UAE Pro League unveils final shortlists for 2023-2024 season awards

DUBAI, 30th July, 2024 (WAM) — The UAE Pro League announced the nominees’ final shortlists for the 2023-2024 season awards, including Best Emirati Player, Best Foreign Player, Best Young Emirati Player, Best Young Player (Resident/Born), Best Goalkeeper, Best Coach, Best Goal, and the Fan’s Player of the Year.

The UAE Pro League Awards ceremony will take place on 10th August at Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental.

The final shortlist for the Golden Ball Award for the Best Emirati player will see competition between Al Wasl’s duo Fabio Lima, Ali Saleh, and Yahya Al Ghassani.

As for the Golden Ball handed to the Best Foreign Player, the shortlist includes Nicolas Gimenez from Al Wasl, Mehdi Ghayedi from Kalba, and Soufiane Rahimi from Al Ain.

Meanwhile, the Golden Boy Award for Best Young Emirati Player’s final shortlist includes Sultan Adil from Kalba, Bader Nasser from Shabab Al Ahli, and Mohammed Abbas Al Balooshi from Al Ain.

Regarding the Golden Boy Award recognising the Best Young Player who is a resident or born in the UAE, Al Wasl’s Siaka Sidibe vies against Guilherme Bala from Shabab Al Ahli and Seko Baba Gassama from Al Bataeh.

The Golden Glove Award for Best Goalkeeper will see fierce competition between Khaled Al Senaani from Al Wasl, Khalid Eisa from Al Ain, and Ali Khaseif from Al Jazira.

In the coaching category, the Leader Award for Best Coach will see Milos Milojevic from Al Wasl, vying against Alfred Schreuder from Al Nasr, and Goran Tufegdzic from Al Wahda.

Al Wasl’s Fabio Lima goes on a tough competition with Ismaeil Matar from Al Wahda and
Soufian Rahimi from Al Ain for the Fans’ Player of the Year Award.

In respect of the Fan’s Goal of the Year Award, the shortlist includes Al Wasl’s Fabio Lima’s goal against Shabab Al Ahli, Al Wahda Ismaeil Matar’s goal against Shabab Al Ahli, and Al Ain’s Soufiane Rahimi’s goal against Ajman.

The awards night will honour the best across 15 categories, which are segmented into three major groups: Voting-based category, Statistics-based category, and Criteria-based category.

The voting-based awards include the Golden Ball for the Best Emirati Player, Golden Ball for the Best Foreign Player, The Leader for the Best Coach, The Golden Boy for the U23 Best Emirati Player, The Golden Boy for the Best Player (Resident/Born), Golden Glove for the Best Goalkeeper, Fans’ Player of the Year, and Fan’s Goal of the Year.

Additionally, the UAE Pro League awards ceremony’s night will encompass statistics-based awards, such as the Golden Shoe for the ADNOC Pro League Top Scorer, the Silver Shoe for the U23 Pro League Top Scorer, Fantasy Manager of the Year, Fans’ League Award, the Golden Shoe for ADIB Cup Top Scorer, and the Dream Team Award.

The criteria-based award targets the Professional Excellence in Club Licensing. It will be handed to the club that meets the criteria of the club licensing system, quality control, fans’ attendance, best initiative to attract the fans, and overall ranking in all competitions except for the Super Cup match.

Amjad Saleh