Qatar Stars League facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Qatar Stars League

Founded	1972; 53 years ago (1972)
Country	Qatar
Confederation	Asian Football Confederation
Number of teams	12
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Qatari Second Division
Domestic cup(s)	Emir Cup Qatar Cup Qatar FA Cup Qatari Stars Cup Sheikh Jassem Cup
International cup(s)	AFC Champions League Elite AFC Champions League Two Arab Club Champions Cup
Current champions	Al-Sadd (18th title) (2024–25)
Most championships	Al-Sadd (18 titles)
TV partners	beIN Sports Alkass Sports

The Qatar Stars League (also known as Ooredoo Stars League for sponsorship reasons) is the top football league in Qatar. It's where the best football clubs in Qatar compete to be champions!

There are 12 teams in the league. At the end of each season, the team at the bottom of the Qatar Stars League moves down to the Qatari Second Division. The best team from the Second Division then gets to move up to the Qatar Stars League. This system is called promotion and relegation.

The football season usually runs from September to April. The league started playing games in 1963. However, the first official season was in 1972.

Qatari clubs can also compete for 5 different national cups. These include the Emir of Qatar Cup, which is open to all teams. The Qatar Cup is a special tournament for the top four teams in the first division after the regular season. The Sheikh Jassem Cup is played before the main season starts. The Qatari Stars Cup is a tournament played during the middle of the season. Finally, the Qatar FA Cup is for the lower-ranked teams from the Qatar Stars League and all teams from the Second Division.

Since the league began, 7 different clubs have won the championship. The club that has won the most titles is Al Sadd SC, with 18 championships!

How the League Works

The Qatari football system has two main divisions. For most years, one club moves up and one moves down between these divisions. The Qatar Stars League, which used to be called the Q-League, currently has 12 teams. The second division has 8 teams.

The top four teams in the Qatar Stars League at the end of the regular season get to play in the Qatar Cup. This tournament started in the 1994-95 season.

The Qatar Stars League has grown over the years. It started with 9 clubs, then went to 10, and now has 12 teams. In 2013-14, the league even expanded to 14 teams for a while. But in 2017, it went back to 12 teams.

There are also four official amateur football leagues in Qatar. Three of these are part of the Qatar Community Football League (QCFL). The fourth is the Qatar Amateur League (QAL), which started in 2013. It has 14 teams.

League History

Early Days

The very first unofficial season of the Qatar Stars League was in 1963-64. This was just three years after the QFA was formed. A second division was also created around this time. For many years, teams did not move up or down between the divisions.

First Official Season

The first official season was played in 1972-73. A club called Al Esteqlal, which is now known as Qatar SC, won that first championship.

In 1980, there was a special playoff game to decide the champion for the first time. It was between Al Sadd and Al Arabi. Al Sadd won the game 1-0.

Even though there was a second division, teams didn't move between divisions until 1981. That year, a system for promotion and relegation was finally put in place. Five clubs played in the second division then.

In 1994, for one season, the QFA tried something new. If a game ended in a tie, they would have a penalty shoot-out to decide a winner. They hoped this would make more people come to the games.

Money Helps the League Grow

In 2003, the QFA did something big to help the league. They gave each club $10,000,000 to buy famous international players. This brought in many well-known players like Ronald and Frank de Boer, Romário, Pep Guardiola, and Gabriel Batistuta. These stars helped make the league more popular.

Also, in 2004, the Aspire Academy was created. This academy helps train young football players. It aims to improve football in Qatar and around the world. Many great players, like Abdelkarim Hassan, have come from this academy.

New Name: Qatar Stars League

In 2009, the league changed its name from "Q-League" to "Qatar Stars League." This was part of a plan to make the league bigger. Two new clubs, Lekhwiya and El Jaish, joined the top division. This meant the first division grew to 12 clubs. A new cup, the "Qatari Stars Cup," was also started.

Clubs

Champions

Al Sadd are the most successful team in the league

Here are the clubs that have won the Qatar Stars League championship:

Titles by Region

Here's how many titles clubs from different regions have won:

Watching the Games

In Qatar

Since 2012, you can watch the Qatar Stars League games on Alkass Sports Channels in English. beIN Sports also broadcasts the games.

Around the World

The Qatar Stars League is also shown in other countries:

Seasons	Countries	Channel
2023–present	South Korea	SPOTV

Awards for Players and Coaches

Since 2006, the league has given out awards to the best player and coach each season. A group of journalists chooses the winners. Each winner gets $100,000! There are also awards for young players and club staff.

Year	Best Player	Club	Best Player U23	Club	Best Coach	Club
2006	Sebastián Soria	Al Gharafa	Not held		Jorge Fossati	Al Sadd
2007	Emerson Sheik	Al Sadd	Not held		Jorge Fossati	Al Sadd
2008	Aziz Ben Askar	Umm Salal	Hassan Al Haydos	Al Sadd	Marcos Paquetá	Al Gharafa
2009	Leonardo Pisculichi	Al Arabi	Not held		Sebastião Lazaroni	Qatar SC
2010	Juninho Pernambucano	Al Gharafa	Not held		Caio Júnior	Al Gharafa
2011	Bakari Koné	Lekhwiya	Not held		Abdullah Mubarak	Al Ahli
2012	Rodrigo Tabata	Al-Rayyan	Not held		Diego Aguirre	Al-Rayyan
2013	Khalfan Ibrahim	Al Sadd	Not held		Hussein Amotta	Al Sadd
2014	Nadir Belhadj	Al Sadd	Not held		Sami Trabelsi	Al-Sailiya SC
2015	Hassan Al-Haydos	Al Sadd	Abdurahman Al-Harazi	Al-Sailiya SC	Michael Laudrup	Lekhwiya SC
2016	Rodrigo Tabata	Al-Rayyan	Abdelkarim Hassan	Al Sadd	Jorge Fossati	Al-Rayyan
2017	Nam Tae-hee	Lekhwiya	Almoez Ali	Lekhwiya SC	Jesualdo Ferreira	Al Sadd
2018	Youssef Msakni	Al-Duhail SC	Almoez Ali	Lekhwiya SC	Djamel Belmadi	Al-Duhail SC
2019	Akram Afif	Al Sadd	Bassam Al-Rawi	Al-Duhail SC	Jesualdo Ferreira	Al Sadd
2020	Akram Afif	Al Sadd	Tarek Salman	Al Sadd	Diego Aguirre	Al-Rayyan
2021	Santi Cazorla	Al Sadd	Homam Ahmed	Lekhwiya SC	Xavi	Al-Sadd
2022	Akram Afif	Al Sadd	Homam Ahmed	Al Gharafa	Tintín Márquez	Al-Wakrah
2023	Youssef Msakni	Al Arabi	Osama Al Tairy	Al-Rayyan	Younes Ali	Al Arabi
2024	Akram Afif	Al Sadd	Jassem Gaber	Al Arabi	Pedro Martins	Al-Gharafa

Top Goal Scorers

Here are the players who have scored the most goals in the league over the years.

By Player

This table shows which players have won the "Top Scorer" award multiple times:

Rank	Player	Country	Titles	Seasons
1	Mansoor Muftah	Qatar	8	1973–74, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1985–86
2	Mubarak Mustafa	Qatar	3	1991–92, 1992–93, 1996–97
2	Younis Mahmoud	Iraq	3	2006–07, 2009–10, 2010–11
4	Hassan Mattar	Qatar	2	1977–78, 1980–81
4	Hassan Sabela	Qatar	2	1986–87, 1990–91
4	Marquinho Carioca	Brazil	2	1989–90, 1993–94
4	Mahmoud Soufi	Qatar	2	1990–91, 1993–94
4	Mohammed Salem Al-Enazi	Qatar	2	1994–95, 1999–2000
4	Alboury Lah	Senegal	2	1996–97, 1997–98
4	Dioko Kaluyituka	Democratic Republic of the Congo	2	2013–14, 2014–15
4	Youssef El-Arabi	Morocco	2	2016–17, 2017–18
4	Baghdad Bounedjah	Algeria	2	2018–19, 2020–21
4	Akram Afif	Qatar	2	2019–20, 2023–24
4	Michael Olunga	Kenya	2	2021–22, 2022–23

All-Time Top Scorers

These are the players who have scored the most goals in the Qatar Stars League throughout its history:

Rank	Nat	Name	Club	Years	Goals	Apps	Assists
1		Sebastián Soria	Al-Gharafa, Qatar SC, Al-Rayyan, Al-Duhail, Al-Arabi	2004–	211	434	58
2		Mansour Muftah	Al-Rayyan, Al-Wakrah	1973–1998	182+	N/A	N/A
3		Baghdad Bounedjah	Al-Sadd, Al-Shamal	2015–	163	171	46
4		Rodrigo Tabata	Al-Rayyan, Al-Sadd	2011–	148	282	102
5		Younis Mahmoud	Al-Gharafa, Al-Sadd, Al-Arabi, Al-Khor, Al-Wakrah	2004–2013	131	190	4
6		Meshal Abdullah	Al-Gharafa, Qatar SC, Al-Wakrah, Al-Sailiya, Al-Ahli	1999–2010	123	354	28
7		Youssef Msakni	Al-Arabi, Al-Duhail	2013–	111	186	60
8		Akram Afif	Al-Sadd	2018–	107	127	69
9		Hassan Al-Haydos	Al-Sadd	2007–	102	336	86
10		Nam Tae-hee	Al-Sadd, Al-Duhail	2012–2023	94	231	75
11		Mubarak Mustafa	Al-Arabi SC,Al-Khor,Al-Gharafa	1990–2007	91+	179+	42+
12		Dioko Kaluyituka	Al-Duhail , Al-Gharafa, Al-Kharaitiyat, Muaither, Al-Ahli	2011–2017	84	121	12
13		Khalfan Ibrahim	Al-Arabi , Al-Sadd, Al-Rayyan	2004–2020	83	241	49
14		Youssef El-Arabi	Al-Duhail	2016–2019	76	59	13
15		Michael Olunga	Al-Duhail	2021–	75	80	6
16		Moumouni Dagano	Al-Sailiya, Qatar SC, Al-Shamal, Al-Duhail, Al-Khor	2008–2015	72	158	20
17		Akwá	Qatar SC, Al-Gharafa, Al-Wakrah	1998–2006	70	123
18		Clemerson Araújo	Al-Gharafa	2007–2010	68	84
19		Rachid Rokki	Al-Khor, Umm Salal	2000–2008	65	118
20		Carlos Tenorio	Al-Sadd	2003–2008	63	88
21		Leonardo Pisculichi	Al-Arabi	2007–2012	63	112	15
22		Yahia Kébé	Al-Kharaitiyat	2009–2016	58	132	21
23		Wagner Ribeiro	Al-Sailiya, Al-Arabi, El Jaish,Al-Ahli	2009–2018	57	174	29
24		Cabore	Umm Salal, Al-Arabi	2009–2014	57	90	15
25		Mirghani Al Zain	Al-Gharafa, Al-Wakrah ,Al-Sailiya	1996–2019	57	420
26		Yacine Brahimi	Al-Gharafa, Al-Rayyan	2019–	57	101	30
27		Júlio César	Al-Khor, Al-Ahli	2009–2016	56	117	13
28		Almoez Ali	Al-Duhail	2016–	56	161
29		Abdulgadir Ilyas Bakur	Al-Sailiya, Al-Arabi, El Jaish,Umm Salal,Al-Markhiya	2008–	55	184	39
30		Amad Al-Hosni	Qatar SC,Al-Rayyan	2005–2010	52	100	6
31		Mohammed Muntari		2012–	52	152
32		Yannick Sagbo	Umm Salal	2015–2020	51	98	12
33		Mohamed Benyettou	Al-Wakrah	2019–	51	103
34		Ali Afif	Al-Sadd ,Al-Duhail	2015–2020	50	286	34
35		Boualem Khoukhi	Al-Sadd ,Al-Arabi	2009–	50	268	25

More About Football

• Football in Qatar
• Qatar national football team

See also

In Spanish: Liga de fútbol de Catar para niños