The UAE Pro League and the Israel Professional Football League signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the aim of serving the sport better in both countries. The MoU is in line with the Pro League’s desire to strengthen relations and cooperation with other football leagues around the world to achieve further progress, development and success. Abdulla Naser Al Junaibi, chairman of the UAE Pro League, said that the agreement was the first of its kind in the Middle East. “This historic agreement is a step towards laying the foundations for cooperation and securing a joint mechanism to achieve practical steps aimed at developing all matters related to football,” he said. “The terms of the MoU include holding joint workshops to discuss ways to develop the marketing and promotional side of the competitions, in addition to keeping pace with everything related to sports and football development technology, as well as developing the technical aspect in the football sector.” The UAE announced its decision to normalise relations with Israel in August. Known as the Abraham Accord, the agreement was signed at a White House event last month. Since then, the two countries have struck several commercial deals. Erez Halfon, chairman of the Israeli League, said the agreement would be a bridge between football clubs in both countries as well as "a platform for a series of initiatives - business, technologies and above all ... the development of social and cultural ties between people from both sides. “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. “We thank you and your team at the UAE Pro League for the friendship and cooperation and are sure that together its fruits will be seen soon.” Last month, Arabian Gulf League club Al Nasr signed Israeli international Diaa Saba, becoming the first Arab club to sign a player from the country.
