The UAE Pro League honored the stars of the 2024-2025 season in a distinguished ceremony held on Saturday at the Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental in Abu Dhabi, attended by former and current players and global stars such as Italian Andrea Pirlo, who will be involved in the UAE football scene next season as the coach of United FC playing in the first division.

The ceremony was also attended by Syrian artist Ayman Zidan, sports and community figures, and representatives of sponsoring companies supporting the league. The event was hosted by media personalities Mohamed Al Houti and Nada Al Sheibani.

The event began with a welcoming speech by Abdullah Nasser Al Junaibi, Vice President of the UAE Football Association and Chairman of the Pro League, who thanked the wise leadership for their support of sports in general and football in particular. He revealed that the ADNOC Pro League has developed remarkably in recent years, reaching a marketing value of 2.6 billion dirhams, with 730 million views on the Pro League platforms and 44 million TV broadcast views of the championship matches.

Al Junaibi confirmed that this progress would not have been achieved without the efforts of the Football Association, the Pro League, clubs, fans, and media, all contributing to the current scene that everyone in UAE football is proud of.

Awards Distribution

The individual awards were then distributed, with Shabab Al Ahli monopolizing the individual awards chosen by technicians, specialists, and media, which was expected after the “Knights” won the ADNOC League quadruple, the President’s Cup, the UAE Super Cup, and the UAE-Qatar Super Cup.

Winners included:

– Golden Ball for Best Player: Iranian Sardar Azmoun (Shabab Al Ahli), ahead of his compatriot Mehdi Ghaedi (Khor Fakkan) and Caio Lucas (Sharjah).
– Golden Boy Award for Best Player Under 23: Guilherme da Silva Bala (Shabab Al Ahli), ahead of Brahima Diarra (Al Wahda) and Siaka Sidibe (Al Wasl).
– Golden Glove for Best Goalkeeper: Hamad Al-Maqbali (Shabab Al Ahli), ahead of Ali Khaseif (Al Jazira) and Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah).
– Best Coach Award: Portuguese Paulo Sousa (Shabab Al Ahli), ahead of Milos Milojevic (Al Wasl) and Olaroiu Cosmin (Sharjah).

Audience Choice

Egyptian Mohamed Elneny (Al Jazira) won the Best Player award chosen by the audience, ahead of Lucas Pimenta (Al Wahda) and Fabio Lima (Al Wasl).

Nabil Fekir of Al Jazira won the Best Goal of the Season award for his goal against Al Ain. Al Jazira also won the Excellence in Professionalism and Licensing award, ahead of Al Ain and Al Wahda, while Al Ain won the Fans League award, ahead of Al Wasl and Al Jazira.

Other awards based on statistics included the Golden Boot for the top scorer of the ADNOC Pro League, won by Laba Kodjo of Al Ain, the Golden Boot for the top scorer of the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Cup, won by Ramon Mierez of Al Jazira, and the Silver Boot for the top scorer under 23, won by Saeed Mansour Al Menhali of Al Wahda.

The Dream Team included players: Hamad Al-Maqbali, Marcus Meloni, Mohamed Elneny, Lucas Pimenta, Mehdi Ghaedi, Caio Lucas, Fabio Lima, Sardar Azmoun, Laba Kodjo, and Bala.