macron | No sponsor |
| Shabab Al Ahli | Mahdi Ali | Majed Naser | Nike | Nissan and Omniyat |
| Sharjah | Cosmin Olăroiu | Shahin Abdulrahman | Adidas | Saif Zone |

### Foreign players

All teams could register as many foreign players as they want, but could only register four professional players in the roster.
* Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.
* Players in italics were out of the squad or left the club within the season, after the pre-season transfer window, or in the mid-season transfer window, and at least had one appearance.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Former Players |
| Ajman | Firas Ben Larbi | Bubacarr Trawally | Miral Samardžić | Walid Azaro | Yorleys Mena Rabih Ataya |
| Al Ain | Cristian Guanca | Soufiane Rahimi | Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba | Danilo Arboleda | Yassine Meriah |
| Al Dhafra | Issam El Adoua | Lucas Cândido | Makhete Diop | Guilherme Augusto | Imoh Ezekiel Leonardo |
| Al Jazira | João Victor | Abdoulay Diaby | Miloš Kosanović | Thulani Serero | |
| Al Nasr | Mehdi Abeid | Ryan Mendes | Dia Saba | Tozé | |
| Al Urooba | Ali Madan | Appolinaire Kack | Rédah Atassi | Kayke | Kingsley Eduwo |
| Al Wahda | João Pedro | Adrien Silva | Fábio Martins | Omar Kharbin | José Ángel Jurado |
| Al Wasl | Adryelson | Ramiro | Gilberto | Michel Araújo | William Pottker |
| Baniyas | Gastón Álvarez Suárez | Nicolás Giménez | Saša Ivković | Isaac Kiese Thelin | |
| Emirates | Zakaria Boulahia | Joseph Guédé Gnadou | Edarlyn Reyes | Walid Sabbar | Adam Ennafati |
| Kalba | Robert Žulj | Bayron Garcés | Wilder Cartagena | Peniel Mlapa | Roland Varga |
| Khor Fakkan | Dodô | Souza | Douglas Tanque | Aylton Boa Morte | Borja Valle Luis Fernández Osama Rashid Paulinho |
| Shabab Al Ahli | Federico Cartabia | Ahmad Nourollahi | Mehdi Ghayedi | Thomas Lehne Olsen | Carlos Eduardo Azizjon Ganiev |
| Sharjah | Bernard | Caio | Ben Malango | Otabek Shukurov | |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Date of vacancy | Manner of departure | Pos. | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Ajman | Ayman El Ramady | 15 May 2021 | End of contract | Pre-season | Goran Tufegdžić | 28 May 2021 |
| Al Ain | Pedro Emanuel | 5 June 2021 | End of contract | Pre-season | Serhiy Rebrov | 6 June 2021 |
| Emirates | Gjoko Hadžievski | 30 June 2021 | End of contract | Pre-season | Tarik Sektioui | 18 August 2021 |
| Al Dhafra | Mohammad Kwid | 1 October 2021 | Sacked | 11th | Rogério Micale | 2 October 2021 |
| Sharjah | Abdulaziz Al Anberi | 23 October 2021 | Mutual consent | 5th | Cosmin Olăroiu | 10 November 2021 |
| Al Wahda | Henk ten Cate | 25 October 2021 | Sacked | 4th | Grégory Dufrennes | 26 October 2021 |
| Emirates | Tarik Sektioui | 26 December 2021 | Resigned | 14th | Ayman El Ramady | 27 December 2021 |
| Khor Fakkan | Caio Zanardi | 28 December 2021 | Sacked | 9th | Abdulmajeed Al-Nimr | 28 December 2021 |
| Khor Fakkan | Abdulmajeed Al-Nimr | 2 February 2022 | End of caretaker spell | 10th | Gabriel Calderón | 2 February 2022 |
| Al Nasr | Ramón Díaz | 7 February 2022 | Sacked | 9th | Salem Rabie | 8 February 2022 |
| Al Dhafra | Rogério Micale | 2 March 2022 | Sacked | 12th | Badr Al Idrisi | 2 March 2022 |
$_{Notes1.^Caretaker}$

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Al Ain (C) | 26 | 20 | 5 | 1 | 57 | 17 | +40 | 65 | Qualification for AFC Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Sharjah | 26 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 46 | 25 | +21 | 55 | |
| 3 | Al Wahda | 26 | 15 | 8 | 3 | 51 | 25 | +26 | 53 | |
| 4 | Al Jazira | 26 | 14 | 3 | 9 | 42 | 34 | +8 | 45 | |
| 5 | Shabab Al Ahli | 26 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 33 | 30 | +3 | 42 | |
| 6 | Al Wasl | 26 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 36 | 30 | +6 | 36 | |
| 7 | Ajman | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 35 | 40 | −5 | 35 | |
| 8 | Al Nasr | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 42 | 38 | +4 | 33 | |
| 9 | Baniyas | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 33 | 39 | −6 | 31 | |
| 10 | Khor Fakkan | 26 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 38 | 49 | −11 | 28 | |
| 11 | Kalba | 26 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 32 | 38 | −6 | 28 | |
| 12 | Al Dhafra | 26 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 28 | 36 | −8 | 24 | |
| 13 | Al Urooba (R) | 26 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 25 | 57 | −32 | 18 | Relegation to UAE Division 1 |
| 14 | Emirates (R) | 26 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 21 | 61 | −40 | 10 | Relegation to UAE Division 1 |

## Results

| Home \ Away | AJM | AIN | DHA | JAZ | NAS | URO | WAH | WAS | YAS | EMI | KAL | KHF | SAD | SHR |
| Ajman | | 0–4 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 4–3 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Al Ain | 2–1 | | 1–0 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Al Dhafra | 3–0 | 0–1 | | 0–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Al Jazira | 3–0 | 1–5 | 2–0 | | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Al Nasr | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | | 5–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| Al Urooba | 0–3 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | | 0–4 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Al Wahda | 3–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 4–2 | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| Al Wasl | 2–4 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 5–0 | 1–1 | | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Baniyas | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 0–4 |
| Emirates | 1–3 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 2–2 | | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 |
| Kalba | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Khor Fakkan | 2–0 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | | 1–2 | 1–3 |
| Shabab Al Ahli | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | | 4–3 |
| Sharjah | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 5–0 | 0–3 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | |
* ↑ The Emirates FA announced that Al Dhafra has won the match 3–0 against the Emirates due to an administrative error from Emirates Club. The match originally finished as a 1–1 draw.

## Seasonal statistics
### Positions by round

* Leader and qualification to AFC Champions League group stage
* qualification to AFC Champions League Play off round
* Relegation to UAE First Division League
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| Al Ain | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Sharjah | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Al Wahda | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Al Jazira | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Shabab Al Ahli | 7 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Al Wasl | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Ajman | 2 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 |
| Al Nasr | 13 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| Baniyas | 8 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Khor Fakkan | 11 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 |
| Kalba | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 |
| Al Dhafra | 12 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| Al Urooba | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| Emirates | 9 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |

### Top scorers

    As of 25 May 2022
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Kodjo Laba | Al Ain | 26 |
| 2 | Omar Kharbin | Al Wahda | 15 |
| 3 | João Pedro | Al Wahda | 14 |
| 3 | Caio Lucas | Sharjah | 14 |
| 5 | Firas Ben Larbi | Ajman | 12 |
| 5 | Tozé | Al Nasr | 12 |
| 7 | Dia Saba | Al Nasr | 11 |
| 8 | Sebastián Tagliabúe | Al Nasr | 10 |
| 8 | Ali Mabkhout | Al Jazira | 10 |
| 8 | Abdoulay Diaby | Al Jazira | 10 |

### Clean sheets

    As of 25 May 2022
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Khalid Eisa | Al Ain | 12 |
| 2 | Adel Al-Hosani | Sharjah | 9 |
| 3 | Mohammed Al-Shamsi | Al Wahda | 7 |
| 3 | Ali Khasif | Al Jazira | 7 |
| 5 | Ali Al-Hosani | Ajman | 6 |
| 6 | Ibrahim Essa | Al Wasl | 5 |
| 6 | Mohamed Qayoudhi | Al Wasl | 5 |
| 6 | Abdullah Al-Tamimi | Al Nasr | 5 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Round |
| Kodjo Laba | Al Ain | Al Urooba | 3–3 (A) | 24 September 2021 | 5 |
| Kodjo Laba | Al Ain | Al Jazira | 5–1 (A) | 20 November 2021 | 10 |
| Kodjo Laba | Al Ain | Al Jazira | 5–0 (H) $^4$ | 11 May 2022 | 23 |
| Robert Žulj | Kalba | Emirates | 3–1 (H) | 11 May 2022 | 23 |

#### Notes

$^4$ (H) – Home team (A) – Away team

## Awards

| Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month | Goalkeeper of the Month | Goalkeeper of the Month | References |
| Month | Manager | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | References |
| August | Serhiy Rebrov | Al Ain | Kodjo Laba | Al Ain | Ali Khasif | Al Jazira | |
| September | Serhiy Rebrov | Al Ain | Soufiane Rahimi | Al Ain | Ali Khasif | Al Jazira | |
| October | Serhiy Rebrov | Al Ain | Kouame Autonne | Al Ain | Khalid Eisa | Al Ain | |
| November | Serhiy Rebrov | Al Ain | Soufiane Rahimi | Al Ain | Khalid Eisa | Al Ain | |

## Number of teams by Emirates

| | Emirate | Number of teams | Teams |
| 1 | Abu Dhabi | 5 | Al Ain, Al Jazira, Al Wahda, Baniyas and Al Dhafra |
| 2 | Dubai | 3 | Shabab Al Ahli, Al Nasr and Al Wasl |
| 2 | Sharjah | 3 | Sharjah, Kalba and Khor Fakkan |
| 4 | Ajman | 1 | Ajman |
| 4 | Fujairah | 1 | Al Urooba |
| 4 | Ras Al Khaimah | 1 | Emirates |