The UAE Football Association’s ambition to sit atop the member rankings in Asia has been strengthened by their surge into the top three, according to general secretary Mohammed Hazzam Al Dhaheri.

Impressive performances by the national team and clubs saw Iran usurped in the latest Asian Football Confederation’s Member Association (MA) Ranking which was released on Friday.

With the Whites on the path to the World Cup and both Al Ain and Al Nasr in the 2016 AFC Champions League quarter-finals, Al Dhaheri was convinced better days lie ahead.

He said: “Congratulations and blessings to the UAE’s sports family on the occasion of reaching third place in the rankings of the Asian Football Confederation.

“Despite this, our ambition always remains to be the No1.

“We value this steep progress towards third place. However, this should only be seen as being part of the journey to first place.”

The AFC Ranking system is a recent initiative aimed at providing an indicator on how Asia’s top sides are performing on the continental stage. A score out of 100 is totalled, which is 70 per cent based on performance of clubs in the country, and 30 per cent based on national team results.

This move has seen the nation go from two guaranteed entrants and two play-off berths in the ACL, to three direct places in the group stage and one play-off.

Al Ain are the main beneficiaries for 2017, with their second-placed finish in the Arabian Gulf League being rewarded with instant progression.