The Sultanate of Oman has had a relatively long history of football clubs dating back to the 1940s. The oldest club still surviving to date in the Sultanate is Oman Club which was established in 1942. Many clubs have also experienced mergers such as Muscat, and Seeb. There are currently 43 clubs known to Oman.
Dhofar is known as the most successful club in Omani football, earning them the nickname "Al-Zaeem, or "The Leaders", for grabbing 10 Omani League titles; the most won by a club, and winning 7 Sultan Qaboos Cups, as well as reaching the final of the Gulf Club Champions Cup once in 1996 losing to Saudi club Al-Nassr. Fanja has also had a successful title history with 9 Omani League titles to their name, 9 Sultan Qaboos Cups to their name; the most ever won by a club, and also winning in 1989 the Gulf Club Championship making them the only omani club to win internationally, despite having a successful history, Fanja has been in a downfall since the 1990s, but regained their form in the 2010s winning a number of titles most notably their ninth Sultan Qaboos Cup only to once again lose form in the 2020s after the covid pandemic.
Although being very popular in the local community, it is ranked according to the AFC as a Class D football League. Sayyid Khalid bin Hamid, OFA President, has announced his organization's plan to transform the Omani Football League into a professional league by the year 2012, [1] [2] and will change its name to the "Oman Mobile League." [3] Many companies such as Nissan, Shell, and Oman Mobile, are one of the main reasons why the league is expected to transform, [4] along with the leadership of Sayyid Khalid.
The Oman Professional League, previously known as the Omantel Elite League, is the top division of the Oman Football Association, and was officially created in 1976. Currently, the most successful team in the league is Dhofar with 11 titles to their name.
Fanja Sports Club, known simply as Fanja, is an Omani professional sports club based in Fanja. The club currently plays in the Oman Professional League, top division of Oman Football Association. Their home ground is Al-Seeb Stadium. The stadium is government owned, but they also own their own stadium and sports equipment, as well as their own training facilities.
The 2009 Sultan Qaboos Cup was the 37th edition of the Sultan Qaboos Cup, the premier knockout tournament for football teams in Oman.
The 2010 Sultan Qaboos Cup was the 38th edition of the Sultan Qaboos Cup, the premier knockout tournament for football teams in Oman. This edition of the cup was nicknamed "Al-Kass Al-'Arba'een", literally meaning "The 40th Cup", due to the country's 40th anniversary of modernity.
The 2010–11 Omani League was the 35th edition of the top football league in Oman. It began on 1 November 2010 and finished on 30 April 2011. Al-Suwaiq Club were the defending champions, having won the 2009–10 Oman Mobile League season. On Saturday, 30 April 2011, Al-Suwaiq Club won 0–3 away in their final league match against Al-Nasr S.C.S.C. and emerged as the champions of the 2010–11 Oman Mobile League with a total of 43 points.
The 2011–12 Oman Elite League was the 36th edition of the top football league in Oman. It began on 25 September 2011 and was scheduled to finish on 19 May 2012, but for the first time in the history of Omani League, the league title had to be decided by a playoff. Al-Suwaiq Club were the defending champions, having won the previous 2010–11 Elite League season. On Monday, 21 May 2012, Fanja SC won the Championship Final match against Al-Shabab Club 7–6 on penalties after the match had ended 3–3 after extra time and emerged as the champions of the 2011–12 Oman Elite League.
The 2011 Sultan Qaboos Cup was the 39th edition of the Sultan Qaboos Cup, the premier knockout tournament for football teams in Oman.
The 2012–13 Oman Elite League was the 37th edition of the top football league in Oman. It began on 4 October 2012 and was scheduled to finish on 19 May 2013, but for the second season running, the league title had to be decided by a playoff. Fanja SC were the defending champions, having won the previous 2011–12 Elite League season. Al-Suwaiq Club won the Championship Final match against Fanja 3–1 and emerged as the champions of the 2012–13 Oman Elite League.
The 2012–13 Sultan Qaboos Cup was the 40th edition of the Sultan Qaboos Cup, the premier knockout tournament for football teams in Oman.
The 2013–14 Sultan Qaboos Cup was the 41st edition of the Sultan Qaboos Cup, the premier knockout tournament for football teams in Oman.
The 2014–15 Oman Professional League was the 39th edition of the top football league in Oman. The season began on 11 September 2014, and concluded on 28 May 2015. Al-Nahda Club were the defending champions, having won their third title in the 2013–14 season. On 9 May 2015, Al-Oruba SC were crowned the champions of the 2014–15 Oman Professional League with three games to spare after Sur SC was held to a 2–2 draw by Al-Suwaiq Club at the Al-Seeb Stadium. Al-Oruba who had beaten Sohar SC, 1–0 on Friday took their tally to 48 points from 23 matches, gaining an unassailable lead of eight points ahead of second-placed Sur. Sur, which needed to win on Saturday to keep their title hopes alive, and settled for one point to take its tally to 40 points, helping the fierce rivals from Sur city to win their 4th domestic title.
The 2006 Sultan Qaboos Cup was the 34th edition of the Sultan Qaboos Cup, the premier knockout tournament for football teams in Oman.
The 2004 Sultan Qaboos Cup was the 32nd edition of the Sultan Qaboos Cup, the premier knockout tournament for football teams in Oman.
The 2014–15 Sultan Qaboos Cup was the 42nd edition of the Sultan Qaboos Cup, the premier knockout tournament for football teams in Oman.
The 2013 Oman Super Cup was the 11th edition of the Oman Super Cup, an annual football match between Al-Suwaiq Club, the champions of the 2012–13 Oman Elite League and the 2012–13 Sultan Qaboos Cup and Fanja SC, the runners-up of the 2012–13 Oman Elite League. The match was played at the Al-Seeb Stadium in Al-Seeb, Oman.
The 2016 Oman Super Cup was the 14th edition of the Oman Super Cup, an annual football match between Fanja SC, the champions of the 2015-16 Oman Professional League and Saham Club the winners of the 2015-16 Sultan Qaboos Cup. The match was played at the Al-Seeb Stadium in Al-Seeb, Oman.
The 2016–17 Sultan Qaboos Cup was the 44th edition of the Sultan Qaboos Cup, the premier knockout tournament for football teams in Oman.
The 2018–19 Sultan Qaboos Cup is the 46th season of the Sultan Qaboos Cup, the national football cup competition of Oman. The winners of the competition will earn a spot in the 2020 AFC Cup.
Sayyid Khalid bin Hamad Al Busaidi is an Omani, business owner, musician and sportsman. He is also the former chairman of the Oman Football Association.
Ahmed Faraj Abdullah Al-Rawahi, commonly known as Ahmed Al-Rawahi, is an Omani footballer who plays for Al-Seeb in the Oman Professional League.