Al-Arabi SC (Qatar)

This article is about the Qatari football club based in Doha. For other clubs, see Al-Arabi.

Al-Arabi Sports Club (Arabic: النادي العربي الرياضي) is a Qatari sports club based in the capital city Doha. Founded in 1952, the most prominent team of the club is the football team that competes in the Qatar Stars League.^[1] The club's home ground is the 44,400-seat Al Thumama Stadium, where they have played since 2023.

Al-Arabi

Full name	Al-Arabi Sports Club (Arabic: النادي العربي الرياضي)
Nickname(s)	Fareeg Al-Ahlam (The Dream Team) Century Club in Qatar
Short name	ARB
Founded	1 April 1952 (73 years ago) (1952-04-01)
Ground	Al Thumama Stadium
Capacity	44,400
President	Sheikh Tamim Bin Fahad Al Thani
Head coach	Pablo Amo
League	Qatar Stars League
2024–25	Qatar Stars League, 9th of 12
Website	alarabi.qa
Home colours Away colours

Al Arabi's active sections
Football	Basketball	Handball
Volleyball	Futsal	Reserves

Al-Arabi had their first major success in 1978, winning the Emir of Qatar Cup, followed by various titles during the 1980s and 1990s. The club enjoyed their greatest period of success in those two decades, winning 17 major trophies. Domestically, Al-Arabi have won seven league titles, eight Emir of Qatar Cups, one Qatar Crown Prince Cup and six Qatar Sheikh Jassem Cups. Whilst they have also recently won the Qatar X UAE Super cup April 2023. This is their first International success. They have faced Sharjah FC and won.

Al-Arabi's regular kit colours are red shirts and shorts with red socks. The club's crest has been changed several times in attempts to re-brand the club and modernise its image. The current crest, featuring a ceremonial falcon, is a modification of the one introduced in the early 1950s. They are known as having the largest fan base in Qatar. The AFC conducted a survey on their official website to determine the most prominent fan base in Qatar, revealing that Al-Arabi secured the top position with 41% of the votes, closely followed by Al-Rayyan in second place. In terms of championships won, they are the second most successful club domestically after Al-Sadd. Al-Arabi is known by various nicknames including "Dream Team", "The Red Devils", and "Century Club".

History

Foundation (1952–1990)

The club was founded in 1952 under the name "Al-Tahrir", making them the second oldest team in Qatar. In 1957, the club merged with Al-Wehda, a club founded in the same year under the leadership of Mohamed Ali Ahmed Al-Ansari, after playing a friendly. They merged under the name of Al-Wehda. Al-Wehda did not play outside of Qatar nor host any foreign clubs due to its limited budget. In 1972, the club rebranded under their current name, Al-Arabi.^[2] The first president of the club was Ahmed Ali Ahmed Al-Ansari.

Al-Arabi was known for having one of the largest fan bases in all of Qatar, as well as in other Gulf states, and was well-known overseas. Their popularity outside the Middle East was bolstered by their achievements and national team players, until 2003 when it reached its peak with the signing of Argentine legend Gabriel Batistuta.^[3]

It placed 14th in the International Federation of Football History & Statistics's 1901–2000 Asian Club of the Century poll.

Founders

Al-Wehda

• Ahmed Ali Ahmed Al-Ansari
• Sultan Abdullah Al-Jaber
• Ahmad Yousef Saie
• Mohammad Ali Ahmed Al-Ansari
• Mullah Mohammed Abdulrahman
• Sultan Said Ali
• Faraj Said

Al-Tahrir

• Mubarak Mohammed Al Othman Al Khulaifi
• Abdullah Mohammed Al Othman Al Khulaifi
• Mohammed Saleh Al Hitmi
• Salem Bakhit Ghurery
• Khalifa Al Hitmi
• Hitmi Bin Ahmed Al-Hitmi

Golden era (1990–2000)

The 1990s marked the start of a long streak of success for Al-Arabi. The dream team had come to fruition with the likes of Marco Antônio and Richard Owebukeri, who were the top scorers in the league at one point. Perhaps the most significant player was Mubarak Mustafa, who is considered one of the best Qatari footballers in history. The team, impressing many with its versatile squad, took the Qatari league by storm, winning it 5 times out of 10. Not satisfied merely with local success, the team achieved runners-up position in the AFC Champions League in 1995.^[4]

They won their first Heir Apparent cup in 1997.^[5]

Decline (2000–2011)

The new century saw a significant slump in Al-Arabi's performance. Factors which impacted this may include the departure of Mubarak Mustafa and the increase of competitiveness from local clubs. In the 2002 season, Al-Arabi finished in 7th place, the lowest position since its debut in the Qatar Stars League.

The arrival of Gabriel Batistuta in 2003 saw a glimpse of hope for Al-Arabi as they finished significantly higher in the league than the 2 previous seasons, however they ended up finishing 9th in the league at the end of the 2007 season, a new low. They did not win a single domestic title during this period, and had limited success in international competitions. Furthermore, they suffered their largest-ever defeat against Al-Sadd that season when they were beaten 7–0, which resulted in the sacking of their coach Cabralzinho.^[6]

In 2006, due to popular dissent accosting the club president Sheikh Falah bin Jassim, there was an administrative change which resulted in Sheikh Faisal bin Mubarak being elected as president.

Management crisis (2011–present)

Al Arabi headquarters in 2015

The beginning of the 2011–12 season looked bright for Al-Arabi, with the club winning its first domestic silverware in 13 years after defeating Umm Salal SC in the final of the 2011 Sheikh Jassem Cup. However, a string of bad results in the league resulted in the sacking of their coach, Paulo Silas.

They also qualified for the 2012 AFC Champions League, wherein they were the first team to be eliminated. During this period, the club had appointed 3 coaches in a span of 3 months. They infamously made history by being the first team since 2007 to lose every match of the group stage, as well as the first Qatari team to witness such failure.^[7] As a result, the club's director of football, Mubarak Mustafa, announced his departure from the club.^[8] Furthermore, Dr. Abdullah al-Mal, president of the club, announced his retirement from sports.^[9] He was replaced by Hitme bin Ali Al-Hitmi. The fiscal budget of the club was reduced from 15 million riyals to 9 million riyals.^[10] They have just also lost the qualification for the AFC entry for the 23/24 season which has been a major setback

Al-Arabi Fans Club

The Al-Arabi Fans Club was established on 21 October 2015 to help fans think of innovative ways to support the club's different sports teams throughout the season.^[11] On the day the fan club was established, the club's management withdrew the number 1 jersey from the first team and awarded it to the club's fans as a symbolic gesture to acknowledge their fans' importance to the club. This was done after Captain Masoud Zeraei waived his right to the number. The move was motivated by the fact that the club enjoys the largest fanbase in Qatar. Further more the fans club is an initiative to show unity against other fan bases as alrayyan and alarabi clash has always been known for the "Fans derby" never failing to spark the debate for the biggest fanbase.

Stadium

Main article: Grand Hamad Stadium

Grand Hamad Stadium (Arabic: استاد حمد الكبير), also known as the Al-Arabi Sports Club Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Doha, Qatar. It is currently used mostly for football matches. It was the home ground of football club Al-Arabi SC. The stadium can accommodate 13,000 people. The stadium was used extensively during the 2006 Asian Games, and was a venue for several different sports, including football, table tennis, rugby sevens and fencing. The Iraq national football team played its 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) games at the ground. The stadium was also used as a home venue for the Qatar national football team during its 2014 FIFA World qualification (AFC) campaign, but in 2023 the team moved to Al Thumama Stadium due to its larger capacity of 44,400.

Rivalries

Al-Rayyan

Al-Rayyan and Al-Arabi are often considered the clubs with the most passionate sets of fans in Qatar. For this, their clash is known as the "Fans Derby". This derby has big cultural impact as all of Qatar come together to view the match even if they are not supporters.

Head-to-head

From 1994 to 2017.

Head-to-head
Competition	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Qatar Stars League	49	11	17	21	63	88	−25
Sheikh Jassem Cup	4	3	1	0	8	2	+6
Emir Cup	6	2	1	3	9	10	−1
Crown Prince Cup	7	1	1	5	6	16	−10
Reserve League	5	1	1	3	12	15	−3
Qatar Stars Cup	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2
Total	72	18	21	33	98	133	−35

Al-Sadd

Al-Arabi's clashes with Al-Sadd are considered the season's biggest as they are contested by Qatar's two most successful teams. For some fans, winning this derby is more noteworthy than winning the league itself. The derby is an important component of the country's culture.^[12]

Al-Arabi always regarded itself as the club of Qatar's working class, in contrast to the more upper-class support base of Al-Sadd. The social-class divide between the two fanbases eventually diminished.^[12]

Memorable matches

Bold indicates a win.

Season	Result	Competition	Notes
1981–82	0–1	Emir Cup
1985–86	1–0	Emir Cup
1992–93	2–0	Emir Cup
1995–96	0–0	Qatar Stars League	Al Arabi crowned champions.
2009–10	3–3	Qatar Stars League	Al Sadd come back from 3–0 down to deny Al Arabi an ACL spot.

Head-to-head

From 1996 to 2017.

Head-to-head
Competition	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Qatar Stars League	49	13	12	24	54	91	−37
Sheikh Jassem Cup	6	1	0	5	8	13	−5
Emir Cup	11	3	2	6	11	17	−6
Crown Prince Cup	2	1	0	1	3	3	0
Reserve League	6	2	2	2	11	11	0
Qatar Stars Cup	4	1	2	1	8	12	−4
Total	78	21	18	39	95	147	−52

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Period	Kit manufacture	Shirt main sponsor	Shirt sub sponsor
2000–2001	Grand Sport	Doha Bank	None
2001–2002	Adidas		None
2002–2003"			None
2003–2004	Erreà		None
2004–2005"	Grand Sport	None	None
2005–2006		None	None
2006–2007	Adidas	Doha Bank	None
2007–2008	Burrda Sport	None	None
2008–2009		None	None
2009–2010		QPM	Salman & brother & Al Rayan Bank
2010–2011			Salman & brother
2011–2012	Adidas
2012–2013		None
2013–2017		None	None
2017–2018	Burrda Sport	None	None
2018–2019	Puma	None	None
2019-2021		Doha Bank	Sharq Insurance & Dreama
2021 – 2022			Sharq Insurance & Dreama & Snoonu
2022 – 2023		Snoonu
2023 – Present	Adidas	Doha Bank	Snoonu

Al Khaleej Takaful

Honours

International

• Asian Club Championship
  • Runners-up (1): 1994–95

Regional

• Qatar–UAE Super Cup
  • Winners (1): 2023–24^[13]

Domestic

• Qatar Stars League
  • Champions (7): 1982–83, 1984–85, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97
• Emir of Qatar Cup
  • Champions (9): 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1992–93, 2022–23
• Qatar Crown Prince Cup
  • Champions (1): 1997
• Qatar FA Cup
  • Champions (1) : 2021–22
• Qatar Sheikh Jassem Cup
  • Champions (6): 1980, 1982, 1994, 2008, 2010, 2011

League results

Performance in AFC competitions

• Asian Club Championship: 5 appearances

1987: Group stage (Top 8)

1993: Qualifying – 1st round

1995: Runners-up

1996: Group stage (Top 8)

1999: First Round

• Asian Cup Winners' Cup: 2 appearances

1990–91: Second Round

1993–94: Semi-final

• AFC Champions League Elite: 2 appearance

2012: Group stage

2023: 2nd Qualifying Round

Performance in AGCFF competitions

• Gulf Club Champions Cup: 11 appearances

1983: Group stage

1986: Runners-up

1993: 3rd place

1995: 3rd place

1996: 6th place

1998: 5th place

1999: 4th place

2002: Group stage

2006: Group stage

2011: Quarter-finals

2015: Group stage

Performance in UAFA competitions

• Arab Cup Winners' Cup: 2 appearances

1991: Group stage

1995: Group stage

• Arab Club Champions Cup: 2 appearances

1987: Group stage

1992: Runners-up

Players

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF  QAT Yousef Muftah 3 DF  SEN Gueye Laye 5 DF  ESP Simo Keddari 6 DF  QAT Abdullah Marafee 8 MF  QAT Ahmed Fatehi 10 MF  ESP Rodri 11 FW  JOR Yazan Al Naimat 14 FW  KEN Michael Olunga 16 DF  QAT Abdullah Al-Sulaiti 19 MF  QAT Ibrahim Kala 20 MF  QAT Luiz Júnior 21 MF  FRA Jordan Veretout 22 DF  SEN Abdou Diallo 23 FW  PLE Alaa Aldeen Hassan 24 MF  QAT Abdullah Murisi 27 MF  QAT Ahmed Moein 30 GK  QAT Mohamed Saeed Ibrahim 31 GK  QAT Jasem Al-Hail 32 MF  QAT Salem Reda U21 34 FW  QAT João Pedro U19

No. Pos. Nation Player 35 MF  QAT Ghanem Al-Sulaiti U21 38 MF  QAT Mohammed Al-Sulaiti U21 39 MF  QAT Ayad Mohammed U21 40 MF  QAT Shadi Bouri U21 41 DF  QAT Marwan Hassan U21 45 DF  QAT Al-Hashmi Al-Hussain U21 47 MF  QAT Tamer Bouri U21 49 MF  QAT Faisal Al-Obaidili U21 77 MF  QAT Yazan Esmat U21 79 GK  QAT Hassan Thabet U21 80 FW  FRA Isaac Lihadji — GK  QAT Yousef Hassan — GK  QAT Ibrahim Bakri U21 — DF  ESP Javi Hernández (on loan from Leganés) — DF  QAT Helal Mohammed (on loan from Al-Khor) — MF  ESP Pablo Sarabia — MF  ESP Gerard Hernández — MF  NED Mohamed Taabouni — FW  QAT Mohamed Khaled Gouda U21

Club staff

Technical and administrative staff

Last updated: April 2019.

Coaching staff Head coach Pablo Amo Assistant coach Adlène Guedioura Yeray Rodriguez 2nd assistant coach Omar El-Jaily Goalkeeper coach Masoud Zeraei Fitness coach Marcus Svensson Physical coach Mubarak Al-Yazidi Performance analyst Jassem Ibrahim Match analyst Yousef Al-Sheeb Administration staff Team manager Adel Al Busairi[14] Reserve team manager Hamad Al-Sulaiti[14] Deputy director Ali Al-Sulaiti

Youth team technical director Technical director Petrus In 't Groen Youth team coaching staff U–19 head coach Teo Pirija U–17 head coach Omer Khalid U–15 head coach Abderrazak Kniss U–14 head coach Yousif Hamoor U–13 head coach Gideon Dijks Goalkeeper coach Sandro Daros Orlando Ribecaro

Club officials

Managerial history

Present and past managers of Al-Arabi (incomplete):^[15][16]
(* denotes caretaker role)

Al-Arabi (1972–present)

• Salah Daf'Allah (1972) (player–manager)
• Wagdi Jamal (1975–76)
• Jaber Yusif Al-Jassim (1976–78)
• Abdul Ameer Zainal (1978)
• Silas Gonçalves de Oliveira (1978–80)
• Hassan Mokhtar (1980)
• Procópio Cardoso (1981–83)
• João Francisco (1983–84)
• Sebastião (1984)
• Cabralzinho (1984–86)
• Sebastião (1986–??)
• Joseph Bowie (1988–89)
• Luis Alberto (1989–91)
• Oswaldo de Oliveira (1991–92)
• Zé Mário (1992)
• Colin Addison (1992–93)
• Zé Mário (1993)
• René Simões (1993–94)
• Oswaldo de Oliveira (1994–95)
• Cláudio Galbo Garcia (1995–96)
• Abdullah Saad (1996)
• Džemaludin Mušović (1996–97)
• Ernst (1997–98)
• Ferdinando Teixeira (1998)
• Abdullah Saad (1998)
• Ednaldo Patricio (1998)
• Anatoliy Azarenkov (1998–99)
• José Paulo Rubim (1999)
• Ednaldo Patricio (1999)
• Roald Poulsen (1999)
• Fuad Muzurović (1999)
• Abdullah Saad (1999–00)
• Luis Santibáñez (2000)
• Adnan Dirjal (2000–01)
• Procópio Cardoso (2001)
• Abdullah Saad* (2001–02)
• Slobodan Santrač (2002–03)
• Carlos Roberto Pereira (2003)
• Cabralzinho (July 2003 – Nov 2003)
• Wolfgang Sidka (16 Nov 2003 – 30 June 2005)
• Ilie Balaci (June 2005 – July 2006)
• Henri Michel (1 July 2006 – 21 Oct 2006)
• Abdullah Saad* (Oct 2006 – Nov 2006)
• Srećko Juričić (1 Nov 2006 – 31 Dec 2006)
• José Romão (Feb 2007 – March 2008)
• Adilson Fernandes (March 2008 – April 2008)
• Zé Mário (July 2008 – Dec 2008)
• Luiz Carlos* (Dec 2008 – Jan 2009)^[17]
• Uli Stielike (5 Jan 2009 – 30 July 2010)
• Péricles Chamusca (1 July 2010 – 3 June 2011)
• Paulo Silas (9 June 2011 – 3 Jan 2012)
• Abdullah Saad* (1 Jan 2012 – 19 March 2012)
• Pierre Lechantre (19 March 2012 – 27 Sept 2012)
• Abdelaziz Bennij* (Sept 2012 – Oct 2012)
• Hassan Shehata (6 Oct 2012 – 6 Dec 2012)
• Abdelaziz Bennij (Dec 2012 – June 2013)
• Uli Stielike (5 June 2013 – Feb 2014)
• Paulo César Gusmão (Feb 2014 – 5 June 2014)
• Dan Petrescu (5 June 2014 – 1 Dec 2014)
• Daniel Carreño (1 Dec 2014 – 1 June 2015)
• Gianfranco Zola (11 July 2015 – 27 June 2016)
• Gerardo Pelusso (28 June 2016 – 1 November 2016)
• Kamal Akhlaf (2 November 2016 – 15 November 2016)^[18]
• Edison Aguirre (16 November 2016 – 19 January 2017)
• Oswaldo de Oliveira (20 January 2017 – 3 June 2017)
• Kais Yâakoubi (9 July 2017 – 9 November 2017)
• Luka Bonačić (10 November 2017 – 8 October 2018)
• Hatem Almoadab (9 October 2018 – 9 December 2018)^[18]
• Heimir Hallgrímsson (10 December 2018 – 30 Jun 2021)
• Younes Ali (1 July 2021 – )

Management

Position	Staff
President	Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Jaber Al-Thani
general secretary	Talal Al-Kuwari
Director General	Faleh Al Hader

Last updated: 8 October 2011
Source: Board of Directors

Presidents

• Meqbel bin Ali Al-Hitmi (1972–76)
• Abdulrahman Al Jaber Muftah (1976–78)
• Sultan Khaled Al-Suwaidi (1978–88)
• Dr. Abdullah Yusuf Al-Mal (1988–00)
• Sheikh Jassim bin Fahad bin Jassim Al-Thani (2000–01)
• Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Jaber Al-Thani (2001–02)
• Sheikh Falah bin Jassim Al-Thani (2002–06)
• Sheikh Faisal bin Mubarak Al-Thani (2006–09)
• Dr. Abdullah Yusuf Al-Mal (2009–12)
• Hitmi bin Ali Al-Hitmi (2012–2016)
• Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Jaber Al-Thani (2016–2020)
• Sheikh Tamim bin Fahad bin Jaber Al-Thani (2020–)