No champion declared following UAE Pro League cancellation

(Reuters) - The UAE Pro League will not crown a champion for the 2019-20 season after the decision to cancel the campaign due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, it said on Thursday.

Dubai-based Shabab Al Ahli were on top of the standings with 43 points from 19 games when the campaign was halted on March 15 to curb COVID-19. Thirteen-times league champions Al Ain were on 37 points in second place.

The league and the UAE Football Association also decided in an extraordinary general assembly meeting that no teams would be relegated from the 14-team top flight competition for the 2020-21 season.

The participation of clubs in next season's Asian Football Confederation Champions League will be determined based on the results from the 2018-19 campaign, subject to those teams passing the AFC's sporting and licensing criteria.

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; editing by Richard Pullin)