Cosmin Olăroiu appointed coach of UAE football team

The UAE Football Association has appointed Cosmin Olăroiu as the national team’s Head Coach, it was announced on Saturday. 

The Associated said it signed a two-year contract with Romanian national Olăroiu.

The new appointment comes less than a month after the team's former coach, Paulo Bento, was sacked just a day after the UAE's AFC World Cup qualifier victory against North Korea.

Bento's backroom staff were also dismissed. 

Olăroiu has coached a series of decorated clubs in the region, including Al Hilal, Al Sadd, Al Ain, and Al Ahli. 

He has been coaching the Sharjah football team since 2021 after returning from his post in Jiangsu Suning under the Chinese Super League, where they won the Super League title for the first time in the club's history.

He also guided Sharjah to the AFC Champions League Two final.

The UAE national team is currently in third place in Group A of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup with 13 points after Uzbekistan (17 points). Iran leads with 20 points.

The UAE national team will face Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan in the final matches of the qualifiers on 5th and 10th June respectively.