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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)

Ground

Grand Hamad Stadium

Capacity

13,000

President

Sheikh Tamim Bin Fahad Al Thani

Manager

Younes Ali

League

Qatar Stars League

2022–23

Qatar Stars League, 2nd of 12

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. The club's home ground is the 13,000-seat Grand Hamad Stadium, where they have played since their establishment.

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".

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. 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 of 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.

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.

They won their first Heir Apparent cup in 1997.

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.

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)

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. As a result, the club's director of football, Mubarak Mustafa, announced his departure from the club. Furthermore, Dr. Abdullah al-Mal, president of the club, announced his retirement from sports. 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.

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. 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.

Stadium

Main page: 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 is 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".

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.

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.

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"	Adidas		None
2003–2004	Erreà		None
2004–2005"	Grand Sport	None	None
2005–2006	Grand Sport	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		Doha Bank	Sharq Insurance & Dreama & Snoonu
2022 – 2023		Snoonu
2023 – Present	Adidas	Doha Bank	None

Honours

International

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

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: 2 appearance

2012: Group stage

2023:

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

As of Qatar Stars League:

No.	Position	Player
2	DF	Yousef Muftah
3	DF	Mohammed Sayyar
4	MF	Abdulrahman Anad
5	DF	Simo Keddari
6	MF	Abdullah Marafee
7	MF	Marco Verratti
8	MF	Ahmed Fatehi
9	FW	Omar Al Somah
10	MF	Rafinha
11	MF	Mohamed Taabouni
12	DF	Hamid Ismail
13	DF	Mohammed Alaaeldin
14	DF	Helal Mohammed (on loan from Al-Khor)
15	DF	Jassem Gaber
16	DF	Abdullah Al-Sulaiti
18	MF	Mohammed Essam
19	MF	Ibrahim Kala
20	FW	Abdullah Sherif
21	GK	Mahmud Abunada

No.	Position	Player
22	DF	Abdou Diallo
23	FW	Alaa Aldeen Hassan
24	FW	Abdullah Murisi
25	MF	Mohammed Al-Sulaiti
27	MF	Ahmed Moein
28	MF	Youssef Msakni
30	GK	Noureldin Mohammed
31	GK	Jasem Al-Hail
32	DF	Salem Reda
33	MF	Abdulrahim Al-Baloushi
34	MF	Abdullah Faroun
40	MF	Shadi Bouri
40	FW	Marwan Hassan
44	MF	Hassan Saif
45	DF	Al Hashmi Al Hussain
47	MF	Tamer Bouri
96	GK	Amir Hassan
99	FW	Rami Suhail

Out on loan

No.		Position	Player
		DF	Khalifah Al-Malki (on loan to Al-Shamal)

No.		Position	Player
		FW	Abdulaziz Al-Ansari (on loan to Al-Shamal)

Club staff

Technical and administrative staff

Last updated: April 2019.

Coaching staff
Head coach	Younes Ali
Assistant coach	Juan Cruz Ochoa López
2nd assistant coach	Bjarki Már Ólafsson
Physical coach	Miguel Angel Garcia
Performance Analyst	Thiago Cardoso Souza
Goalkeeper coach	Ferdinando Scarpello
Administration staff
Team manager	Adel Al Busairi
Reserve team manager	Hamad Al-Sulaiti
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