The Football Association’s support for the citizen coach with 6,000 dirhams is not enough

The coach of the reserve team (U-23) at Dibba Club, Muhammad Obaid Al-Khadeem, confirmed that the current support provided by the Football Association to national coaches, amounting to 6,000 dirhams per month, is no longer sufficient, as he put it.

He told Emirates Today: “The Football Association’s decision to support the citizen coach with this amount was about 15 years ago, and that is not enough in light of the major change in living conditions and costs of life. I hope to reconsider the value of the support, in a way that helps the citizen coach stabilize and continue without pressure.”

He added: “The citizen coach is able to achieve and continue success as long as he has patience, sacrifice, and persistence,” noting that “beginning the training journey requires intense work, and accepting to give up many things, most notably the monthly salary, to ensure the building of a stable training career. Without that, his career as a coach will not be guaranteed in the future.”

He continued: “Previous experiences have proven the need for the national coach to be patient at the beginning of his career, and to accept work with medium salaries, with the aim of investing in the opportunity, learning and gaining experience,” explaining that “the first goal must be to engage in experience and gradual development, not quick material gains.”

Al-Khadeem pointed out the importance of sustainability in developing the national coach scientifically and training, and the necessity of keeping pace with the current football reality, and benefiting from knowledge opportunities in addition to field experience. He stressed that working with the Sunni teams at the beginning of the training journey is an ideal step, as it gives the coach the opportunity to gradually develop until he trains the first team. He explained that he has already gone through this path, and he trained the first team in the professional league in the 2018-2019 season, in addition to several experiences in the first division league, including the middle of the 2024-2025 season.

He talked about his experience with the Dibba team in the professional league, succeeding the Syrian coach Muhammad Qweid, stressing that it was short but important, despite its difficulty, and insufficient to avoid relegation, praising at the same time the support he received from the management of the Dibba Club, headed by Ahmed Saeed Al-Dhanhani.

Al-Khadeem concluded by pointing out his most prominent achievements, as he led the reserve team to third place in the 2020-2021 season, and fifth in the 2022-2023 season, and achieved the U-21 Championship title in the 2023-2024 season, in addition to second place in the third division league in the 2024-2025 season, in addition to his previous experience with the Masafi team, stressing his continued ambition to serve Emirati football.