Kalba Football Club, often referred to as Ittihad Kalba or simply Al-Ittihad, is a professional club founded in 1972 and based in the coastal town of Kalba in the Emirate of Sharjah. Formed through the merger of three local teams (hence the ‘Ittiahd’ nickname – it means ‘United’ in Arabic), the club has spent much of its history moving between divisions, winning a record number of Division One titles but frequently facing relegation soon after promotion. Since the 2018–19 sea

This summer in the USA there will be one team, playing in a regal purple that most global fans probably are unaware of. That said, their...