The election on Sunday of Marwan Bin Galita as the new president of UAE Football Association (UAEFA), arguably the most influential sports federation of the country, seems to hold promise for the general health of club football in the country.
While his tenure until 2020 has two high-profile international issues on the agenda — The UAE national team’s qualification for the 2018 Fifa World Cup and a successful hosting of the 2019 Asia Cup — it was refreshing to see Bin Galita walk the plank of boosting amateur club football in the country, which is often plagued by lack of resources. His announcement of the allocation of 25 per cent of the annual FA budget for the two tiers of clubs below the professional league certainly struck a chord and helped him win the battle of ballots against the long-serving incumbent, Yousuf Al Sarkal. There are 18 clubs in all in the First and Second Divisions, who, if nurtured well, can work as a feeder system of home-grown talent for the likes of Al Ahli or Al Ain and benefit the national teams right from the age-groups.
Bin Galita’s proposal of increasing the number of clubs in the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) from 14 to 16 can also be seen as a logical conclusion to his game plan for the growth of the smaller clubs, making his election mandate of ‘Developing Together’ more meaningful in terms of inclusiveness. The former chairman of Al Nasr Club, which has seen a resurrection of sorts under his leadership, is no stranger to wearing many administrative hats — being the head of Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Agency and a member of the Federal National Council. If he can carry forward some of the ground rules of smart governance into his new role as well, it will only benefit the football body in the long term.