The Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Cup draw has produced two blockbuster first-round fixtures in a competition that will be held for the first time next season under a new format.
The UAE Pro League conducted the draws for both the ADNOC Pro League and the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Cup on Thursday at the headquarters of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).
The tournament's preliminary round will be held in a league-phase format, in which each of the 14 professional clubs will play 6 matches — 3 at home and 3 away. The top 8 teams will then advance to a knockout stage, where 1st faces 8th, 2nd faces 7th, 3rd faces 6th, and 4th faces 5th in the quarter-finals, followed by the two semi-finals and the final.
The first round revealed a series of marquee fixtures, most notably Al Wahda vs Al Jazira, Al Ain vs Al Wasl, Shabab Al Ahli vs Hatta, and Al Nasr vs United. Sharjah will face Ajman, Bani Yas will take on Al Dhafra, and Khor Fakkan will meet Kalba — giving the competition a strong start under its new format.
The new cup format is expected to increase the number of competitive matches to 49 per season, raising the level of excitement throughout the preliminary round, while also giving clubs greater opportunity for recovery and enhancing the value of every matchday in the race to qualify for the knockout stages.
Round 1 fixtures — Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Cup
- Al Nasr vs United
- Ajman vs Sharjah
- Al Dhafra vs Bani Yas
- Hatta vs Shabab Al Ahli
- Al Jazira vs Al Wahda
- Al Wasl vs Al Ain
- Kalba vs Khor Fakkan