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First Arab-Israeli Player to Play in Gulf League

Israeli player Dia Saba (File Photo: Saba’s official Instagram)
Israeli player Dia Saba (File Photo: Saba’s official Instagram)
    Dubai, London- Asharq Al-Awsat
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First Arab-Israeli Player to Play in Gulf League

Israeli player Dia Saba (File Photo: Saba’s official Instagram)
Israeli player Dia Saba (File Photo: Saba’s official Instagram)

The UAE Football League seems to be one facet of the the recent normalization of relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel.

A source in the Dubai-based al-Nasr Football Club was quoted by AFP as saying that Dia Saba will be “the first Israeli player” to play in the UAE league since its launch in 1974.

The midfielder, 27, who is of Palestinian origins, is on his way to Dubai and will undergo the routine medical tests before officially joining the team, the source affirmed.

Saba is scheduled to sign a three-year contract, earning about $3 million per year, reports noted.

He is currently playing for the Chinese Super League club Guangzhou R&F and is set to leave the Far East outfit after a year-and-a-half stint.

Saba posted an image on his official Instagram page of himself on a Dubai-bound Emirates flight confirming his transfer from China’s Guangzhou R&F.

Nasr Club’s contracting with Saba comes as Israel and the UAE agreed to formally normalize their relations in mid-August and signed the normalization agreement at the US White House on September 15.

The UAE and Bahrain were the first two Gulf States to announce normalizing ties with Israel, preceded by Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.

Israeli Army spokesman for the Arab media Avichay Adraee posted a picture of Saba on his Twitter account.

“Israeli soccer player Dia Saba on his way to Dubai to join the Emirati Al-Nasr team to become the first Israeli player in the Gulf League,” he tweeted.

Emirati tweeters also welcomed the deal.

“Dia Saba, the first Israeli player in the Arab Gulf League, is an excellent step, and we wish him all success and welcome him in the homeland of tolerance,” Fahd al-Hosani wrote.

Saba was born to an Arab-Israeli family in Majd al-Krum and has previously played for Maccabi Netanya in 2014 and Hapoel Be'er Sheva in 2018 before signing for Guangzhou R&F in 2019.

Al-Nasr has welcomed four new players this season. These are Sebastian Tagliabue from Al Wahda, Ryan Mendes from Cape Verde from Sharjah, Abdul Rahman Youssef from Al Dhafra Club, and the 19-year-old Brazilian player, Caique Jesus.

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Sports

Chelsea Injuries up 44% After Club World Cup but Report Says Event Has Had ‘Minimal’ Impact

Chelsea's Reece James, center, lifts the trophy following the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and PSG at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP)
Chelsea's Reece James, center, lifts the trophy following the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and PSG at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP)
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Chelsea Injuries up 44% After Club World Cup but Report Says Event Has Had ‘Minimal’ Impact

Chelsea's Reece James, center, lifts the trophy following the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and PSG at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP)
Chelsea's Reece James, center, lifts the trophy following the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and PSG at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP)

Chelsea suffered a 44% spike in injuries after competing in the supersized Club World Cup this year, according to findings published on Tuesday.

But the newly expanded tournament has so far had a “minimal impact” on injuries overall, the latest edition of the Men’s European Football Injury Index found.

There was fierce opposition to FIFA's new flagship club event when it was confirmed in 2023 that it would increase from seven to 32 teams, with players' unions warning of physical and mental burnout of players due to an ever expanding match schedule. But FIFA pressed ahead and staged the tournament in the United States in June-July.

Chelsea went on to win the inaugural competition, receiving the trophy from US President Donald Trump at MetLife Stadium and taking home prize money of around $125 million. But, according to the Index, from June-October, Chelsea picked up more injuries — 23 — than any of the nine clubs from Europe's top leagues that participated in the Club World Cup.

They included star player Cole Palmer, and was a 44% increase on the same period last year.

While Chelsea, which played 64 games over the entire 2024-25 season, saw an increase in injuries, the Index, produced by global insurance firm Howden, found that overall there was a decrease.

“In principle you would expect this increased workload to lead to an increase in the number of injuries sustained, as a possible rise in overall injury severity,” the Index report said, but added: “The data would suggest a minimal impact on overall injury figures.”

Despite the figures, the authors of the report accept it was too early to assess the full impact of the Club World Cup, with the findings only going up to October.

“We would expect to see the impact to spike in that sort of November to February period,” said James Burrows, Head of Sport at Howden. “What we’ve seen previously is that’s where the impact is seen from summer tournaments."

Manchester City has sustained 22 since the tournament, which is the highest among the nine teams from Europe's top leagues — England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France.

Those teams have recorded 146 injuries from June-October, which is down on the previous year's figure of 174.

From August-October that number is 121, the lowest for that three-month period in the previous six years of the Index.

Sports

Sunderland Worst Hit by Losing Players to African Cup of Nations 

14 December 2025, United Kingdom, London: Sunderland's Habib Diarra (L) and Leeds United's Gabriel Gudmundsson battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Brentford and Leeds United at the Gtech Community Stadium. (dpa)
14 December 2025, United Kingdom, London: Sunderland's Habib Diarra (L) and Leeds United's Gabriel Gudmundsson battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Brentford and Leeds United at the Gtech Community Stadium. (dpa)
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Sunderland Worst Hit by Losing Players to African Cup of Nations 

14 December 2025, United Kingdom, London: Sunderland's Habib Diarra (L) and Leeds United's Gabriel Gudmundsson battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Brentford and Leeds United at the Gtech Community Stadium. (dpa)
14 December 2025, United Kingdom, London: Sunderland's Habib Diarra (L) and Leeds United's Gabriel Gudmundsson battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Brentford and Leeds United at the Gtech Community Stadium. (dpa)

Premier League Sunderland will have to do without six players over the next few weeks and are the club worst hit as the Africa Cup of Nations takes its toll on European clubs competing over the holiday season.

Sunderland, eighth in the standings, had four of their African internationals in action when they beat Newcastle United on Sunday, but like 14 other English top-flight clubs will now lose those players to international duty.

The timing of the African championship, kicking off in Morocco on Sunday and running through to January 18, has long been an irritant for coaches, with leagues in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain also affected.

Hosting the tournament in the middle of the season impacts around 58% of the players at the Cup of Nations, though the Confederation of African Football did try to mitigate the impact by moving the start to before Christmas, so it is completed before the next round of Champions League matches.

The impact on European clubs was also lessened by allowing them to release players seven days, rather than the mandatory 14 days, before the tournament, meaning they could play for their clubs last weekend.

Sunderland's Congolese Arthur Masuaku and Noah Sadiki, plus full back Reinildo (Mozambique), midfielder Habib Diarra (Mali), and attackers Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco) and Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso) have now departed for Morocco.

Ironically, Mohamed Salah’s absence from Liverpool to play for Egypt should lower the temperature at the club after his recent outburst against manager Arne Slot, but Manchester United will lose three players in Noussair Mazraoui, Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo, who scored in Monday’s 4-4 draw with Bournemouth.

France is again the country with the most players heading to the Cup of Nations, and with 51 from Ligue 1 clubs. But their absence is much less impactful than previously as Ligue 1 broke after the weekend’s fixtures and does not resume until January 2, by which time the Cup of Nations will be into its knockout stage.

There are 21 players from Serie A clubs, 18 from the Bundesliga, and 15 from LaLiga teams among the 24 squads at the tournament in Morocco.

Sports

Rodgers Takes Charge of Saudi Team Al-Qadsiah After Departure from Celtic 

Then-Celtic head coach Brendan Rodgers greets supporters after a Europa League soccer match between Red Star and Celtic at Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade, Serbia, Sept. 24, 2025. (AP)
Then-Celtic head coach Brendan Rodgers greets supporters after a Europa League soccer match between Red Star and Celtic at Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade, Serbia, Sept. 24, 2025. (AP)
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Rodgers Takes Charge of Saudi Team Al-Qadsiah After Departure from Celtic 

Then-Celtic head coach Brendan Rodgers greets supporters after a Europa League soccer match between Red Star and Celtic at Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade, Serbia, Sept. 24, 2025. (AP)
Then-Celtic head coach Brendan Rodgers greets supporters after a Europa League soccer match between Red Star and Celtic at Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade, Serbia, Sept. 24, 2025. (AP)

Brendan Rodgers has returned to football as the coach of Saudi Arabian club Al-Qadsiah, six weeks after resigning from Scottish champion Celtic.

Al-Qadsiah, whose squad includes Italian striker Mateo Retegui and former Real Madrid defender Fernandez Nacho, is in fifth place in the Saudi Pro League in its first season after promotion.

Rodgers departed Celtic on Oct. 27 and has opted to continue his managerial career outside Britain for the first time, having previously coached Liverpool, Leicester and Swansea.

In its statement announcing the hiring of Rodgers on Tuesday, Al-Qadsiah described him as a “world-renowned coach” and said his arrival “reflects the club’s ambitious vision and its rapidly growing sporting project.”

Aramco, the state-owned Saudi oil giant, bought Al-Qadsiah in 2023 in a move that has helped to transform the club’s status.

“This is a landmark moment for the club,” Al-Qadsiah chief executive James Bisgrove said. “The caliber of his experience and track record of winning reflects our ambition and long-term vision to establish Al-Qadsiah as one of Asia’s leading clubs.”

Rodgers is coming off winning back-to-back Scottish league titles with Celtic, where he won 11 major trophies across his two spells. He also won the FA Cup with Leicester.

Al-Qadsiah's last two coaches were former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler and former Spain midfielder Michel.