Old rivals Al-Jazira and Al-Ain face off in President’s Cup showdown

DUBAI: Not since 2016 have Al-Ain FC and Al-Jazira Club stood on opposite sides of a President’s Cup Final.

Ten years on, with scores to settle and silverware to claim, players from both clubs have spoken ahead of an occasion that promises to be the defining night of the UAE football season.

The 2025-26 President’s Cup Final brings together two of UAE football’s most storied clubs on the country’s biggest domestic stage. Al-Ain return to the final for a record-extending 16th time, while Al-Jazira — playing on home soil at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium — are bidding to end a 10-year wait for the title.

For Soufiane Rahimi, one of the most decorated attackers in UAE football, the President’s Cup is the one piece of silverware that has eluded him since joining Al-Ain in 2021. In that time, the Moroccan forward has won the UAE Pro League twice — including this season’s title — the UAE League Cup and the AFC Champions League Elite. Yet the President’s Cup remains. “It’s a dream of mine, and I truly hope we are crowned champions,” said Rahimi. “It’s the only trophy I haven’t won yet with Al-Ain, so lifting it is definitely one of the biggest goals I’m striving to achieve.”

Standing between Rahimi and that ambition is a club fueled by a decade of their own waiting and the memory of the last time these two clubs met in this fixture. In 2016, Al-Jazira defeated Al-Ain on penalties to lift the President’s Cup. A decade on, they return to the final with unfinished business of their own. “It’s been 10 years since the club won this cup, so it’s very important for us,” said forward Simon Banza. “And we play in our stadium, so it’s amazing.”

Few in the Al-Jazira squad understand the weight of the occasion better than Mohamed Elneny.