The draw ceremony for the new season was attended by Abdullah Nasser Al Junaibi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the UAE Professional League, members of the Association’s Board of Directors, Badr Saeed Al Lamki, CEO of ADNOC Distribution, and Khaled Ali Al Mansouri, Chairman of the Board of Directors of MPM Real Estate and member of the Executive Committee of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.
The draw for the new season started with the "Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Cup" draw, utilising artificial intelligence technology through the OPEN AI programme for the second consecutive season, aligning with the UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031.
The draw ceremony was preceded by a brief explanation of the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Cup competition system and draw mechanism. Twelve teams will compete in the first round, playing two knockout matches to advance to the quarter-finals. They will join Al Wasl, last season’s ADNOC Professional League champions, and Al Wahda, the champions of the previous edition, who qualify directly to the quarter-finals.
The cup competition system mandates that the quarter-final and semi-final matches be played in a home-and-away format, culminating in the final match held at a neutral stadium selected by the Professional League.
The draw for the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Cup set up exciting first-round matchups, with Bani Yas facing Dibba Al Hisn, Kalba taking on Al Ain, Al Jazira competing against Al Bataeh, Khorfakkan playing Sharjah, Shabab Al Ahli meeting Ajman, and Al Orouba going up against Al Nasr.
The Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Cup draw ceremony was followed by the draw for the 2024-2025 ADNOC Professional League season, using the smart electronic lottery system. This system has been in place since the 2021-2022 season as part of the association’s 2020-2030 strategy, aiming to develop all aspects of professional competitions and align with the vision of the UAE Smart Government.
The smart league draw mechanism adhered to several standards, including maintaining sports integrity, distributing matches based on the 2023-2024 season standings, balancing significant and popular matches, considering match dates within the same emirate, accounting for clubs' external participation, and ensuring no more than two matches per round are held in the same city on the same day.
The draw for the "ADNOC Professional League" 2024-2025 season determined the 26 rounds of the league. The league kicks off on August 23 with the first-round matches featuring Kalba vs. Al Wasl, Bani Yas vs. Al Jazira, Shabab Al Ahli vs. Al Bataeh, Al Ain vs. Khorfakkan, Al Wahda vs. Ajman, Al Orouba vs. Al Nasr, and Dibba Al Hisn vs. Sharjah.
In the second round of matches, Al-Jazira will face Al-Orouba, Al-Nasr will take on Bani Yas, Al-Wasl will meet Dibba Al-Hisn, Khorfakkan will play against Al-Wahda, Sharjah will face Kalba, Ajman will challenge Shabab Al-Ahli, and Al-Bataeh will compete against Al-Ain.
In the third round, key matchups include Shabab Al-Ahli against Al-Wahda, Sharjah versus Al-Jazira, and the highly anticipated Al-Wasl versus Al-Nasr derby. Other matches will feature Kalba against Al-Ain, Baniyas versus Ajman, Al-Orouba against Khorfakkan, and Dibba Al-Hisn versus Al-Bataeh.
In the fourth round, Al Ain, the "Asian Champion," will face off against Al Wasl, the "League Champion." Meanwhile, Al Jazira will host Al Nasr, Al Wahda will meet Bani Yas, and in other matches, Ajman will take on Dibba Al Hisn, Al Bataeh will play against Sharjah, Khorfakkan will meet Kalba, and Al Orouba will face Shabab Al Ahli.
In the fifth round, the highlight is the El Clásico clash between Al Ain and their visitors, Al Wahda. Moving into the sixth round, Shabab Al Ahli will face off against Al Sharjah. Then, in the seventh round, matchups include Al Ain versus Shabab Al Ahli, Al Wasl versus Al Jazira, and Al Nasr versus Al Wahda.
Matches for the subsequent rounds:
Round 8: Al Wahda vs Al Wasl
Round 9: Al Ain vs Bani Yas
Round 10: Al Jazira vs Al Ain, Shabab Al Ahli vs Al Wasl
Round 11: Shabab Al Ahli vs Al Nasr
Round 12: Al Jazira vs Al Wahda
Round 13: Shabab Al Ahli vs Al Jazira, Al Wasl vs Sharjah, Al Ain vs Al Wasl
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