Al Dhafra FC

Al Dhafra FC (Arabic: نادي الظفرة لكرة القدم‎) is a professional football club based in Madinat Zayed, United Arab Emirates. As of the 2020–21 season they play in the UAE Arabian Gulf League.[1] Their futsal club participated in AFC Futsal Club Championship.

Al Dhafra FC
نادي الظفرة لكرة القدم
Full nameAl Dhafra Sport & Culture Club
Nickname(s)Al Fursan Al Gharib
(The Western Knights)
Founded2000
GroundAl Dhafra Stadium
Capacity5,020
OwnerHamdan bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
ManagerRogério Micale
LeagueUAE Pro League
2020–21UAE Pro League, 11th
WebsiteClub website

History

Al Dhafra FC was established in 2000, as part of a policy to promote sports across the country and the Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi had no team, so Al Dhafra is the first and only club to be located in the western region.[2] For most of its history the club was classified as a semi-professional club according to the UAE Pro League committee and did not have licenses to compete in the AFC competitions but the team had continued to appeal for a license since qualifying for the UAE President's Cup for the first time in 2019.[3] Around 2020 the club finally obtained their licenses, thus all pro league teams can compete in AFC competitions.[4]

Current squad

First team squad

As of UAE Pro-League:

No Position Player Nation
1 GK Khaled Al-Senani  United Arab Emirates
2 DF Mohammed Saif  United Arab Emirates
3 DF Mohamed Adel (on loan from Al Wahda)  United Arab Emirates
4 MF Sultan Al Ghaferi  United Arab Emirates
5 DF Musallem Fayez  United Arab Emirates
6 DF Khalid Butti  United Arab Emirates
7 MF Amran Al-Jassasi  Oman
8 FW Mohamed Al-Junaibi  United Arab Emirates
11 FW Saeed Al-Kathiri  United Arab Emirates
12 MF Benjamin Ayim  Ghana
14 MF Eissa Al-Otaiba  United Arab Emirates
15 DF Hamad Al-Marzouqi  United Arab Emirates
16 MF Mohammed Al-Wahshi  United Arab Emirates
17 DF Khalaf Al-Hosani  United Arab Emirates
18 MF Ahmed Ali  United Arab Emirates
24 MF Khalid Al Darmaki  United Arab Emirates
30 GK Abdullah Sultan  United Arab Emirates
33 DF Issam El Adoua  Morocco
39 FW Imoh Ezekiel  Nigeria
41 DF Pedro Pavlov  Argentina
77 FW Hamdan Al-Muharrami  United Arab Emirates
99 FW Makhete Diop  Senegal
— MF Suhail Al-Mansoori  United Arab Emirates

Reserve U21
No Position Player Nation
19 DF Mohammed Msarri  United Arab Emirates
21 MF Ahmed Amer  United Arab Emirates
22 MF Mohammed Yousuf  United Arab Emirates
26 MF Mohammed Al-Marzouqi  United Arab Emirates
27 MF Ibrahim Al-Hammadi  United Arab Emirates
42 GK Hareb Al-Hosani  United Arab Emirates
44 DF Rashed Abdullah (on loan from Al Wahda)  United Arab Emirates
70 GK Jarah Al-Hammadi  United Arab Emirates
71 FW Saleh Al-Hosani  United Arab Emirates
88 MF Sinisa Jolacic  Serbia
90 FW Hassan Sameh  Egypt
97 MF Khater Subait  United Arab Emirates

Unregistered players
No Position Player Nation
93 DF Mohamed Bouherrafa  France

Out on loan
No Position Player Nation
36 GK Zayed Al-Hammadi (on loan to Khor Fakkan)  United Arab Emirates
— DF Sultan Al-Sowaidi (on loan to Emirates)  United Arab Emirates

Managers

Pro-League Record

Season Div. Tms. Pos. President's Cup League Cup
2008–09 PL 12 8th Semi-Finals First Round
2009–10 PL 12 9th Quarter-Finals First Round
2010–11 PL 12 12th Round of 16 First Round
2011–12 D1 8 4th Round of 16 —
2012–13 PL 14 8th Round of 16 First Round
2013–14 PL 14 8th Semi-Finals Semi-Finals
2014–15 PL 14 11th Semi-Finals First Round
2015–16 PL 14 8th Round of 16 First Round
2016–17 PL 14 7th Round of 16 First Round
2017–18 PL 12 10th Round of 16 First Round
2018–19 PL 14 10th Runner-ups First Round
2019–20a PL 14 7th Finalists First Round
2020–21 PL 14 11th Quarter-Finals First Round

Notes^ 2019–20 UAE football season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates.

Key

  • Pos. = Position
  • Tms. = Number of teams
  • PL = Pro-League
  • D1 = UAE Division 1

Honours

  • Champions: 2001–02, 2006–07
  • Champions: 2012

References

  1. "Al Dhafra SCC". Soccerway. Perform. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  2. "Al Dhafra History". Al Dhafra. Al Dhafra FC. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  3. "الظفرة يستأنف ضد عدم منحه ترخيص المحترفين" (in Arabic). البيان. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  4. "14 نادياً تحصل على الترخيص الآسيوي" (in Arabic). البيان. Retrieved 20 October 2020.


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