More than half of the league’s clubs are in a “downward spiral”

The current edition of the Professional Football League recorded an unprecedented state in the history of the struggle for survival, with eight teams (out of 14 teams) entering the relegation circle before the start of the 16th round, tomorrow, in a scene that confirms that the raging struggle between Shabab Al-Ahly and Al-Ain at the top is not the only most exciting this season, but rather that the bottom of the table is witnessing exceptional heat and rare clubness.

Only seven points separate Baniyas, which is in last place with 11 points, and Khor Fakkan, which is in seventh place with 18 points, which makes every result in the coming rounds have a direct impact on the fate of more than half of the league’s clubs, and turns every match into a fateful confrontation.

The last round witnessed a remarkable change in the teams’ positions from seventh to last, following the victories of Khor Fakkan, Ajman and Dibba, compared to the losses of Sharjah and Kalba, increasing the pressure on what is known as the “warm zone”, which narrowed the difference between it and the bottom in an unprecedented way, turning the ranking table into a moving board that made it difficult to predict the identity of the relegated, unlike what was accustomed to in previous seasons.

Throughout the history of the professional league, the difference between the last place holder and the middle of the table, specifically seventh place, has never been this narrow after the end of the 15th round, which reflects the high level of competition and reduces the technical differences between the teams during the current season.

Comparison with previous seasons highlights the magnitude of this transformation, as the 2023-2024 season witnessed, after 15 rounds, a difference of 16 points between Al Jazira, which ranked seventh at the time with 21 points, and each of the Emirates (8 points) and Hatta (5 points).

In the 2024-2025 season, the scene was more extensive, as Al Wasl, in seventh place, had 21 points, compared to nine points for Dibba Al Hisn, and three points for Al Orouba, with a difference of 18 points.

As for the 2015-2016 season, it carried historical paradoxes, as Al-Shaab recorded the lowest points tally after 15 rounds with only three points, before relegating at the end of the season with seven points, the lowest number of points in the history of professionalism, while the position of its companion in the relegation, the Fujairah team, was the most strange, after collecting a full 26 points at the end of the season, but it was not enough to survive, to hold the record as the team that collected the most points and was relegated at the same time.

The 16th round begins tomorrow, with Al Bataeh hosting its guest Al Dhafra at Khalid bin Mohammed Stadium at 17:30, and Kalba Summer on the island at 20:00 at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, and the round will be completed the day after tomorrow, with Al Ain and Al Nasr Summit at 20:00 at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, while Khor Fakkan receives its guest Ajman at 17:30 on Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi Stadium.

The confrontations of Shabab Al-Ahly with Al-Wahda, Al-Sharjah against Dibba, and Al-Wasl against Bani Yas were postponed, due to the commitment of the Shabab Al-Ahly, Al-Wahda, Sharjah and Al-Wasl teams to the Asian participations.