An official source revealed that the final position of completing the Arab Gulf Football League or its abolition will not be determined before April 15th, indicating that “in the event of canceling the tournament, all results will be canceled, while the next season will be held by 14 clubs.”
The source said to «Emirates Today»: «It is reported that there is a strong trend to not complete the competition because of fears of the new Corona virus (Covid 19) is incorrect, and until now there is no clear decision regarding the future of the league, as the Football Association and the League of Professionals are awaiting The reports that will be issued by the Ministry of Health and Community Protection on the return of life to the new Emirati stadiums, and this decision will not be clarified before mid-April.
The Football Association and the Professional Association have issued a decision to suspend all football tournaments for a period of four weeks, starting from March 15, as a precautionary measure due to the Corona virus.
The source added: «In the event that the Professional League gets the green light to resume the league matches after mid-April, there will be no problems, as the remaining seven rounds will need five weeks at the latest, which means that the competition ends in the last week of May or Early June at the latest, but if the stakes persist, the league will be canceled and all the results of the competition will be canceled.
Shabab Al-Ahly is currently in the top rankings of the Arab Gulf League table with 43 points, six points ahead of its closest pursuers Al Ain.
Regarding the form of the league in the next season, if the league championship is canceled, and whether the number of teams will be increased to 16 clubs, the source said: “The regulation requires that the professional league championship is held with 14 clubs, and the amateur league competition is supervised by the Football Association and the League has no authority over it. "There will be future coordination between the association and the Football Association to take the appropriate decision against the amateur clubs to solve this dilemma."
The source stressed that the accounts for the final match of the President’s Cup, which meets Al Ain with Al Dhafra, there is no problem regarding it, as it is possible to set a date for its establishment at the beginning of the new season, if the current season is not completed.
On the identification of the Emirati teams participating in the AFC Champions League in next year's edition and how to identify the two sides of the super match, the source said: «There is no clear regulation in this regard about the mechanism for identifying the participating teams in the AFC Champions League in the event of canceling the league, and this issue may be done in agreement Between the clubs during the meeting between them and the league ».
Sharjah, Al-Ahly, Al-Ain, and Al-Wahda clubs are competing for the current edition of the AFC Champions League.
And the source continued: «The same thing for the super game, the champion of the cup will not be any controversy, but rather the controversy over the identity of the league champion».
He concluded: «The other party to the super game may be Sharjah, the last champion of the league, or any other club that is agreed upon with the clubs.
It is noteworthy that Sharjah played the super game at the beginning of the current season against Al-Ahly youth and won the title after a penalty shootout after the end of the normal time in a negative tie.
There is no regulation specifying the AFC Champions League teams if the League is canceled.
Asian participation in the next season "by consensus", and there is no intention to cancel the President's Cup final.
Once the league is completed, the remaining seven rounds will need five weeks.