In the roller-coaster world of football fortunes, nothing remains permanent. The Pro League champions, Al Ahli, are realising the success of one season does not necessarily guarantee more in the following season.
Plagued by injuries, they lost the Super Cup to Al Ain in the season-opener between the league champions and the President's Cup winners.
Ahli managed just four points from their first five league games and their Romanian coach, Ioan Andone, was promptly shown the door. The team's fortunes have not changed much under the Emirati Mahdi Ali, who took charge in early November.
Ahli are on 11 points and eighth in the league table and they failed to go beyond the first round of the Club World Cub in Abu Dhabi.
Andone is one of the five coaches fired so far this season.
Al Shabab (ninth on 10 points) sacked Toninho Cerezo and replaced him with Abdul Wahab Abdul Qadir. Ze Mario was booted out by Ajman, who are still looking for their first points.
The biggest shock, however, was the demise of the German Winfried Schaefer, who was fired from Al Ain when his team were still third in the league.
The game's first professional season saw 12 coaches sacked. Schaefer and Cerezo, who survived that season, have lost their jobs since, leaving the Al Jazira coach Abel Braga as the only survivor in the Pro League.
Jazira will start with a healthy four-point lead in the New Year, dreaming of their first league title and, with it, a berth as the host nation's representative at the Club World Cup in December 2010.
Fans are hoping a team from the Club World Cup host city will win the league, and that looks a good probability with Jazira, Al Wahda, Ain and Baniyas occupying the top-four slots close to the half-way mark.
The Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, one of the two venues of the Fifa showpiece event, is the home ground of Jazira.
Jazira are the only team to remain unbeaten in all competitions and they have maintained their four-point lead over neighbours Wahda.
Jazira have come close to winning the league in the last two seasons, and may be third time lucky. They were runners-up to Al Shabab and Al Ahli, and prior to that, were third three times.
And they seem on course for the coveted title and a ticket to the Club World Cup.
@Email:apassela@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
The squad traveling to Brazil:
Faisal Al Ketbi, Ibrahim Al Hosani, Khalfan Humaid Balhol, Khalifa Saeed Al Suwaidi, Mubarak Basharhil, Obaid Salem Al Nuaimi, Saeed Juma Al Mazrouei, Saoud Abdulla Al Hammadi, Taleb Al Kirbi, Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi, Zayed Al Kaabi, Zayed Saif Al Mansoori, Saaid Haj Hamdou, Hamad Saeed Al Nuaimi. Coaches Roberto Lima and Alex Paz.
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
