Al Dhafra FC (Arabic: نادي الظفرة لكرة القدم) is an Emirati professional football club based in Madinat Zayed that competes in the UAE First Division League.[1]
 | |||
| Full name | Al Dhafra Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Al Fursan Al Gharib (The Western Knights) | ||
| Founded | 2000 | ||
| Ground | Al Dhafra Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 5,020 | ||
| Owner | Hamdan bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan | ||
| Manager | Paulo Comelli | ||
| League | UAE First Division League | ||
| 2022–23 | UAE Pro League, 14th (relegated) | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
|
| |||
Their futsal club participated in AFC Futsal Club Championship.
History
editAl 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]
Honours
edit- President's Cup
- UAE First Division League
- Champions (2): 2001–02, 2006–07
- UAE Vice Presidents Cup
- Champions (1): 2012
Season-by-season record
edit| Season | Lvl. | Tms. | Pos. | President's Cup | League Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | 1 | 12 | 8th | Semi-Finals | First Round |
| 2009–10 | 1 | 12 | 9th | Quarter-Finals | First Round |
| 2010–11 | 1 | 12 | 12th | Round of 16 | First Round |
| 2011–12 | 2 | 8 | 4th | Round of 16 | — |
| 2012–13 | 1 | 14 | 8th | Round of 16 | First Round |
| 2013–14 | 1 | 14 | 8th | Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals |
| 2014–15 | 1 | 14 | 11th | Semi-Finals | First Round |
| 2015–16 | 1 | 14 | 8th | Round of 16 | First Round |
| 2016–17 | 1 | 14 | 7th | Round of 16 | First Round |
| 2017–18 | 1 | 12 | 10th | Round of 16 | First Round |
| 2018–19 | 1 | 14 | 10th | Runner-ups | First Round |
| 2019–20a | 1 | 14 | 7th | Finalists | First Round |
| 2020–21 | 1 | 14 | 11th | Quarter-Finals | First Round |
| 2021–22 | 1 | 14 | 12th | Round of 16 | First Round |
| 2022–23 | 1 | 14 | 14th | Round of 16 | Quarter-Finals |
Notes^ 2019–20 UAE football season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates.
Current squad
editAs of 2023 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Managerial history
edit| Name | Nat. | From | To | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Piet Hamberg | 
|
2003 | 2004 | |
| Sebastião Rocha | 
|
2005 | 2006 | |
| Ammar Souayah | 
|
May 2007 | November 2007 | [5][6] |
| Ayman El Ramadi | 
|
November 2007 | August 2008 | [7] |
| Mohammad Kwid | 
|
September 2008 | December 2008 | [8] |
| Eid Baroot | 
|
December 2008 | June 2009 | [9] |
| Laurent Banide | 
|
July 2009 | February 2010 | [10] |
| Slobodan Halilović | 
|
February 2010 | March 2010 | |
| Michel Decastel | 
|
March 2010 | November 2010 | [11] |
| Alexandre Guimarães | 
|
November 2010 | April 2011 | |
| Mohammad Kwid |
|
April 2011 | June 2011 | [12] |
| Baltemar Brito |
|
June 2011 | December 2011 | [13][14] |
| Magdy Mostafa |
|
December 2011 | May 2012 | |
| Džemal Hadžiabdić | 
|
May 2012 | December 2012 | [15] |
| Laurent Banide |
|
December 2012 | April 2013 | [16] |
| Abdullah Mesfer |
|
April 2013 | May 2014 | |
| Anel Karabeg |
|
May 2014 | September 2014 | [17] |
| Marin Ion | 
|
September 2014 | January 2015 | [18] |
| Laurent Banide |
|
January 2015 | November 2015 | [19] |
| Mohammad Kwid |
|
November 2015 | January 2018 | |
| Gjoko Hadžievski | 
|
January 2018 | May 2018 | [20] |
| Vuk Rašović |
|
May 2018 | September 2020 | [21] |
| Mohammad Kwid |
|
September 2020 | October 2020 | [22] |
| Aleksandar Veselinović |
|
October 2020 | January 2021 | |
| Mohammad Kwid |
|
January 2021 | October 2021 | |
| Rogério Micale |
|
October 2021 | March 2022 | [23] |
| Badr Al Idrissi | 
|
March 2022 | May 2022 | [24] |
| Nebojša Vignjević |
|
July 2022 | October 2022 | |
| Aleksandar Veselinović |
|
October 2022 | February 2023 | |
| Badr Al Idrissi |
|
February 2023 | August 2023 | |
| Abdullah Mesfer |
|
August 2023 | November 2023 | |
| Paulo Comelli |
|
December 2023 | present |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Al Dhafra SCC". Soccerway. Perform. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ "Al Dhafra History". Al Dhafra. Al Dhafra FC. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
- ^ "الظفرة يستأنف ضد عدم منحه ترخيص المحترفين" (in Arabic). البيان. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
- ^ "14 نادياً تحصل على الترخيص الآسيوي" (in Arabic). البيان. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- ^ التونسي عمار السويح مدرباً للظفرة
- ^ الظفرة الاماراتي يقيل مدربه التونسي السويح
- ^ الرمادي: استقلت من الظفرة احتراماً لمهنة التدريب
- ^ الظفرة يتعاقد مع السوري قويض لقيادة فريق الكرة
- ^ عيد باروت مدرباً للظفرة محل قويض
- ^ إقالة لوران بانيد مدرب الظفرة
- ^ الظفرة ينهي تعاقده مع السويسري دي كاستال
- ^ السوري القويض مدربا للظفرة الإماراتي
- ^ مساعد مورينيو مدرباً للظفــرة
- ^ مساعد مورينيو مدرباً للظفــرة
- ^ الظفرة يقيل حاجي وبانيد بديلاً
- ^ بانيد مدرب الظفرة الجديد يجتمع مع الإدارة واللاعبين اليوم
- ^ خميس المنصوري: 8 لاعبين يغادرون الظفرة
- ^ Al Dhafra appoint Marin Ion to replace sacked Karabeg
- ^ الظفرة الإماراتي يقيل مدربه بانيد ويعين السوري قويض
- ^ رحيل قويض عن تدريب الظفرة.. وجوكيكا بديلا
- ^ Al Dhafra appoint Rasovic
- ^ نادي الظفرة يتعاقد مع المدرب محمد قويض
- ^ البرازيلي ميكالي مدرباً للظفرة خلفاً لقويض
- ^ الظفرة يقيل ميكالي ويعين المغربي الإدريسي مدرباً للفريق
External links
edit- Official website (in Arabic) (archived)