The first 1973–74 season was a "trial" championship but was declared official by the UAE FA in 2001.

[3] However, the name change has been viewed as a revival of the Persian Gulf naming dispute[4] with Iran accusing the United Arab Emirates of bigotry,[5] and the Iranian Football Federation barring the transfer of Javad Nekounam to a UAE club.

[6] After about four months of the name change a 70 million AED one-year renewable partnership deal was announced with Arabian Gulf Development to be named Official Title Partner.

[1] As of 26 May 2024[10] Prior to UAE League's transition to the professional era in 2008, many clubs have competed in the country's top tier division from 1973–74 to 2007–08.

Each country's usage is unique and in UAE the practice is to award one star for each five titles won.