Football team
Al Ain
Club · United Arab Emirates · Pro League
«Al-Zaeem»
Players from the oasis city, Bahraini exchange students and members of the Sudanese community working in the Emirates put the side together in 1968. The name they later took, Al-Zaeem , translates as "the Boss", and the supporters go by Ainawi.
The purple came from somewhere else entirely. At a training camp in Morocco in 1977 the club picked up the shade from Anderlecht, and it stuck — hence the Purple Brigade — worn since with gold and white.
The record in the domestic league is the reason Al Ain are talked about at all in the region: 15 titles, the first in 1976–77. But the two nights that travel best are Asian. Al Ain won the AFC Champions League in 2003, then again in 2023.
The Abu Dhabi Classico against Al Wahda has been running since 8 November 1985. By May 2024 the fixture had been played 110 times, and Al Ain hold the edge with 52 wins to 36. Shabab Al Ahli and Sharjah make life awkward too, though neither carries the same weight in the city.
Home is the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, a 25,965-seat ground; the older Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium, 16,000 seats, still takes matches.
Latest results
Fixtures and results| 8 Oct | League Cup |
Al Ittihad Kalba
H
|
||
| 2 Oct | League Cup |
Ajman
H
|
2:3 | L |
| 19 Sep | League Cup |
Al Wasl SC
A
|
2:3 | L |
| 15 Sep | AFC Champions League |
Al-Nassr
H
|
4:0 | W |
| 10 Sep | Pro League |
Al Wasl SC
H
|
2:2 | D |
| 4 Sep | Pro League |
Al Ittihad Kalba
A
|
2:0 | W |
Standing
AFC Champions LeagueGroup stage · West Region
| # | Team | M | W | L | Goals | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Al Ain
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 4:0 | 3 |
| 2 |
 Esteghlal FC
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 3:0 | 3 |
| 3 |
 Al-Qadisiyah
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 2:1 | 3 |
| 4 |
 Al-Hilal Saudi
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 2:1 | 3 |
| 5 |
 Shabab Al Ahli Dubai
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 1:0 | 3 |
Team statistics
matches counted in total: 260| Metric | Total | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matches | 260 | 127 | 133 |
| Scored | 515 | 261 | 254 |
| Conceded | 313 | 154 | 159 |
| Scored per game | 2.0 | 2.1 | 1.9 |
| Conceded per game | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| Difference | +202 | +107 | +95 |
Key players
by appearances over the last year
M. Palacios
Midfielder
4 Matches
Mohammed Bu Sanda
Goalkeeper
4 Matches
Georgios Giakoumakis
Forward
4 Matches
Hamid Yahya
Defender
4 Matches
Alejandro Sebastián Romero Gamarra
Midfielder
4 Matches
Y. Ben Khaleq
Defender
4 Matches
Rami Hisham Abdel Aziz Rabia
Defender
4 Matches
Valentino Lazaro
Midfielder
4 Matches
Squad of Al Ain
by appearances over the last year| Number | Player | Position | Age | Matches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | M. Palacios |
Midfielder | 4 | ||
| 1 | Mohammed Bu Sanda |
Goalkeeper | 4 | ||
| 7 |  Georgios Giakoumakis |
Forward | 4 | ||
| 88 | Hamid Yahya |
Defender | 4 | ||
| 10 | Alejandro Sebastián Romero Gamarra |
Midfielder | 4 | ||
| 4 | Y. Ben Khaleq |
Defender | 4 | ||
| 25 | Rami Hisham Abdel Aziz Rabia |
Defender | 4 | ||
| 19 |  Valentino Lazaro |
Midfielder | 4 | ||
| 6 |  Djordje Skoko |
Defender | 4 | ||
| 17 |  Khalid Eisa |
Goalkeeper | 4 | ||
| 2 |  Rafael Vela Rodrigues |
Defender | 4 | ||
| 56 |  A. Niang |
Defender | 4 | ||
| 15 |  Erik Jorgens de Menezes |
Defender | 4 | ||
| 97 |  Adis Jašić |
Defender | 4 | ||
| 21 |  |
 S. Rahimi |
Forward | 30 | 3 |
| 35 |  H. Muhammed |
Goalkeeper | 3 | ||
| 3 |  Marcos Maia |
Defender | 3 | ||
| 38 |  I. Ndiaye |
Midfielder | 3 | ||
| 70 |  Abdoul Karim Traoré |
Midfielder | 2 | ||
| 13 |  El Houssine Rahimi |
Forward | 2 | ||
| 18 |  B. Bello Ilu |
Forward | 2 | ||
| 11 | |
 Jonatas da Anunciação Santos |
Forward | 24 | 2 |
| 30 |  Hazem Mohammad |
Midfielder | 2 | ||
| 14 |  Marcel Ratnik |
Defender | 2 | ||
| 70 |  Abdulkarim Trawri |
Midfielder | 2 | ||
| 35 |  S. Hassan |
Goalkeeper | 1 | ||
| 30 |  Hazim Mohammed |
Midfielder | 1 |
Fixtures of Al Ain
-
8 Oct
Al Ittihad Kalba
H
-
2 Oct
Ajman
H
2:3
L
-
19 Sep
Al Wasl SC
A
2:3
L
-
15 Sep
Al-Nassr
H
4:0
W
-
10 Sep
Al Wasl SC
H
2:2
D
-
4 Sep
Al Ittihad Kalba
A
2:0
W
-
29 Aug
Al Nasr
H
2:1
W
-
22 Aug
Al Khaleej
H
2:0
W
Honours of Al Ain
- UAE Pro League 1976, 1980, 1983, 1992, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 28
- AFC Champions League 2003, 2023 2
- President's Cup 1974, 1989 2
- Abu Dhabi Championship 1974 1
- Federation Cup 1989 1
- Emirati-Moroccan Super Cup
- Gulf Club Champions Cup
- League Cup
- Super Cup