Why Pitso Mosimane should have no salary worries at Al Wahda

Pitso Mosimane shouldn't encounter any pay problems at his new Abu Dhabi club, Al Wahda FC, which is owned by a member of one of the wealthiest royal families in the world.

Owner Sheikh Theyab Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan is the fourth son of Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and ruler of Abu Dhabi.

The brother of Sheik Mohammed, and uncle of Sheik Theyab, is Sheik Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the owner of Manchester City and nine other clubs globally, and vice-president and deputy prime minister of the UAE.

The UAE president succeeded his father, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who ruled from 2004 until his death in 2022.

The Abu Dhabi royals, whose reign goes back to 1793, have an estimated wealth placed anywhere between $150bn (about R2.8trn) and $300bn, stemming from the sale of oil in the 1970s.

The Al Nahyan family have been ranked in some reports as the fourth-richest royal family in the world. 

Wahda owner Sheikh Theyab is the chair of Etihad Rail, UAE's national railway network.

Mosimane will be pleased to return to top flight football at his second Gulf club after a season spent promoting Al-Ahli Saudi from the second tier Yelo League to the Saudi Pro League as champions in 2022-23.

The coach and his South African technical staff have publicly said they went unpaid from January at financially challenged Al-Ahli.

While he should not have pay problems at Wahda, Mosimane might encounter another set of challenges at the team in UAE capital Abu Dhabi, an island city with a skyline comprised the characteristic super-modern architectural spires of oil-rich Gulf states.

Wahda's owners can have high expectations and a short trigger finger with their coaches.

Last season three bosses — Portuguese Carlos Carvalhal, Spaniard Manolo Jiménez and Dutchman Arno Buitenweg — led the team to third place in the UAE Premier League (UPL). 

Wahda, the fifth-most successful UPL team with four league titles, have not won the championship since 2009-10 and have not won a trophy in five years since lifting the UAE League Cup in 2017-18 and Super Cup in 2018, so demand for results will be heightened. 

Mosimane has worked for complicated club bosses before. He seeks projects in his strategic job choices. At Wahda he has a team capable of challenging for league honours and qualifying for continental competition, and if he can do that his stock in the increasingly influential and financially enticing Gulf will continue to rise.

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