Big decisions await on Thursday after 2019/20 Arabian Gulf League is cancelled

An extraordinary general assembly meeting is to be held on Thursday after a decision was made to cancel the 2019/20 Arabian Gulf League. The top flight and U21 League were postponed on March 15, with seven rounds left of both, in a bid to curb coronavirus’ spread. Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Club led the two. A provisional plan was announced on April 29 for “competitions to resume in August”, but specifics were left for an unspecified later date. All 14 clubs were asked to give their thoughts on next steps last week, with 12 of them, reportedly, voicing their desire to scrap this term. Decisions to be made on Thursday, by organisers UAE Pro League and governing body the UAE Football Association, include; whether the entire campaign – including January’s Arabian Gulf Cup win for Al Nasr – should be rendered void, if Shabab Al Ahli will be crowned champions and whether to eliminate relegation in 2019/20 and boost the number of competitors from 14 to 16. This would see the top two of Emirates Club and Dibba Al Hisn from the curtailed First Division League, which is administered by the UAE FA, be promoted. “The UAE Pro League board of directors held a meeting on Wednesday, June 17, 2020, chaired by Chairman Abdulla Naser Al Junaibi and attended by Vice Chairman Jamal Hamed Al Marri, board members Mohammed Obaid Al Yammahi, Hassan Taleb Al Marri, Tareq Ali Al Shabeebi, Saeed Obaid Al Kaabi and Jawaher Abdulaziz Al Suwaidi in addition to CEO Waleed Al Hosani and Business Development Advisor Dr. Khalid Mohammed Abdullah,” a statement read on Wednesday evening. “During the meeting, it was decided that the 2019/2020 Arabian Gulf League and Arabian Gulf League U21 competition would not be resumed. An extraordinary general assembly meeting has been called to discuss the implications of the decision on the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons, with coordination with the UAE Football Association on the matter.” COVID-19’s impact was first felt by the AGL when match-weeks 18 and 19 were played behind closed doors. Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Club hold a six-point advantage over second-placed Al Ain. At the opposite end, Fujairah and Hatta are in the drop zone. A total of 43,364 confirmed cases have been recorded in the UAE since January 29’s first instance. Total deaths have reached 295, with 29,537 recoveries.

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