The President of the UAE Soccer Affiliation, Marwan Bin Galita announced that he will be implementing Tuesday’s guidelines from September allowing expats to compete in the national UAE sports teams.
The guideliens now allow for players that are born to Emirati women married to expats, those holding UAE passports, those born in the UAE and those residing in the UAE to participate in local sports.
Typically, rugby, cricket and ice hockey have been driven by expats, however the most impact this new implementation is likely to have is on UAE’s national sport, football.
Bin Galita tweeted “Adoption and implementation of those rules will draw up a brand new coverage within the UAE sports activities system and can change many guidelines which have been inflexible without growth for a few years, As I see it, clubs have to seriously think about investing in them and making use of them in local and foreign engagements.”
Football clubs across the UAE have been encouraged to also implement the new regulation, and we look forward to seeing new and emerging talent across the country.