How a club founded just three years ago is becoming unlikely destination for former Premier League players

With a combined 713 Premier League appearances between them, four familiar faces from English football are involved in an interesting project at UAE side Arabian Falcons.

Jonjo Shelvey, the former Liverpool, Newcastle United and Swansea midfielder, announced his retirement from professional football in April this year to take over as manager of Dubai-based Arabian Falcons.

The 34-year-old expressed his desire to "build something special" at the club, adding: "My ambition is to climb to the very top of management and this is the perfect project to prove myself."

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Arabian Falcons were founded in 2023 with the aim of developing young footballers and helping them secure opportunities in Europe.

They secured promotion to the UAE Second Division, which is the third tier of Emirati football, in their debut season thanks, in part, to the club's ambitious sporting director, Harry Agombar.

Agombar, a former Arsenal and Tottenham academy player, coached the team before stepping into a more senior role.

“I’m heavily invested in the club in terms of what I’ve been doing over the last three years," he told City AM. "Dubai is such an unbelievable city, and I think the pull was more to the older players who were finishing their careers - and the lifestyle and the beauty.

“It’s changed a lot now. The beauty of Division Three and Division Two with the foreign players [limits being more relaxed], it really is a chance to get some young lads from Africa and South America, and that’s been our model since day one."

Danny Simpson and Ravel Morrison are part of project at Arabian Falcons

It is a far cry from the crowds we see in England's top flight every week. In fact, Shelvey claimed last year that around 75 supporters attended a United Arab Emirates (UAE) Second Division League game.

Still, the club has brought in several recognisable names, including former Premier League winner Danny Simpson, who recently scored a brace against Gulf United's B team.

The ex-Manchester United and Leicester City defender, who is a player-coach, was attracted to the project after a chat with Shelvey.

“We bonded over football and how we see the game," he told National News. "We've still got that hunger and passion. Then he called me in England and said if I'd like to come and help, he'd love to have me here."

Ravel Morrison is also part of the furniture after joining in 2025. Widely regarded as one of Manchester United's biggest academy talents, the 33-year-old has been handed the captain's armband by Shelvey.

Former Southampton and Crystal Palace midfielder Jason Puncheon, meanwhile, is co-owner and head of football operations at the Falcons.

"I believe in a clear football vision built on structure, development, and ambition," Puncheon said following his appointment in January. "I'm looking forward to the journey ahead."

At the time of writing, Arabian Falcons sit sixth in the UAE Second Division table, six points behind leaders Modern Sport.