Al-Wahda Football Club () is an Emirati professional football club based in Abu Dhabi, that competes in the UAE Pro League.Al Wahda FC (UAE): club profile, squad, fixtures and achieves Soccerway.com. Retrieved 16 April 2021 The club was founded in 1984 and plays its home games at the Al Nahyan Stadium. The club's colours are maroon, navy blue and white.
History
Foundation The first team created in Abu Dhabi was Al-Ahli in 1966, followed respectively by Al-Ittihad in 1968, Al-Falah and Al-Wahda in 1969. In 1974, a decision was made by the Minister of youth and sport to create Abu Dhabi SC by merging Al-Ittihad and Al-Wahda on 13 March 1974, and to create Al-Emirates SC by merging Al-Ahli and Al-Falah on 3 June 1974. In 1984, Abu Dhabi SC and Al-Emirates SC merged to create Al-Wahda FC.
Modern era In 1999, Al Wahda won their maiden UAE League title with 8 points ahead of their rivals Al Ain. In 2018, Al Wahda changed its official logo as part of a new club redesign.
Honours
Leagues UAE Pro League: 4 Champions: 1998–99, 2000–01, 2004–05, 2009–10
UAE Division One: 2 Champions: 1976–77, 1984–85
Cups UAE President's Cup: 2 Champions: 1999–2000, 2016–17
UAE Federation Cup: 3 Champions: 1986, 1995, 2001
UAE League Cup: 4 Champions: 2015–16, 2017–18, 2023–24, 2025–26
UAE Super Cup: 4 Champions: 2002, 2011, 2017, 2018
Regional
Qatar–UAE Challenge Cup:1 Champions: 2024–25
UAE–Qatar Challenge Shield:1 Champions: 2025–26
Home stadium
The Al Nahyan Stadium is the home of Al Wahda. Built in 1995 and renovated for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, it seats 15,895 supporters. It lays beside Al Wahda Mall, on Ahmed Bin Khalaf Al Otaiba Street, and is hence located in the centre of the city of Abu Dhabi.
Performance in AFC competitions Al Wahda has been qualifying for Asian competitions since the late 90s. They have made multiple appearances in the AFC Champions League. Al Wahda FC made two appearances in the Asian Cup Winners Cup, in the 1998–99 and the 2000–01 seasons, reaching the first round on both occasions.
Al Wahda's season-by-season record in international competitions 1 Group stage. Highest-ranked eliminated team in case of qualification, lowest-ranked qualified team in case of elimination.Arab Club Champions Cup Season Preliminary stages Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final 2017 Al Ahly1 2023 Bourj ASFAR CR Belouizdad1 Al ShababFIFA Club World Cup Season Preliminary stages Semi-finals / Fifth match Final / Third match 2010 Hekari United Seongnam Pachuca +SeasonAFC Champions LeagueAsian Club Championship1999–00First round2000-01Did not qualify2001–02Group stageAFC Champions League2002-03Did not qualify2004Quarter-finals2005Did not qualify2006Group stage2007Semi-finals2008Group stage2009Did not qualify2010Round of 3220112012Did not qualify201320142015Play-offs2016Did not qualify2017Round of 3220182019Round of 162020Withdrew2021Quarter-finals2022Did not qualify2023-24AFC Champions League Elite2024–25Did not qualify2025–26Qualified
Players As of 8 September, 2026 UAE Pro-League:
Out on loan
Players with Multiple Nationalities Facundo Kruspzky Gastón Suárez
Coaching staff
+PositionNameHead Coach Péricles ChamuscaGoalkeeper Coach Christopher Sales Abdullslam JumaaConditioning Coach Helder Fernandes SoaresChief Analyst Tiago Albuquerque FreireClub Doctor Waleed Al-Shikh Medical Therapist Ninad MartinoMassage Therapist Božo Sinkovic Vladimir Harfman
Managerial history * Served as caretaker coach. NameNat.FromToRef.Helmy Toulan19791984Heshmat Mohajerani 19841986Slobodan Halilović 19911992Mahmoud El-Gohary 19951996Jo Bonfrère 19981999Ruud Krol 19991999Dimitri Davidovic 19992000Rinus Israël 20002001Jo Bonfrère 2001February 2002Arie van der Zouwen*20022002Cemşir Muratoğlu 20022003Rolf Fringer 14 March 200330 June 2003Rolland Courbis 1 July 200330 November 2003Rinus Israël 1 December 200330 June 2004Ahmad Abdel-Halim 20042005Reiner Hollmann 1 July 20053 April 2006Richard Tardy 20064 August 2006Horst Köppel5 August 200611 October 2006Jo Bonfrère13 December 200710 December 2008Josef Hickersberger10 December 20081 June 2010László Bölöni29 May 2010 2 September 2010Bölöni appointed as head coach of Al-Wahda Tite 31 August 201019 October 2010Josef Hickersberger22 October 201030 June 2012Branko Ivanković20 May 201228 April 2013Josef Hickersberger28 April 201315 July 2013Karel Jarolím15 July 20139 November 2013José Peseiro11 November 201311 January 2015Sami Al-Jaber11 January 201519 May 2015Javier Aguirre18 June 201520 May 2017Laurențiu Reghecampf3 July 201725 November 2018Henk ten Cate7 December 201826 May 2019Maurice Steijn9 June 201917 October 2019Manuel Jiménez17 October 201918 July 2020Mark Wotte18 July 20208 September 2020Vuk Rašović8 September 202012 March 2021Henk ten Cate13 March 202125 October 2021Grégory Dufrennes26 October 20213 June 2022Carlos Carvalhal1 July 20222 October 2022Manuel Jiménez5 October 202212 March 2023Arno Buitenweg*13 March 202317 June 2023Pitso Mosimane 18 June 202310 November 2023 Arno Buitenweg*10 November 20235 January 2024Goran Tufegdžić5 January 20245 July 2024Ronny Deila5 July 202418 December 2024Darko Milanič18 December 202420 June 2025José Morais20 June 202512 December 2025Dimas*13 December 20252 February 2026Darko Milanič3 February 202618 April 2026Hassan Al-Abdooli*18 April 202619 May 2026Péricles Chamusca6 June 2026present
Pro-League record Season Level No. of teams PositionPresident's CupLeague Cup2008–091124thSemi-FinalsRunner-ups2009–101stSemi-FinalsSemi-Finals2010–115thRunner-ups2011–126thSemi-FinalsFirst Round2012–13147thSemi-Finals2013–142ndQuarter-FinalsFirst Round2014–154thRound of 162015–163rdChampions2016–175thChampionsFirst Round2017–18122ndSemi-FinalsChampions2018–19143rdRound of 16Runner-ups2019–205thQuarter-Finals2020–217thFirst Round2021–223rdRunner-upsSemi-Finals2022–23Preliminary Round Quarter-Finals2023–245thRound of 16Champions 2024–252025–26 Notes 2019–20 UAE football season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates
See also List of football clubs in the United Arab Emirates
References
External links