Al-Arabi SC (Qatar)

Al-Arabi Sports Club 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 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. 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 (1952–1972)

The club was founded in 1952 under the name "Shabab Al-Sharq" which was eventually changed to "Al-Tahrir" in 1956. The next year, 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 the 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 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
Emergence (1972–1980s)

The club established itself as one of the leading teams in Qatari football during the 1970s. Arabi finished as runners-up in the 1975–76 Emir Cup and went on to achieve a notable milestone by winning the Emir Cup three consecutive times. The club defeated Al-Wakrah in the 1977–78 and 1978–79 finals, before overcoming Al-Khor in the 1979–80 final.
The club continued its rise throughout the 1980s, emerging as one of Qatar’s dominant football clubs. The squad featured several prominent players who were a part of the Qatar national football team as well, including Ali Zaid, Ibrahim Khalfan, Man'a Al-Barshi, Mohammed Daham, and Khamis Daham. During the decade, the club won the Qatari League title twice, in 1982–83 and 1984–85. Al-Arabi also once again lifted the Emir Cup in 1982–83 and 1983–84, and later claimed back-to-back titles in 1988–89 and 1989–90. In addition, the club won the Sheikh Jassim Cup in 1980 and again in 1982.

Golden era (1990s–2000s)

The 1990s marked the beginning of a highly successful period for Al-Arabi SC, establishing the club as one of the dominant teams in Qatari football. During this decade, Al-Arabi assembled a strong squad featuring foreign players Marquinho Carioca and Richard Owebukeri, both of whom were among the league’s leading scorers at various points. They were supported by prominent domestic players such as Mubarak Mustafa, Adel Al Mulla, Abdulaziz Karim, etc. Impressing many with its versatile squad, the team was dubbed the Dream Team, as a reference to the iconic 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team.
The club dominated the 1990s era of the Qatari League throughout the decade, winning the title five times in 1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, and 1996–97. During this time, the team also achieved a runners-up position at the AFC Champions League in 1995 losing to Thai Farmers Bank FC in the final. Other accomplishments included, the 1992–93 Emir Cup, The Sheikh Jassim Cup in 1994, and the 1997 Qatar Crown Prince Cup defeating Al-Rayyan on penalties.

Decline (2000–2010s)

The early 2000s marked a period of decline for Al-Arabi SC, as the club experienced a significant drop in performance following the departure of key players, including Mubarak Mustafa, and increased competition from domestic rivals. In the 2001–02 season, Al-Arabi finished seventh, their lowest league position since joining the Qatar Stars League.
The signing of Gabriel Batistuta in 2003 briefly raised expectations, as the club finished higher than in the two previous seasons. However, Al-Arabi continued to struggle and ended the 2006–07 season in ninth place, setting a new low in the club’s league history. The team failed to secure any domestic titles during this period and achieved limited success in international competitions. That season also included the club’s heaviest-ever defeat, a 7–0 loss to Al-Sadd, which led to the dismissal of head coach Cabralzinho.
In 2006, following widespread criticism of club president Sheikh Falah bin Jassim, an administrative change took place, and Sheikh Faisal bin Mubarak was elected as the new 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.
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. 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.

Stadium

Grand Hamad Stadium, 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 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 campaign, but in 2023 the team moved to Al Thumama Stadium due to its larger capacity of 44,400.

Rivalries

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.

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.