Kalba Football Club (Arabic: نادي كلباء الرياضي الثقافي), more colloquially abbreviated as Al-Ittihad, is a professional football club founded in 1972 and based in the city of Kalba, in the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The team competes in the UAE Pro League, the top tier of Emirati football. Founded in 1972, Al Ittihad Kalba has a rich history and a strong fan base.

Kalba
نادي كلباء
Full nameKalba Football Club
Nickname(s)The Tigers
Founded1972; 52 years ago (1972) as Ittihad Kalba
2024; 0 years ago (2024) as Kalba
GroundIttihad Kalba Stadium
Capacity8,500
OwnerZayed sulaiman alsharari alzaabi
ChairmanZayed sulaiman alsharari alzaabi
Head coachGhazi Fahad
LeagueUAE Pro League
2023–24UAE Pro-League, 10th
Websitehttps://www.ittihadkalbafc.ae/
Current season

History

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Kalba was established in 1972 when two clubs (Al Shabab) and (Al Rooba) merged with (Al Riyadiya) to create Al Ittihad Kalba. Kalba has won a record breaking 7 Division 1 titles with their last one being in the 2013/14 season.

Pro-League record

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Season Position Number of teams

teams

League

level

President's Cup League Cup
2008–09 5th 16 2 Round of 16
2009–10 1st 8 2
2010–11 11th 12 1 Preliminary Round First Round
2011–12 1st 8 2 Quarter-Finals
2012–13 14th 14 1 Round of 16 First Round
2013–14 1st 13 2 Preliminary Round
2014–15 14th 14 1 Round of 16 First Round
2015–16 2nd 9 2
2016–17 13th 14 1 First Round
2017–18 2nd 12 2
2018–19 11th 14 1 First Round
2019–20a Quarter-Finals
2020–21 8th Round of 16 Semi-Finals
2021–22 11th Quarter-Finals First Round
2022–23 8th Round of 16

Notes^ 2019–20 UAE football season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates.

Key

  • Pos. = Position
  • Tms. = Number of teams
  • Lvl. = League

Current squad

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As of UAE Pro-League:

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   UAE Eisa Hooti
2 DF   UAE Farid Abdulla U23
3 DF   UAE Mohammed Sabeel
4 DF   BRA Michel Dreifke
5 DF   UAE Abdalla Faisal U23
6 MF   ALB Rejan Alivoda U23
7 MF   UAE Habib Al Fardan
8 MF   BRA Caio Eduardo
9 MF   UAE Fahad Barout
10 MF   IRN Mehdi Ghayedi (on loan from Shabab Al-Ahli)
11 MF   ITA Daniel Bessa
12 DF   UAE Salem Rashid
15 DF   UAE Abdulaziz Al-Hamhami
16 DF   SVN Miha Blažič
17 GK   UAE Saif Yousif U23
18 MF   YEM Khaled Al-Asbahi
19 FW   UAE Ahmed Al-Naqbi
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 DF   UAE Abdulaziz Al-Kaabi
22 FW   UAE Mohamed Ali
23 DF   UAE Waleed Rashid U23
24 MF   UAE Khalid Al-Darmaki
25 DF   UAE Abdusalam Mohammed
27 FW   UAE Yaser Al-Blooshi U23
33 GK   UAE Sultan Al-Mantheri
39 MF   BRA Gustavo U23 (on loan from Shabab Al-Ahli)
42 FW   PLE Ahmed Abunamous
44 MF   IRN Saman Ghoddos
55 GK   UAE Hamad Al-Mansoori
70 FW   IRN Shahriyar Moghanlou
77 MF   UAE Leandro Spadacio
80 FW   SRB Nemanja Jović U23
88 MF   UAE Saif Obaid U23
97 DF   MAR Anas Radi
99 FW   GHA Cornelius Agbenyegah U23

Unregistered players

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
14 MF   SVK Filip Kiss

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
34 DF   UAE Khalid Al Zari (on loan to United)
No. Pos. Nation Player
GK   UAE Jamal Abdalla (on loan to Al Urooba)

Achievements

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  • UAE Division One
    • Champions (7): 1979–80, 1988–89, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2013–14

Club staff

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Position Name
Head coach   Ghazi Fahad
Assistant coach   Gabriele Pin
  Saeed Fawaz
  Musa Abdulbassit
Fitness Coach   Mounir Marzooq

See also

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References

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