The United Arab Emirates Football Association has announced the dismissal of the Olympic team's head coach, Uruguayan Marcelo Broli, along with his coaching staff. This decision comes after the team failed to achieve the desired results during their recent participation in the AFC U-23 Championship finals, held in Saudi Arabia. The sacking was decided after the national team's elimination in the quarter-finals of the tournament. Broli had been contracted by the football federation in February 2024, succeeding the Spanish coach Denis Silva. Broli failed to lead the Olympic team to any notable achievements in Emirati football, as the team's results under his leadership fell short of expectations, despite the squad possessing some of the most promising players. The team began their campaign in the Asian finals with a 2-0 victory over Qatar in the first round, then lost 0-3 to Japan, drew 1-1 with Syria, and advanced to the quarter-finals. They were then eliminated from the tournament following a 2-3 loss to Vietnam after extra time, as the match ended 2-2 in the regular time. It is worth noting that the team reached the continental finals as one of the four best second-placed teams from the 11 qualifying groups, despite their loss to the Iranian team in the qualifiers. Previously, in December last year, the Olympic team was also knocked out of the semi-finals of the Gulf U-23 Championship in Doha after losing to the Saudi team 0-2.
