Al-Arabi SC (Qatar)

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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 (72 years ago) (1952-04-01)
Ground	Al Thumama Stadium
Capacity	44,400
President	Sheikh Tamim Bin Fahad Al Thani
Head coach	Anthony Hudson
League	Qatar Stars League
2023–24	Qatar Stars League, 5th of 12
Website	http://alarabi.qa
Home colours Away colours

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

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 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.

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".

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.

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

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]

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.

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]

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.

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.

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".

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-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]

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.

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

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	None

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

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

• 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

• 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: 2 appearance

2012: Group stage

2023: 2nd Qualifying Round

• 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

• Arab Cup Winners' Cup: 2 appearances

1991: Group stage

1995: Group stage

• Arab Club Champions Cup: 2 appearances

1987: Group stage

1992: Runners-up

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF  QAT Yousef Muftah 4 MF  QAT Abdulrahman Anad 5 DF  ESP Simo Keddari 6 DF  QAT Abdullah Marafee 7 MF  ITA Marco Verratti 8 MF  QAT Ahmed Fatehi 9 FW  SYR Omar Al Somah 10 MF  ESP Rodri 11 FW  JOR Yazan Al Naimat 13 DF  QAT Mohammed Alaaeldin 14 DF  QAT Helal Mohammed (on loan from Al-Khor) 15 DF  QAT Jassem Gaber 16 DF  QAT Abdullah Al-Sulaiti 17 FW  QAT Ahmed Alaaeldin (on loan from Al-Gharafa) 18 DF  QAT Ibrahim Al-Saeed 19 MF  QAT Hassan Saif U21 20 MF  QAT Luiz Júnior

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 GK  QAT Mahmud Abunada 22 DF  SEN Abdou Diallo 23 FW  PLE Alaa Aldeen Hassan 24 MF  QAT Abdullah Murisi 27 MF  QAT Ahmed Moein 28 MF  TUN Youssef Msakni 30 GK  QAT Mohamed Saeed Ibrahim 31 GK  QAT Jasem Al-Hail 32 GK  QAT Ibrahim Bakri U21 34 FW  BRA João Pedro U19 35 MF  QAT Ghanem Al-Sulaiti U21 40 MF  QAT Shadi Bouri U21 41 DF  QAT Marwan Hassan U21 47 MF  QAT Tamer Bouri U21 80 FW  FRA Isaac Lihadji 99 FW  QAT Rami Suhail

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 32 DF  QAT Salem Reda U21 (on loan to Alcorcón B) 45 DF  QAT Hashmi Al-Hussain U21 (on loan to Alcorcón B) 96 GK  QAT Amir Hassan U21 (on loan to Al-Duhail)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  NED Mohamed Taabouni (on loan to Qatar) — MF  QAT Ibrahim Kala (on loan to Al-Khor) — FW  QAT Mohamed Khaled Gouda U21 (on loan to Calahorra B)

Technical and administrative staff

Last updated: April 2019.

Coaching staff Head coach Anthony Hudson Assistant coach Alex Armstrong 2nd assistant coach Bruno Oliveira Goalkeeper coach Djamel Mesbah Physical coach Miguel Angel Garcia Performance Analyst Thiago Cardoso Souza Goalkeeper coach Ferdinando Scarpello 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

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

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

• Official website (archived 25 October 2010)