Qatar Sports Club (Arabic:نادي قطر الرياضي) is asports club based inDoha,Qatar. It is best known for itsfootball team which competes in theQatar Stars League. The club was founded in 1959 with the merger of two Qatari football clubs, Al-Oruba and Al-Nasour.[1]
They play their home games in theQatar SC Stadium, which can accommodate 13,000 spectators. The club has recently diversified into sports other than football with an athletics division having been established, competing in sprinting, long jump and javelin throwing. The club adopted its current name,Qatar SC, in 1981.[1]
In 1972, Al-Oruba merged with Al-Nasour to form a new football club namedAl-Esteqlal. Former player Saad Mohammed Saleh was selected as the first coach.[2] Al Esteqlal was one of the strongest clubs right from its establishment, winning its first official Q-League season in1972–73. The next year, in 1974,Al Sadd hired head coachHassan Othman from the club in addition to 14 of its players, includingHassan Mattar andMubarak Anber, much to the dismay of club president Hamad bin Suhaim. During this period, transfers could be made unconditionally in Qatari football. Despite the resounding difficulties arising from the transfer fiasco, the club continued with its success, winning the1976–77 season and supplying the national team with some of its most prominent players.
Al Esteqlal was renamedQatar SC in 1981. However, it gradually faded into obscurity for the next 2 decades, with the league being dominated byAl Arabi,Al Sadd, andAl Rayyan. The club won theQatar Crown Prince Cup in 2002 and also won the2002–03 league season by three points. They won the Crown Prince Cup the same year, and again in 2009. The club was relegated toQatari Second Division after the2015-16 season, but were promoted back to the top division the next season.
Qatar SC play their matches atSuheim bin Hamad Stadium, which is located in Doha's seaside district ofAl Dafna. It is a multi-purpose stadium, featuring an athletics field, a gym, a shopping centre and a mosque, among other facilities. The stadium has a capacity of 13,000 seats.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Tintín Márquez
Ovidiu Dragoș
David Giguel
Abdel Fattah Nassef
