Al Wasl’s Ali Saleh won the Golden Ball for Best Emirati Player in the 2023-2024 UAE Pro League season during a glittering ceremony at the Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental in Abu Dhabi.
The 22-year-old played a key role in Al Wasl’s historic UAE Pro League and President’s Cup win last season.
The young Emirati winger, who hopes to play in the English Premier League, scored seven goals and made four assists as Al Wasl ended their 17-year wait for the UAE Pro League and President’s Cup titles.
The best coach of the year award went to Al Wasl manager Milos Milojevic for guiding the team to a glorious double.
The Serb left legendary Serbian club Red Star Belgrade last season for Al Wasl and turned the fortunes around for the Dubai club in his very first season.
Nicolas Gimenez, Al Wasl’s Argentine winger, was named the league’s best foreign player of the year.
Al Ain striker Soufian Rahimi, one of the heroes of the Garden City club’s stunning Asian Champions League triumph, won the Fans’ Player of the Year Award.
Al Wasl’s Khaled Al Senaani took home the best goalkeeper award and Ismaeil Matar, Al Wahda’s legendary Emirati striker, won a special award for the fans’ goal of the year.
The event was attended by Abdulla Naser Al Jneibi, Chairman of the UAE Pro League, along with board members, representatives from sponsors, clubs, and an elite line-up of sports and media personalities.
The grand ceremony kicked off with a warm welcome speech from Al Jneibi, who expressed his gratitude to the attendees and highlighted the importance of this annual event.
“Today, we gather at the UAE Pro League awards ceremony for the 2023-2024 season, a season filled with remarkable successes and cherished memories in the journey of UAE football,” he said.
“This brilliance in the realm of creativity would not have been possible without the boundless contributions and generous support from our wise leadership, which has been our weapon in facing challenges and driving us toward achieving our strategic goals.”