On today’s morning, the expedition of Al Ain first football team took off into the capital city of Morocco, Rabat, on board a private jet from Al Ain international airport, marking the start of the first stage of the offshore preparatory bootcamp, in preparation to take on the competition race of the new sporting season 2026-2027.
This departure comes as the team has concluded its internal preparatory program, which took place through the period from 9 to 15 of July, which included the medical checks, the physical examinations, as well as the daily training sessions under the supervision of the coaching staff, under the framework of the preparatory programs which aims to elevate the team into the highest degrees of readiness on the physical and technical levels, before the official matches kick off.
The team’s lineups, leaving into the external bootcamp, included 28 players, distributed into different positions, who are as the following: “Khalid Eisa Mohammed Bilal Saeed Al Mesmari (who is the team’s Emirati goalkeeper), Mohammed Saeed Busanda Ahmed Al Falahi (who is the team’s Emirati goalkeeper), Hassan Sani Muhammed (who is the team’s Nigerian goalkeeper), Abdullah Al Humaisi (who is the team’s Emirati goalkeeper), Amadou Saidou Niang (who is the team’s Senegalese center back defender), Ramy Hisham Abdel Aziz Mostafa Rabia (who is the team’s Egyptian center back defender), Marcel Ratnik (who is the Slovenian center back defender), Ismail Okoboti (who is the team’s Nigerian center back defender), Yahya Ben Khaleq (who is the team’s Moroccan center back defender), Djordje Skoko (who is the team’s Serbian center back defender), Valentino Lazaro (who is the team’s Austrian right winger), Adis Jašić (who is the team’s Austrian right back defender), Rafael Vela Rodrigues (who is the team’s Portuguese left back defender), Erik Jorgens de Menezes (who is the team’s Brazilian left back defender), Matías Damián Palacios (who is the team’s Argentine central midfielder), Abdoul Karim Traoure (who is the team’s Malian defensive midfielder), Mohammed Abbas Ahmed Abdulla Hassan Al Blooshi (who is the team’s Emirati attacking midfielder), Juan Schlickmann (who is the team’s Brazilian central midfielder), Hazem Mohammad Abdullah Abbas (who is the team’s Emirati right winger), Joshua Udoh (who is the team’s Nigerian defensive midfielder), Hamid Mohammed (who is the team’s Ghanian central midfielder), Ibrahima Junior Ndiaye (who is the team’s Senegalese right winger), Alejandro Sebastián Romero Gamarra, nicknamed Kaku (who is the team’s Argentine attacking midfielder), Jonatas da Anunciação Santos, also known as Jonatas (who is the team’s Brazilian let winger), El Houssien Rahmi (who is the team’s Moroccan forward player), Baba Ben Bello Man Ilou (who is the team’s Cameroonian forward player), as well as Giorgos Giakoumakis (who is the team’s Greek center forward player).
The Boss will be playing its first friendly match through the offshore bootcamp on the 24th of July, when the will be playing vs Morocco’s Union Touarga Sport at the capital city of Morocco, Rabat, in a series of preparatory matches through which the coaching staff aims to elevate the state of readiness on the technical and physical levels, as well as boosting the spirit of harmony among team players, in addition to granting the opportunity to all of the team players before the new season kicks off.
The second stage of the of the offshore bootcamp will kick off at the Spanish city of Almería, starting from the 27th of July. Where the team will be playing 4 friendly matches vs a variety of Arab and European football schools, starting with a match vs Spain’s Elche CF on the 28 of July, then they will play vs Saudi Arabia’s Diriyah Club on the 2nd of August, then they will be playing vs France’s Toulouse Football Club on the 5th of August, then they will conclude the preparatory program by playing vs Spain’s Club Atlético Osasuna on the 8th of August. The expedition will return home t the United Arab Emirates on the 9th of August.
Al Ain Club, who is the champion team of the local ADNOC Pro League football tournament and the title holder of His Highness the President’s Cup in the past season, will enter the preparatory stage with great ambitions to continue the competition over the title of all tournaments on the local and continental levels, taking advantage of the integrated preparatory program that combines the offshore bootcamp and playing friendly matches vs a variety of football schools, in a way that contributes in boosting the technical harmony among players and implementing the ideas of the coaching staff before the new season kicks off.
On the level of the summer transfer marker, Al Ain Club fortified its ranks with 4 new deals, which are represented in signing new contracts with Djordje Skoko, who is the team’s Serbian center back defender, coming from Serbia’s FK Javor Ivanjica, Valentino Lazaro, who is the team’s Austrian right winger, coming from Italy’s Torino Football Club, as well as Baba Ben Bello Man Ilou, who is the team’s Cameroonian center forward player, coming from Morocco’s Renaissance Sportive de Berkane, commonly referred to as RS Berkane, in addition to Giorgos Giakoumakis, who is the team’s Greek center forward player, coming from Mexico’s Club de Futbol Cruz Azul.
On the other hand, the team’s lineups witnessed the departure of a number of players, where bandar Mohammed Mohammed Saeed Al Ahbabi, who was the team’s Emirati right back defender, into United Club. Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba, who was the team’s Togolese center forward player, into Sharjah Club, as the contract of the both players with the club was over. While the contract of Park Yong-woo, who was the team’s South Korean defensive midfielder, was over.
The Club also loaned eight other players under the framework of the Club’s plan to provide more minutes of play to the young players, in a way that contributes to their development on the technical level and prepare them in a more perfect way. Where Kouame Autonne Kouadio, who was the team’s Emirati center back defender, left into UAE’s United Club. Nassim Al Chadli, who was the team’s Moroccan right winger, left into UAE’s Al Nasr Club. Mohamed Awad Alla Hassan Ibrahim, who was the team’s Sudanese center forward player, left into UAE’ Baniyas Club. Kaua Bastian Santana, who was the team’s Brazilian center back defender, left into UAE’s Hatta Club. Michel Dramane Kouamé, who was the team’s Ivoirian center forward player, left into UAE’s Al Dhafra club. Rilwanu Haliru Sarki, who was the team’s Nigerian right winger, left into UAE’s Khor Fakkan Club. Sekou Baba Gassama, who was the team’s Malian right winger, left into Ajman Club. While the loan of Solomon Sosu, who was the team’s Ghanian left back defender, into Baniyas Club has been extended.
Those movements come under the framework of the management’s strategy that aims to fortify the presence of the first football team, building a balanced lineups that is capable of competing over the title of all tournaments on the local and continental levels through the upcoming new sporting season, while providing the opportunities to develop the young players through loan.
