October 28 – The domestic leagues of the United Arab Emirates and Israel have signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen cooperation between the two competitions. In August, the two countries ‘normalised’ relations in an accord brokered by the US.
The UAE Pro League and the Israeli Professional Football League sealed their new-found friendship with a remote signing ceremony of the MoU, which aims at holding joint workshops, developing football knowhow and expanding commercial activities.
“Football has always been the most important and fast path to bring people together,” said UAE Pro League chairman Abdulla Naser Al Junaibi.
“These are the cooperation pillars we aim at through this agreement, through which we hope to achieve gains for both parties. We also aim to organise joint activities between the two leagues and to assure cooperation to reinforce the economic – commercial – technological and technical sides between the two leagues.”
In August, the UAE and Israel sealed a pact that normalised relations between the two countries. As a result, previous barriers for business and other industries are gradually being lifted. Israeli Professional Football League chairman Erez Halfon was quoted in local media as saying that deals with UAE sponsors could be possible in the future.
He added: “The teams of the two organisations have been working for some time on plans for future collaborations in the fields of football promotion, sports technologies and social and commercial collaborations alike, and it seems that there’s more that unites us than divides us.”
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1727594986labto1727594986ofdlr1727594986owedi1727594986sni@o1727594986fni1727594986
