Al Dhafra FC
Emirati professional football club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Al Dhafra FC (Arabic: نادي الظفرة لكرة القدم) is an Emirati professional football club based in Madinat Zayed that competes in the UAE First Division League.[1]
(The Western Knights)
| |||
| Full name | Al Dhafra Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Al Fursan Al Gharib (The Western Knights) | ||
| Founded | 2000 | ||
| Ground | Al Dhafra Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 5,020 | ||
| Owner | Hamdan bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan | ||
| Head coach | Zeljko Petrovic | ||
| League | UAE Pro League | ||
| 2024–25 | 1st of 14 (promoted) | ||
| Website | www | ||
|
| |||
Their futsal club participated in AFC Futsal Club Championship.
History
Al Dhafra FC was established in 2000, as part of a policy to promote sports across the country and the Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi had no team, so Al Dhafra is the first and only club to be located in the western region.[2] For most of its history the club was classified as a semi-professional club according to the UAE Pro League committee and did not have licenses to compete in the AFC competitions but the team had continued to appeal for a license since qualifying for the UAE President's Cup for the first time in 2019.[3] Around 2020 the club finally obtained their licenses, thus all pro league teams can compete in AFC competitions.[4]
Honours
- President's Cup
- UAE First Division League
- Champions (3): 2001–02, 2006–07, 2024-25
- UAE Vice Presidents Cup
- Champions (1): 2012
Season-by-season record
| Season | Lvl. | Tms. | Pos. | President's Cup | League Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | 1 | 12 | 8th | Semi-Finals | First Round |
| 2009–10 | 9th | Quarter-Finals | |||
| 2010–11 | 12th | Round of 16 | |||
| 2011–12 | 2 | 8 | 4th | — | |
| 2012–13 | 1 | 14 | 8th | First Round | |
| 2013–14 | Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | |||
| 2014–15 | 11th | First Round | |||
| 2015–16 | 8th | Round of 16 | |||
| 2016–17 | 7th | ||||
| 2017–18 | 10th | ||||
| 2018–19 | Runner-ups | ||||
| 2019–20a | 7th | Finalists | |||
| 2020–21 | 11th | Quarter-Finals | |||
| 2021–22 | 12th | Round of 16 | |||
| 2022–23 | 14th | Quarter-Finals | |||
| 2023–24 | 2 | 16 | 8th | ||
| 2024–25 | 14 | 1st | |||
| 2025–26 | 1 | 14 |
Notes^ 2019–20 UAE football season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates.
Players
Current squad
As of 18 January 2026
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Reserve team
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Coaching staff
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Zeljko Petrovic |
| Assistant coach |  Ahmed Al Hammadi |
| Goalkeeper coach |  Alexandre Lopes |
| Fitness coach |  Vacant |
| Analyst | Vacant |
| Doctor | Salem Mohammed |
| Physiotherapists | Vacant |
| Interpreter | Vacant |
| Team administrator | Khamis Al Mazrouei |
| Team manager | Sultan Al Hammadi |
| Technical director |  Ahmed Kamal Ahmed |
Managerial history
| Name | Nat. | From | To | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Piet Hamberg |  |
2003 | 2004 | |
| Sebastião Rocha |  |
2005 | 2006 | |
| Ammar Souayah |  |
May 2007 | November 2007 | [5][6] |
| Ayman El Ramadi |  |
November 2007 | August 2008 | [7] |
| Mohammad Kwid |  |
September 2008 | December 2008 | [8] |
| Eid Baroot | |
December 2008 | June 2009 | [9] |
| Laurent Banide |  |
July 2009 | February 2010 | [10] |
| Slobodan Halilović |  |
February 2010 | March 2010 | |
| Michel Decastel |  |
March 2010 | November 2010 | [11] |
| Alexandre Guimarães |  |
November 2010 | April 2011 | |
| Mohammad Kwid | |
April 2011 | June 2011 | [12] |
| Baltemar Brito | |
June 2011 | December 2011 | [13][14] |
| Magdy Mostafa | |
December 2011 | May 2012 | |
| Džemal Hadžiabdić |  |
May 2012 | December 2012 | [15] |
| Laurent Banide | |
December 2012 | April 2013 | [16] |
| Abdullah Mesfer | |
April 2013 | May 2014 | |
| Anel Karabeg | |
May 2014 | September 2014 | [17] |
| Marin Ion |  |
September 2014 | January 2015 | [18] |
| Laurent Banide | |
January 2015 | November 2015 | [19] |
| Mohammad Kwid | |
November 2015 | January 2018 | |
| Gjoko Hadžievski |  |
January 2018 | May 2018 | [20] |
| Vuk Rašović | |
May 2018 | September 2020 | [21] |
| Mohammad Kwid | |
September 2020 | October 2020 | [22] |
| Aleksandar Veselinović | |
October 2020 | January 2021 | |
| Mohammad Kwid | |
January 2021 | October 2021 | |
| Rogério Micale | |
October 2021 | March 2022 | [23] |
| Badr Al Idrissi |  |
March 2022 | May 2022 | [24] |
| Nebojša Vignjević | |
July 2022 | October 2022 | |
| Aleksandar Veselinović | |
October 2022 | February 2023 | |
| Badr Al Idrissi | |
February 2023 | August 2023 | |
| Abdullah Mesfer | |
August 2023 | November 2023 | |
| Paulo Comelli | |
December 2023 | February 2024 | |
| Alen Horvat |  |
March 2024 | May 2025 | |
| Željko Petrović | |
May 2025 | Present |