Draft:Arno Buitenweg

Arno Buitenweg (born 18th March 1971) is a Dutch Football Coach, who was most recently Head Coach of Al Wahda FC in Abu Dhabi.

He left Holland and moved to Mallorca in Spain for business reasons. It was in Mallorca where he met his wife.

Coaching career
Arno completed his UEFA B and UEFA A Coaching Licence with The RFEF (Spanish Football Federation).

He was Head of Methodology at RCD Mallorca from 2008 until 2013 when he left for the Aspire Academy in Qatar. He was also appointed Head Coach of the Qatar Under 17 National Team, a position he held until 2017. Qatar U17 finished 3rd in the GCC Cup in 2015 under Arno's guidance..

In February 2017, Arno was appointed as Football Coordinator at the Aspire Academy in Qatar. His position here was to supervise the coaching staff to ensure that the coaching methodology of Qatar was being implemented correctly. 80% of Qatar's 2022 World Cup squad came through this programme

In July 2019, Buitenweg was appointed as Assistant Coach to the First Team and Head Coach of the Under 23's at Al Arabi in the Qatari Stars League. He worked alongside Icelandic coach Heimir Hallgrimsson. During this time Al Arabi finished 5th and 7th in the QSL. On 18th December 2020 Al Arabi lost the Final of the Emir Cup 2-1 against AL Sadd, having defeated Al Markhiya, Al Ahli and Al Khor on the way to the Final.

It was during his time in Qatar that Arno completed his AFC Pro Licence.

In the summer of 2021, Buitenweg returned to Mallorca to work of the FFIB (Federacio Futbol de les Illes Baleares) to work as a Coach Evaluator for the RFEF, assessing the UEFA A and UEFA B candidates.

In August 2022 Arno was appointed as Technical Director for Al Wahda FC Academy in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He was tasked with improving the coaching and players throughout the club.

In March 2023 Buitenweg was appointed as First Team Head Coach until the end of the season following the dismissal of Manuel Jimenez. Under the guidance of Arno, Al Wahda finished 3rd in the UAE Pro League. Al Wahda also qualified for the King Salman Arab Cup having defeated Lebanese side Al Bourj and Moroccan Champions AS FAR. Arno remained unbeaten during his tenure during the 2022/23 Season.

Al Wahda FC appointed South African coach Pitso Mosimane as Head Coach in July 2023. Arno Buitenweg returned to coach the clubs Under 21 side and to develop the young talent from within the club.

Pitso Mosimane was dismissed on 10th November 2023 and once again Arno was appointed as Interim Head Coach.

Buitenweg started well, beating Emirates Club 4-1 at home in the UAE Pro League. The club then drew 1-1 away at Al Nasr before a 2-2 draw at home to high flying Al Wasl. Al Wahda overturned a 2-1 deficit in the ADIB Cup against Al Jazira to win 4-2 at home and qualify for the semi finals of the tournament. Al Wahda won the UAE's "El Classico" defeating Al Ain 2-0. On 24th December Al Wahda suffered a surprise 3-2 loss away at Khorfakkan. This proved to be Arno's last game as Head Coach as he was replaced by Serbian Goran Tufegdžić