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Al-Gharafa SC

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Al-Gharafa
Full nameAl-Gharafa Sports Club
Nickname(s)Al Fuhud (The Cheetahs)
Founded6 June 1979; 45 years ago (1979-06-06), as Al-Ittihad
GroundThani bin Jassim Stadium
Capacity21,175
ChairmanJassim bin Thamer
ManagerPedro Martins
LeagueQatar Stars League
2022–23Qatar Stars League, 6th of 12
Websitehttps://algharafa.qa/

Al-Gharafa Sports Club (Template:Lang-ar) is a Qatari multisports club based in the Al Gharrafa district of Al Rayyan. It is best known for its football team, although it also has teams for other sports. It was established on 6 June 1979 as Al-Ittihad and later officially incorporated into the Qatar Football Association on 23 September of that same year. The club was officially renamed to its current form in 2004 to better represent the district of Al-Gharafa, of which the club belongs to. The club was most notably founded by Sheikh Mohammed bin Jassim Al-Thani, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani, Sheikh Hamad bin Faisal Al-Thani, Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al-Thani and Saad Mohammed Al-Rumaihi.[1] In a documentary produced by Al Kass sports channel about the history of the club, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim mentioned that the idea was initially suggested by Saad Al-Rumaihi who was working as a sports journalist at the Al Raya newspaper.

History

1980–2000

Al-Gharafa Sports Club was founded on 6 June 1979 and was formally created on 23 September 1979 as Al-Ittihad by the first president of the board of directors, Khalifa Bin Fahad Bin Mohammed Al-Thani (1979–1982) under resolution no. 9. Al-Gharafa was founded with the intent of creating sports facilities for the youth in the Al Gharrafa region. It did not occur to the leaders that Al-Gharafa would become as tremendously successful as it is today. The name "Al-Ittihad", which when translated into English, means "United", was chosen in the spirit of the brotherhood and solidarity that characterized the club and its leaders. Yellow and blue were selected as the club colors due to the founders' endearment towards the Brazil national team.[1] Al-Gharafa owes much of its success in the early years to the financial and material support of its Sheikh leaders.[2]

As Al-Gharafa was established relatively late compared to other Qatari clubs at the time, it was sent to the Qatari 2nd Division. It dominated the league and won the title on its debut in the 1979/80 season with Egyptian coach Mahmoud Abu Rujaila, as well three more times, the second by defending the championship in the 1980/81 season, and the third in the 1983/84 season, which, subsequently, was the year that their youth team had also won the league. Their first foreign player was Faisal Hannan, a Sudanese footballer who agreed to a contract one year prior to the club's establishment. Additionally, they won the 1986/87 season of the 2nd Division, allowing them to play in the 1987–88 season of the Qatar Stars League. The club ended up winning its first Stars League title in 1991–92, breaking the 16-year deadlock between the three dominant Qatari clubs Al-Arabi, Al Sadd, and Al-Rayyan. Al-Gharafa's youth team also won the league a year later in the 1992/93 season. The club were runners-up in 1994 to Al-Arabi, before winning the Emir of Qatar Cup 4 times in a row, from 1995 to 1998, under coach Jamal Haji.[2]

The club won the league for the second time in the 1997/98 season with 32 points after they edged Al-Rayyan by a margin of 3 points. Al-Rayyan finished runners-up, with Al Sadd in third place. The very next year they finished runners-up to Al-Wakrah SC, however, Al-Gharafa had the best goal difference.[2]

2000–2005

On Friday, 28 April 2000, at Khalifa International Stadium, Al-Gharafa won their first Qatar Crown Prince Cup. The match had ended goalless before they beat Al-Rayyan 9–8 in a dramatic penalty shoot-out. They were led by Adel Khamis, the long-time captain of the team. Al-Gharafa also won the Crown Prince Cup in 2010 and 2011.[2]

They won the league championship in the 2000–01 season by defeating Al Sadd in their last game on 1 May 2001 by a scoreline of 1–0. After the match, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, then chairman of the olympic committee, delivered an award to Adel Khamis, as well as gold medals to the whole team and a sum of 500,000 Qatari riyals to the club. Rachid Amrane also won the league top goalscorer with a tally of 16 goals.[2]

2005–present

The Qatar Stars League was revamped in the 2004/05 season, with many clubs changing their names (including Al-Gharafa), as well as changing the number of games played each season from 18 to 27. The club won the league this year, with only 1 loss from 27 games, bringing their point tally to 66, which was 14 more than the runners-up, Al-Rayyan. They also won their first Sheikh Jassem Cup that year, on 12 September 2005, after defeating Al Ahli 2–1, courtesy of goals from Rodrigo and Fahad Al Shammari.[2]

The next year they were unsuccessful in retaining the league championship, only finishing runners-up to Al Sadd. Although the next season, they won the league once more, besides scoring the highest number of goals in a season with 72 goals, mainly thanks to the efforts of Araújo, who scored 27 goals that season, shattering Gabriel Batistuta's record of 25.[2]

Stadium

Al Gharafa plays its home games at Thani bin Jassim Stadium which is situated in the Al Gharafa suburb of Al Rayyan. The stadium holds 27,000 people and was built in 2003. The stadium hosted 2011 AFC Asian Cup and other international competitions. It is planned to expand the existing 27,000 capacity to 44,740 for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[3]

Youth development

Al Gharafa has one of the largest youth development programmes in the country. It recruits youth players for every age bracket available, and has produced national team players from its academy. They regularly visit local schools, as well as hold school tournaments, and offer students trials. Currently there are approximately 350 players in the club's youth ranks, with 100 players in its academy, and 240 players in grass roots. Break-up is as follows (as of 2013):[4]

Break-up of all youth players
Total number of youth players Playing in national teams In ASPIRE
350
35
45
Break-up of academy players
Category U–19 U–17 U–15 U–14 Total no. of players
Number of players
25
25
25
25
 100
Number of trainers
5
5
5
5
Training sessions/week
5
5
4
4
Break-up of grass–roots players
Category U–12 U–11 U–10 U–9 U–8 U–7 U–6 U–15 Total no. of players
Number of players
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
20
 240
Number of trainers
5
5
5
5
4
4
4
4
Training sessions/week
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2

Honours

Records & statistics

Other records

Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA GD P Domestic cups AFC Other Competitions
1995–96 QSL 5 16 4 4 8 22 21 +1 16 CPC PFC ACWC, ASC GCC
1996–97 QSL 3 16 8 5 3 22 14 +8 29 CPC PFC ACWC, ASC GCC
1997–98 QSL 1 16 10 5 1 23 13 +10 32 CPC PFC ACWC, ASC GCC
1998–99 QSL 2 16 10 4 2 32 11 +21 34 CPC PFC ACWC, ASC GCC
1999–2000 QSL 4 16 5 8 3 24 15 +9 23 CPC
2000–01 QSL 5 16 8 4 4 27 19 +8 28 CPC EC
2001–02 QSL 1 16 13 2 1 42 18 +24 41 CPC
2002–03 QSL 2 18 8 8 2 29 21 +8 32 CPC PFC SSC EC
2003–04 QSL 6 18 7 5 6 33 24 +9 26 CPC ACL
2004–05 QSL 1 27 20 6 1 71 23 +48 66 CPC ACL ARCL
2005–06 QSL 6 27 8 10 9 29 30 -1 34 CPC ACL Quarter-finals
2006–07 QSL 2 27 11 10 6 51 41 +10 43 CPC PFC
2007–08 QSL 1 27 20 2 5 72 35 +37 62 CC ACL Group Stage
2008–09 QSL 1 27 17 5 5 56 33 +23 56 CC PFC ACL
2009–10 QSL 1 22 16 5 1 55 16 +39 53 CC ACL Group Stage
2010–11 QSL 2 22 14 1 7 51 31 +20 43 CC ACL Semi-finals
2011–12 QSL 6 22 8 7 7 26 27 -1 31 CPC ACL Semi-finals
2012–13 QSL 6 22 8 6 8 26 28 -2 30 CC

Performance in AFC competitions

AFC Champions League
Season Round Results Team 2 Venue Scorer(s)
8 March 2006 Group Round 0 – 2 Iran Saba Battery Doha, Qatar
22 March 2006 0 – 2 United Arab Emirates Al-Wahda Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
12 April 2006 4 – 0 Syria Al-Karamah Doha, Qatar A'ala Hubail (2), Lawrence Quaye, Ismaiel Ali
26 April 2006 1 – 3 Syria Al-Karamah Homs, Syria Lawrence Quaye
3 May 2006 1 – 4 Iran Saba Battery Tehran, Iran Abdulla Al-Mazroa
17 May 2006 5 – 3 United Arab Emirates Al-Wahda Doha, Qatar A'ala Hubail (3), Fahad Al Shammari, Sergio Ricardo
12 March 2008 Group Round 1 – 1 Iraq Arbil Zarqa, Jordan Araújo
19 March 2008 2 – 2 Uzbekistan Pakhtakor Doha, Qatar Younis Mahmoud, Araújo
9 April 2008 0 – 1 Kuwait Al Qadisiya Kuwait Kuwait City, Kuwait
23 April 2008 0 – 1 Kuwait Al Qadisiya Kuwait Doha, Qatar
7 May 2008 0 – 1 Iraq Arbil Doha, Qatar
21 May 2008 0 – 2 Uzbekistan Pakhtakor Tashkent, Uzbekistan
10 March 2009 Group Round 1 – 3 Saudi Arabia Al-Shabab Doha, Qatar Araújo
17 March 2009 2 – 0 United Arab Emirates Sharjah Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Nasser Kamil, Araújo
8 April 2009 1 – 3 Iran Persepolis Tehran, Iran Fernandão
21 April 2009 5 – 1 Iran Persepolis Doha, Qatar Fernandão, Araújo (3), Nashat Akram
6 May 2009 0 – 1 Saudi Arabia Al-Shabab Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
23 February 2010 Group Round 2 – 1 United Arab Emirates Al-Jazira Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Otmane El Assas, Younis Mahmoud
9 March 2010 3 – 2 Saudi Arabia Al-Ahli Doha, Qatar Mirghani Al Zain, Saad Al-Shammari, Araújo
23 March 2010 0 – 3 Iran Esteghlal Tehran, Iran
31 March 2010 1 – 1 Iran Esteghlal Doha, Qatar Younis Mahmoud
14 April 2010 4 – 2 United Arab Emirates Al-Jazira Doha, Qatar Araújo (3), Otmane El Assas
28 April 2010 1 – 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Ahli Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Nasser Kamil
11 May 2010 Round of 16 1 – 0 Uzbekistan Pakhtakor Doha, Qatar Araújo
15 September 2010 Quarter-final 0 – 3 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
22 September 2010 4 – 2 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal Doha, Qatar Mirghani Al Zain, Younis Mahmoud (2), Otmane El Assas
1 March 2011 Group Round 0 – 0 United Arab Emirates Al-Jazira Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
15 March 2011 0 – 1 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal Doha, Qatar
5 April 2011 0 – 2 Iran Sepahan Isfahan, Iran
29 April 2011 1 – 0 Iran Sepahan Doha, Qatar Amara Diané
4 May 2011 5 – 2 United Arab Emirates Al-Jazira Doha, Qatar Younis Mahmoud (3), Amara Diané, Mirghani Al Zain
11 May 2011 0 – 2 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Players

As of Qatar Stars League:

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Qatar QAT Yousef Hassan
2 DF Qatar QAT Abdalla Sirelkhatim
3 DF Brazil BRA Lyanco (on loan from Southampton)
4 MF Qatar QAT Nasser Al Ahrak
5 DF Qatar QAT Mostafa Essam
6 MF Qatar QAT Abdullah Ali Saei
7 MF Qatar QAT Amro Surag
8 MF Algeria ALG Yacine Brahimi
9 FW Qatar QAT Ahmed Al Ganehi
10 MF Algeria ALG Farid Boulaya
11 MF Qatar QAT Othman Al-Yahri
12 GK Qatar QAT Hamad Kahiout
13 FW Qatar QAT Ahmed Alaaeldin
15 DF Qatar QAT Dame Traoré
16 DF Qatar QAT Yousef Houssam
17 MF Qatar QAT Jassim Al-Zarra
18 GK Qatar QAT Khalifa Ababacar
19 FW Qatar QAT Yousef Saeed
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 FW Ivory Coast CIV Yohan Boli
23 GK Qatar QAT Ahmed Soufiane
24 DF Qatar QAT Homam Ahmed
25 MF Egypt EGY Ibrahim Khalid
29 MF Uruguay URU Fabricio Díaz
30 FW Qatar QAT Nasser Al-Enazi
31 MF Tunisia TUN Ferjani Sassi
33 DF Qatar QAT Chalpan Abdulnasir
34 DF Qatar QAT Ayoub Al-Alwi
37 DF Qatar QAT Mohammed Ali Jamin
39 MF Qatar QAT Abdelziz Beshir
40 GK Qatar QAT Amine Lecomte
42 DF Senegal SEN Seydou Sano
72 FW Qatar QAT Islam El-Awwad
74 MF Qatar QAT Jamil Friarkh
90 DF Qatar QAT Saifeldeen Fadlalla
95 GK Qatar QAT Abdulrahman Al-Ali

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
14 MF Qatar QAT Andri Syahputra (on loan to Muaither)

Notable players

For a list of all former and current Al Gharafa players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:Al-Gharafa SC players.

This list includes players whom have made significant contributions to their national team and to the club. At least 100 caps for the club or 70 caps for their national team is needed to be considered for inclusion. Updated 28 March 2016.

Domestic players

Foreign players

Personnel

As of 14 May 2023[5]
Coaching Staff
Head Coach Portugal Pedro Martins
Assistant Coach Qatar Saud Sabah

Club officials

Management

Position Staff
President Sh. Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani
Vice-President Sh. Khalid bin Ahmed Al Thani
Treasurer Sh. Thani bin Thamer Al Thani
General Secretary Jassem Al Mansouri
Vice Secretary Ahmed Al Shehhi
Board member Sh. Abdulaziz bin Jassim Al-Thani
General Secretary Sh. Hamad bin Mohammed Al Thani
General Secretary Sh. Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Thani
General Secretary Sh. Abdullah bin Hamad al-Thani

Last updated: 18 December 2014
Source: Board of Directors

Managerial history

As of 14 May 2023[6]
Notes
  • Note 1 denotes caretaker role

Club rankings

National ranking

As of 19 September 2023.[11]
Current Rank Country Team Points
4 Qatar Al-Rayyan SC 1398
5 Qatar Al-Arabi SC 1366
6 Qatar Al-Gharafa SC 1360
7 Qatar Al-Wakrah SC 1321
8 Qatar Qatar SC 1316

Asian ranking

As of 19 September 2023.[12]
Current Rank Country Team Points
86 Saudi Arabia Al-Faisaly FC 1361
87 Indonesia Bali United F.C. 1361
88 Qatar Al-Gharafa SC 1360
89 Iran Zob Ahan Esfahan F.C. 1358
89 Thailand Chonburi FC 1357

World ranking

As of 19 September 2023.[13]
Current Rank Country Team Points
901 Indonesia Bali United 1356
902 Portugal C.S. Maritimo 1356
903 Qatar Al-Gharafa SC 1356
904 South Africa Lamontville Golden Arrows 1356
905 Paraguay Sportivo Luqueño 1356

References

  1. ^ a b "الغرافة أسس على الحب والترابط وروح الأسرة الواحدة". raya.com. 31 January 2013. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "تاريخ النادي" (in Arabic). algharafa.com. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  3. ^ "Thani bin Jassim Stadium". worldcupstadiums.net. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  4. ^ "Al Gharafa Football Club (AFC Inspection visit)" (PDF). qslm-license.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  5. ^ "Administrative and technical staff". Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Al Gharafa » Manager history". Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Interview with Faisal Hannan". algharafa.net. 15 March 2013. Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  8. ^ "مع احترامي للريان والجيش.. الكأس الغالية غرفاوية". kooora.com. 17 May 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  9. ^ "Qatar's Al Ittihad takes on Al Ain today". Gulf News. 8 January 2001. Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  10. ^ "طموح السد "التحليق" في صدارة قطر". daharchives.alhayat.com. 5 December 2003. Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  11. ^ "Qatar Football / Soccer Clubs Ranking". Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  12. ^ "Asia Football / Soccer Clubs Ranking". Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  13. ^ "World Football / Soccer Clubs Ranking". Retrieved 19 September 2023.
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