# 2022–23 UAE Pro League

The 2022–23 UAE Pro League was the 48th edition of the UAE Pro League. Al Ain were the defending champions after winning their fourteenth title last season. There was a mid-season break due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Shabab Al Ahli won the Pro League for the eighth time.

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

Dibba Al Fujairah would get promoted back after winning the First Division league by beating Al Arabi 2–1, they would return after being absent for three seasons. Al Bataeh would secure promotion on the last day after beating Al Hamriyah 4–2, this will be their first ever season on the top flight in the clubs history.

#### Relegated to the First Division

Emirates would get relegated back to the First Division after a 0–1 home defeat to Al Urooba on the 17th of May. Al Urooba would also get relegated after losing to Al Dhafra 2–1 on the final matchday.

### 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 Bataeh | Al Bataeh | Al Bataeh Stadium | 2,000 |
| 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 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 |
| Dibba Al Fujairah | Dibba Al-Fujairah | New Dibba Stadium | 9,500 |
| 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 | Bandar Al-Ahbabi | Nike | First Abu Dhabi Bank |
| Al Bataeh | Said Chkhit | Khamis Esmaeel | Nike | N/A |
| Al Dhafra | Aleksandar Veselinović | Ahmed Ali | Kelme | ADNOC |
| Al Jazira | Marcel Keizer | Ali Khasif | Zat Outfit | Healthpoint |
| Al Nasr | Goran Tomić | Tareq Ahmed | N45 | Emirates Islamic |
| Al Wahda | Arno Buitenweg | Mohammed Barqesh | Adidas | N/A |
| Al Wasl | Juan Antonio Pizzi | Ali Salmeen | Macron | Dubai Real Estate Centre |
| Baniyas | Daniel Isăilă | Fawaz Awana | Macron | ADIB |
| Dibba Al Fujairah | Hassan Al Abdouli | Mohamed Al Rowaihy | uhlsport | Fujairah Investment |
| Kalba | Farhad Majidi | Mansor Abbas | Errea | Caltex |
| Khor Fakkan | Abdulaziz Al Yassi | Saif Mohammed | Adidas | N/A |
| Shabab Al Ahli | Leonardo Jardim | Majed Naser | Nike | Nissan Dubai Integrated Economic Zones |
| Sharjah | Cosmin Olăroiu | Shahin Abdulrahman | Adidas | SAIF Zone University Hospital Sharjah |

### Foreign players

* 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 | Player 5 | Former players |
| Ajman | Miral Samardžić | Firas Ben Larbi | Walid Azaro | Ali Madan | Prestige Mboungou | |
| Al Ain | Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba | Soufiane Rahimi | Andriy Yarmolenko | El Mehdi El Moubarik | Tin Jedvaj | Danilo Arboleda |
| Al Bataeh | Anatole Abang | Lourency | Artur Jorge | João Novais | Kwame Bonsu | Thibang Phete |
| Al Dhafra | Mohamed Rayhi | Cláudio | Walid Karoui | Tiago Leonço | Georgi Milanov | Mitchell te Vrede Lucas Cândido |
| Al Jazira | Miloš Kosanović | Thulani Serero | Florin Tănase | Achraf Bencharki | Aymen Hussein | Filip Novák Abdoulay Diaby |
| Al Nasr | Tozé | Ryan Mendes | Adel Taarabt | Samir Memišević | Peniel Mlapa | Jája Silva Dembo Darboe Lucão |
| Al Wahda | João Pedro | Adrien Silva | Allan | Matheus Pereira | | Fábio Martins Maracás Pizzi Ahmed Refaat |
| Al Wasl | Djamel Benlamri | Soufiane Bouftini | Gerónimo Poblete | Tomás Chancalay | Felipe Gutiérrez | Gilberto Gabrielzinho |
| Baniyas | Saša Ivković | Gastón Álvarez Suárez | Nicolás Giménez | Rafael Elias | Opa Nguette | |
| Dibba Al Fujairah | Marcelo | Jája Silva | Edu | Pedro Castro | China | Joey Sleegers Aleksandar Šćekić Saliou Guindo Kabelo Seakanyeng |
| Kalba | Filip Kiss | Daniel Bessa | Igor Rossi | Alexandru Cicâldău | Abdoulay Diaby | Peniel Mlapa |
| Khor Fakkan | Dodô | Aylton Boa Morte | Lazar Rosić | Fábio Abreu | Mehdi Abeid | Ramon Lopes Panagiotis Tachtsidis |
| Shabab Al Ahli | Federico Cartabia | Azizjon Ganiev | Ahmad Nourollahi | Omar Khribin | Jason Denayer | |
| Sharjah | Caio | Paco Alcácer | Miralem Pjanić | Kostas Manolas | Djaniny | Makhete Diop |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Date of vacancy | Manner of departure | Pos. | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Al Nasr | Salem Rabie | 19 May 2022 | Caretaker tenure ended | Pre-season | Thorsten Fink | 19 May 2022 |
| Al Wahda | Grégory Dufrennes | 19 May 2022 | Caretaker tenure ended | Pre-season | Carlos Carvalhal | 1 July 2022 |
| Kalba | Jorge da Silva | 26 May 2022 | End of contract | Pre-season | Farhad Majidi | 8 June 2022 |
| Khor Fakkan | Gabriel Calderón | 26 May 2022 | End of contract | Pre-season | Abdulaziz Al Yassi | 14 June 2022 |
| Shabab Al Ahli | Mahdi Ali | 26 May 2022 | End of contract | Pre-season | Leonardo Jardim | 8 June 2022 |
| Al Dhafra | Mohammad Kwid | 26 May 2022 | End of contract | Pre-season | Nebojša Vignjević | 11 July 2022 |
| Al Bataeh | Tarek Hadhiri | 26 May 2022 | End of contract | Pre-season | Caio Zanardi | 27 May 2022 |
| Al Wasl | Odair Hellmann | 28 June 2022 | Mutual consent | Pre-season | Juan Antonio Pizzi | 1 July 2022 |
| Al Wahda | Carlos Carvalhal | 3 October 2022 | Sacked | 9th | Manolo Jiménez | 5 October 2022 |
| Dibba Al Fujairah | Zoran Popović | 8 October 2022 | Sacked | 14th | Grégory Dufrennes | 8 October 2022 |
| Al Dhafra | Nebojša Vignjević | 30 October 2022 | Sacked | 14th | Aleksandar Veselinović | 30 October 2022 |
| Al Bataeh | Caio Zanardi | 4 November 2022 | Sacked | 10th | Saeed Shakhit | 5 November 2022 |
| Al Nasr | Thorsten Fink | 5 November 2022 | Sacked | 12th | Goran Tomić | 5 November 2022 |
| Dibba Al Fujairah | Grégory Dufrennes | 14 January 2023 | Mutual consent | 13th | Hassan Al Abdouli | 15 January 2023 |
| Al Wahda | Manolo Jiménez | 12 March 2023 | Sacked | 4th | Arno Buitenweg | 13 March 2023 |
$_{Notes1.^Interim}$

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Shabab Al Ahli (C) | 26 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 53 | 25 | +28 | 57 | Qualification for AFC Champions League play off round |
| 2 | Al Ain | 26 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 67 | 31 | +36 | 54 | Qualification for AFC Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Al Wahda | 26 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 48 | 26 | +22 | 52 | |
| 4 | Al Wasl | 26 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 53 | 32 | +21 | 47 | |
| 5 | Al Jazira | 26 | 14 | 4 | 8 | 50 | 39 | +11 | 46 | |
| 6 | Ajman | 26 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 41 | 38 | +3 | 44 | |
| 7 | Sharjah | 26 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 42 | 21 | +21 | 43 | Qualification for AFC Champions League play off round |
| 8 | Kalba | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 32 | 41 | −9 | 33 | |
| 9 | Al Nasr | 26 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 27 | 43 | −16 | 27 | |
| 10 | Khor Fakkan | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 28 | 44 | −16 | 25 | |
| 11 | Baniyas | 26 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 34 | 46 | −12 | 24 | |
| 12 | Al Bataeh | 26 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 30 | 57 | −27 | 21 | |
| 13 | Dibba Al Fujairah (R) | 26 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 20 | 44 | −24 | 20 | Relegation to UAE Division 1 |
| 14 | Al Dhafra (R) | 26 | 3 | 3 | 20 | 26 | 64 | −38 | 12 | Relegation to UAE Division 1 |
* ↑ since Al Ain won the 2021–22 UAE Pro League, they qualified directly to the AFC Champions League group stage meanwhile this seasons league champions will qualify for the play-off round.
* ↑ since Sharjah won both President's Cups, they qualified for the AFC Champions League play-off round.

## Results

| Home \ Away | AJM | AIN | BTH | DHA | JAZ | NAS | WAH | WAS | YAS | DAF | KAL | KHF | SAD | SHR |
| Ajman | | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–3 |
| Al Ain | 5–1 | | 5–2 | 7–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Al Bataeh | 1–1 | 2–3 | | 1–1 | 2–4 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–6 | 0–1 |
| Al Dhafra | 0–1 | 1–4 | 1–2 | | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 0–1 |
| Al Jazira | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–2 | | 4–3 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 3–3 |
| Al Nasr | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 |
| Al Wahda | 0–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 4–0 | | 3–3 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Al Wasl | 2–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 |
| Baniyas | 2–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–4 |
| Dibba Al Fujairah | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–4 | | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 |
| Kalba | 0–2 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 5–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–4 |
| Khor Fakkan | 2–2 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 4–3 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–5 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| Shabab Al Ahli | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | | 0–2 |
| Sharjah | 4–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | |

## 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 | Sharjah | 4 | Sharjah, Kalba, Khor Fakkan and Al Bataeh |
| 3 | Dubai | 3 | Shabab Al Ahli, Al Nasr and Al Wasl |
| 4 | Ajman | 1 | Ajman |
| 4 | Fujairah | 1 | Dibba Al Fujairah |

## Seasonal statistics
### Positions by round

* Leader and qualification to AFC Champions League Play off round
* qualification to AFC Champions League
* 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 |
| Shabab Al Ahli | 14 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Al Ain | 7 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Al Wahda | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Al Wasl | 6 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Al Jazira | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 5 |
| Ajman | 8 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Sharjah | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 7 |
| Kalba | 13 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Al Nasr | 9 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 |
| Khor Fakkan | 11 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 |
| Baniyas | 4 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Al Bataeh | 1 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 |
| Dibba Al Fujairah | 12 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 |
| Al Dhafra | 10 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |

### Top scorers

    As of 15 May 2023
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Kodjo Laba | Al Ain | 28 |
| 2 | Ali Mabkhout | Al Jazira | 27 |
| 3 | Fábio Lima | Al Wasl | 19 |
| 4 | João Pedro | Al Wahda | 15 |
| 5 | Lourency | Al Bataeh | 13 |
| 6 | Walid Azaro | Ajman | 12 |
| 6 | Firas Ben Larbi | Ajman | 12 |
| 8 | Soufiane Rahimi | Al Ain | 11 |
| 8 | Federico Cartabia | Shabab Al Ahli | 11 |
| 8 | Andriy Yarmolenko | Al Ain | 11 |
| 11 | Caio Lucas | Sharjah | 9 |
| 11 | Tomás Chancalay | Al Wasl | 9 |
| 11 | Ahmed Al-Naqbi | Kalba | 9 |

### Clean sheets

    As of 14 May 2023
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Mohammed Al-Shamsi | Al Wahda | 9 |
| 2 | Adel Al-Hosani | Sharjah | 7 |
| 2 | Khalid Eisa | Al Ain | 7 |
| 2 | Khaled Al-Senani | Al Wasl | 7 |
| 5 | Darwish Bin Habib | Sharjah | 6 |
| 5 | Ali Al-Hosani | Ajman | 6 |
| 5 | Ali Khasif | Al Jazira | 6 |
| 8 | Eisa Al-Hooti | Kalba | 5 |
| 8 | Ahmed Al-Hosani | Khor Fakkan | 5 |
| 8 | Hassan Hamza | Shabab Al Ahli | 5 |
| 8 | Ahmed Shambih | Al Nasr | 5 |

### Hat tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Round |
| Ali Mabkhout | Al Jazira | Khor Fakkan | 4–2 (A) | 9 September 2022 | 2 |
| Kodjo Laba$^4$ | Al Ain | Al Dhafra | 7–0 (H) | 10 September 2022 | 2 |
| Fábio Lima | Al Wasl | Al Dhafra | 4–0 (H) | 8 October 2022 | 5 |
| Rafael Elias | Baniyas | Dibba Al Fujarah | 4–1 (A) | 22 October 2022 | 7 |
| Ali Mabkhout | Al Jazira | Al Nasr | 4–3 (H) | 7 April 2023 | 22 |

#### Notes

$^4$ Player scored 4 goals (H) – Home team (A) – Away team