Al-Ain seek more dominance as UAE Pro League season kicks off

DUBAI: The eagerly anticipated 2026/27 ADNOC Pro League kicks off this weekend, with questions ranging from whether an era of Al-Ain dominance awaits, to what revolutionary upstarts United FC can achieve on their debut with Italy icon Andrea Pirlo, somehow, still at the helm.

The unbeaten Boss lived up to their nickname last season, racing clear of then-holders Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai Club on the finishing straight to earn a record-extending 15th top-flight crown.

Such dominance was reflected in Monday night’s 2025/26 UAE Pro League Awards, where they claimed five of the six voting-based prizes and boasted seven Dream Team members.

It was, however, their first title in four runnings.

On the eve of Friday’s opening fixtures, the champions’ ominous work in the transfer market — headlined by Austria utility man Valentino Lazaro and fearsome Greece center-forward Georgios Giakoumakis — makes more success seem highly plausible, if not inevitable.

It is up to the chasing pack to respond.

United FC are unlikely to feature in the title race, but significant scrutiny will fall on the country’s first privately owned club to reach the topflight after the rancorous storm surrounding Italy’s failed post-season move for Pirlo.

Additional intrigue comes from the UAE Football Association beating a host of suitors to the signature of Croatia’s miracle worker Zlatko Dalic as its new national team head coach.

The ex-Al-Ain supremo must swiftly revive spirits broken by the UAE’s painful failure to qualify for FIFA World Cup 2026, with Khaleeji 27 and the 2027 AFC Asian Cup on the horizon.

Elsewhere, Kalba, Ajman and Khor Fakkan will hope to emerge as dark horses, while Hatta will attempt to avoid the relegation fate suffered by five