As the Season Ends, All Eyes Are On Arabian Gulf League Awards
As the Arabian Gulf League concluded with Al Ain winning the coveted champions shield and Al Dhafra pipping Emirates and Hatta to survival, all eyes turn to the biggest event in UAE football in the next few weeks; the Arabian Gulf League Awards ceremony, scheduled for May 10th at 19:45 at the Emirates Palace Theatre in Abu Dhabi. The ceremony, which draws extensive media coverage, will see the top players and coaches in the Arabian Gulf League crowned in six vote-based categories in addition to stats-based awards. The Pro League Committee had announced lists of nominees for each of the vote-based awards, and following voting by coaches, club captains, media and fans on the awards website, shortlists of three nominees were chosen, with the winners announced at the event which will be attended by top sports leaders in the country. The three-man shortlist for the Golden Ball - Emirati Player category includes Ali Mabkhout (Al Jazira), Omar Abdulrahman and Rayan Yaslam (Al Ain).
In the Golden Ball Award - Foreign Player Category, competition is heated between Fabio de Lima (Al Wasl), Marcus Berg (Al Ain) and Sebastian Tagliabue (Al Wahda). Competing for the Golden Boy Award are Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi (Al Wahda) and Jassim Yaqoob (Al Nasr), while the Golden Glove shortlist includes Mohammed Al Shamsi (Al Wahda), Fahd Al Dhanhani (Dibba) and Khaled Eisa (Al Ain). Nominees for the Fans' Player of the Year are Al Ain trio Omar Abdulrahman, Marcus Berg and Hussein El Shahat. And finally, the three coaches vying for the Leader Award are Abdulaziz Al Anbari (Sharjah), Laurentiu Reghecampf (Al Wahda) and Zoran Mamic (Al Ain). On the other side, the stats-based awards include the Dream Team featuring the best XI in the league, the Golden Shoe Award for the Arabian Gulf League top goalscorer, the Silver Shoe Award for the Arabian Gulf Reserve League top goalscorer, the Fantasy Arabian Gulf League Manager of the Year, the Club Licensing Award and the Online Content Award.
