Football in Qatar | |
---|---|
Country | Qatar |
Governing body | Qatar Football Association (QFA) |
National team(s) | Qatar |
First played | 1948 |
Clubs | 20 |
National competitions | |
Club competitions | |
International competitions | |
Football is the most popular sport in Qatar. [1] [2] [3] [4] Football in Qatar is organized by the Qatar Football Association (QFA). [5]
Qatar hosted the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, 2021 FIFA Arab Cup, [6] 2022 FIFA World Cup, [7] 2023 AFC Asian Cup, and the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup. [8] [9]
Football was introduced to the country in 1948 when oil workers organized a match among themselves. [10] The first football club was established in 1950 under the name 'Al-Najah', which went on to form Al Ahli. This was followed by the organization of the first football tournament in 1951 called 'Izz al-Din Championship' by the Qatar Oil Company. In the late 1950s, the name was changed to 'Pukett Cup'. [11]
The QFA was formed in 1960 and the first league season was launched in 1963–64. League matches were played in Doha Sports Stadium, which accommodated the first grass football pitch in the region. [11]
In a 2014 survey conducted by Qatari government ministries and departments, 65% of the 1,079 respondents indicated that they did not attend a football match in the previous league season. [12] Lack of time, unsuitable atmospheres for females and the presence of paid fans were all major factors for not attending. The highest deterrent was climate, which was cited by seventy-three percent respondents as impacting their decision to attend a football match. [13]
As an initiative to gauge public opinion and increase local participation in sports with an emphasis on football, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) launched the Jeeran program in April 2015. [14] The program involves seeking the opinion and advice of people in majlises, as well as encouraging large-scale community involvement, particularly by women. [15]
Team | Total number of trophies | Qatar Stars League winners | Emir Cup winners | Qatar Cup winners | Sheikh Jassem Cup winners | Qatari Stars Cup winners | Qatar FA Cup winners |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Al-Sadd | 59 | 16 (1972, 1974, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1987, 1988, 1989, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2013, 2019, 2021, 2022) | 18 (1975, 1977, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2021) | 8 (1998, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2017, 2020, 2021) | 15 (1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2006, 2014, 2017, 2019) | 2 (2010, 2020) | |
Qatar SC | 24 | 8 (1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1977, 2003) | 8 (1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1976) | 3 (2002, 2004, 2009) | 4 (1983, 1984, 1987, 1995) | 1 (2014) | |
Al-Rayyan | 23 | 8 (1976, 1978, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1990, 1995, 2016) | 6 (1999, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2013) | 4 (1995, 1996, 2001, 2012) | 5 (1992, 2000, 2012, 2013, 2018) | ||
Al-Arabi | 24 | 7 (1983, 1985, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997) | 9 (1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1990, 1993, 2023) | 1 (1997) | 6 (1980, 1982, 1994, 2008, 2010, 2011) | 1 (2022) | |
Al-Gharafa | 22 | 7 (1992, 1998, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010) | 7 (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2009, 2012) | 3 (2000, 2010, 2011) | 2 (2005, 2007) | 3 (2009, 2018, 2019) | |
Al-Duhail | 19 | 8 (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2023) | 4 (2016, 2018, 2019, 2022) | 4 (2013, 2015, 2018, 2023) | 2 (2015, 2016) | 1 (2023) | |
Al-Wakrah | 8 | 2 (1999, 2001) | 1 (1999) | 4 (1989, 1991, 1998, 2004) | 1 (2012) | ||
Al-Ahli (Doha) | 4 | 4 (1973, 1981, 1987, 1992) | |||||
Al-Maref | 3 | 3 (1964, 1965, 1966) | |||||
El-Jaish | 3 | 2 (2014, 2016) | 1 (2013) | ||||
Al-Khor | 2 | 1 (2005) | 1 (2002) | ||||
Umm-Salal | 2 | 1 (2008) | 1 (2009) | ||||
Al-Sailiya | 2 | 1 (2021) | 1 (2021) | ||||
Al-Muaither | 1 | 1 (2003) | |||||
Al-Shamal | 1 | 1 (1996) |
The Qatar national team has had limited international success and has often been accused of abusing naturalisation laws to acquire players. [16] [17] [18] However, they did win the Arabian Gulf Cup three times and won back-to-back AFC Asian Cup titles in 2019 and 2023. [19] The side also participated in the 2022 FIFA World Cup as hosts. [20]
In 2010, Qatar won the bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, becoming the first Arab country to host the tournament. [21] [22] Following a controversy over bidding, a report by FIFA cleared Qatar’s name from all allegations. [23]
In June 2019, the FIFA Council announced Qatar as the host of 2019 FIFA Club World Cup and 2020 FIFA Club World Cup. [24]
In March 2022, FIFA president Gianni Infantino claimed in an interview that the gulf nation is being progressive in terms of its labor rights & migrant rights issues that prevailed in the nation previously by adding "I am pleased to see the strong commitment from the Qatari authorities to ensure the reforms are fully implemented across the labour market, leaving a lasting legacy of the FIFA World Cup long after the event, and benefiting migrant workers in the host country in the long term." [25] [26] [27]
On 11 August 2022, FIFA officially moved up the opening match of the World Cup by one day to 20 November, in an unusual change for hosts Qatar to appear in the gala game. [28] [29]
At the final 2022 tournament, Qatar exited in the first round, losing all three of their matches.
The Kuwait national football team represents Kuwait and is controlled by the Kuwait Football Association. Kuwait made its only FIFA World Cup appearance in 1982, managing one point in the group stage. In the Asian Cup, Kuwait reached the final round in 1976 and won the tournament in 1980.
The United Arab Emirates national football team represents United Arab Emirates in international football and serves under the auspices of the country's Football Association.
The Qatar national football team, nicknamed "The Maroons", represents Qatar in international football, and is controlled by the Qatar Football Association, which is affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and comes under the global jurisdiction of world football’s governing body FIFA. They play their home games at Khalifa International Stadium and Jassim bin Hamad Stadium. The latter is considered the home stadium.
Jassim bin Hamad Stadium is an association football stadium in Doha, Qatar, located about 5 kilometres west from the centre of Doha. It is the home of the Al Sadd Sports Club's association football team, who play in the top-flight Qatar Stars League, and is occasionally used by the Qatar men's and women's national football teams as one of their home grounds. Named after the then-Qatari Minister of Youth and Sports Jassim bin Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani, who had provided permission for Al Sadd's founding members to form the group in 1969, the stadium was opened in 1975, and has since been renovated twice; once for the 17th Arabian Gulf Cup in 2004, and again in 2010. In addition to hosting all matches of the Arabian Gulf Cup in 2004, the stadium has hosted numerous international association football matches throughout its history, including matches of the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup, the football tournaments at the 2006 Asian Games and 2011 Pan Arab Games, and two editions of the Italian super cup, the Supercoppa Italiana.
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.
The Qatar Football Association is the governing body of football in Qatar. The QFA was founded in 1960 and is based in Doha, Qatar. It became a member of FIFA in 1963 and of AFC in 1967. The Qatar Football Association organizes the main leagues of the Qatar football league system: Qatar Stars League, Qatari Second Division, including domestic cups: Qatar Cup, Emir of Qatar Cup, Sheikh Jassim Cup, Qatari Stars Cup and Qatar FA Cup. The association is also responsible for the men's, U-17, U-20, U-23, women's national teams and the local women's, youth and futsal football leagues.
The Qatar Stars League, known as Ooredoo Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Qatari Second Division (QSD). The QSL season usually runs from September to April. The league's first season was played in 1963, although the first official season occurred in 1972. The league currently features 12 clubs, with one club being demoted to make room for one club being promoted.
Hassan Khalid Hassan Al-Haydos is a Qatari professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains Qatar Stars League club Al Sadd.
Hamid Ismail Hassan Khalifa Hamid1 is a Qatari footballer of Sudanese descent who can play at right back and on the right wing. He currently plays for Al-Gharafa of the Qatar Stars League and the Qatar national football team.
Sport in Qatar is primarily centred on football in terms of participation and spectators. Additionally, athletics, basketball, handball, volleyball, camel racing, horse racing, cricket and swimming are also widely practised. There are currently eleven multi-sports clubs in the country and seven single-sports clubs.
Nam Tae-hee is a South Korean professional footballer who plays for J1 League club Yokohama F. Marinos and the South Korea national team. He has also played in England, France, and Qatar. He is a versatile midfielder and can play as attacking midfielder or central midfielder. He is known for his honed technique, smooth movement, and dribbling.
Saad Abdullah Mohammed Ebrahim Al-Sheeb is a Qatari professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Qatar Stars League club Al Sadd and the Qatar national team.
Al-Duhail Sports Club, formerly Lekhwiya SC, is a Qatari sports club, best known for its football team, which plays in the Qatar Stars League. The club is based in the Duhail district in the city of Doha and plays its home games at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium. It is the first team in Qatari football to win the first division title on its debut season.
Karim Boudiaf is a professional footballer who plays for Al-Duhail in the Qatar Stars League. He can play as a central defender and as a defensive midfielder. Born in France, he is naturalized to represent the Qatar national team.
Abdelkarim Hassan is a Qatari professional footballer who plays as a left-back or center-back for Qatar Stars League club Al-Wakrah and the Qatar national team.
Fahad Thani is a Qatari former football player and current manager of the Qatar olympic football team. Thani, coaching mainly youth teams, including the Qatar U–17, was named as the replacement for Paulo Autuori as head coach of the Qatar national team in January 2013.
Ali Assadalla Qambar, also known simply as Ali Asad, is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Al Sadd and the Qatar national team.
Akram Hassan Afif Yahya Afif is a Qatari professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Qatar Stars League club Al Sadd and the Qatar national team.
Almoez Ali Zainalabedeen Mohamed Abdulla is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for and captains the Qatar Stars League club Al-Duhail. Born in Sudan, he plays for the Qatar national team, and is currently the nation's all-time top goalscorer.
Félix Sánchez Bas is a Spanish football coach. He is the current head coach of Qatar Stars League side Al Sadd.