Al-Rayyan SC

Al-Rayyan SC
Full nameAl-Rayyan Sports Club
Nickname(s)The Lions
Founded1967; 57 years ago (1967)
GroundAhmad bin Ali Stadium
Capacity40,032
ChairmanAl Qaqa bin Hamad Al Thani
ManagerYounes Ali
LeagueQatar Stars League
2023–24Qatar Stars League, 2nd of 12
Websitehttps://alrayyansc.com
Al Rayyan's active sections

Football
Basketball
Handball

Volleyball
Futsal
Athletics

Al-Rayyan Sports Club (Arabic: نادي الريان الرياضي) is a Qatari multi-sports club fielding teams in a number of sports such as football, futsal, basketball, volleyball, handball, athletics, table tennis, and swimming. It is based at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Umm Al Afaei in the city of Al Rayyan. The club was founded in 1967 after merging the old Rayyan team with Nusoor Club. The official team colours are red and black.

They have won numerous titles in all sports, including two Asian championships in basketball, the Arab championship in handball, futsal domestic titles, table tennis, and volleyball, as well as numerous GCC basketball, handball, and volleyball championships. Both the basketball and handball teams have qualified for the world championships. However, the football team gets the most attention from the club officials, media, and fans.[1][2]

History

[edit]

1967–1973: Founding

[edit]

Al Rayyan's history goes back to the mid-1960s when it was known as Old Al Rayyan. Old Al Rayyan, though an amateur football team, competed in matches arranged throughout the whole country, not being limited to the city in which it was based. Their headquarters was in a two-bedroom house, and they played their matches on a football field in a school based in the New Rayyan area. The club relied on donations from the fans during this period.[3]

In 1967, Al Rayyan began as a combination of two groups called " new Al Rayyan’sons and old al-Rayyan’son". In 1967, Al-Rayyan started its factory. From 1967 until now, Al-Rayyan has won many trophies not only in soccer even in the rest of the games such as handball, basketball and volleyball. The people who contributed to build Al Rayyan knew that this team would not be a regular team, but it will also represent the culture of the city of Al Rayyan outside of Qatar. In 2008, the club established magazine called SOUT AL RAYYAN (The Voice of Al Rayyan) which is the first magazine that cares about Al Rayyan news, and it is the only team's magazine in Qatar.[4]

They applied to be a member club of the Qatar Football Association, but were rejected with the QFA proposing that they merge with Al Nusoor, a local sports club also based in Al Rayyan. In 1967, after an announcement by the Al Rayyan Sports Committee that Old Al Rayyan would merge with Al Nusoor, Al Rayyan SC was officially founded. A new headquarters was established to accommodate increased size demands as a result of the merger. The first head coach of Al Rayyan was Ashour Salem, a Sudanese national, who, besides working as a local physical education coach, trained the first team and youth team. In the early years, the club branched out to other sports, notably basketball and handball. As a result of donations from the club supporters, Al Rayyan was able to establish their home grounds in Doha Stadium, the largest stadium in Qatar at that time.[3]

1973–1988: Early history

[edit]

The club had success in the Qatar Stars League within the first decade of its formation, with the club participating in their first official season in 1972–73. In the 1974–75, after a mass brawl between the fans and players of Al Rayyan and Al Sadd, the QFA relegated Al Rayyan, who were in 2nd place at the time, to the second division. They won back promotion the following season and achieved their first league title 1976. In the 1977 season, the QFA annulled the results of Al Rayyan due to actions which took place in a match against Al Arabi. The perpetrator, who was an Al Arabi player by the name of Yassin Mustafa, was banned permanently from all league matches whereas the two clubs were warned.[5]

In 1983, under the leadership of Mohammed Bin Hammam Al Abdulla, a new club headquarters and home stadium were constructed. They won the league with a negative goal difference in 1983–84, making them one of the only 6 teams in the world and the only Qatari team in history to achieve this feat.[6]

1988–2000: Relegation and return to glory

[edit]

In the 1987–88 season, much to the surprise of critics and fans, they got relegated for the first time in league history.[7] The relegation was preceded by a 0–1 loss to Al Sadd, as Hassan Jowhar scored a header goal which would prove to be the final nail in the coffin of Al Rayyan.[5] They won back promotion to the premier league in their first season in the second division. [citation needed]

They would go on to win the league in 1990, the same season they were promoted back to the first division, beating out rivals Al Sadd. They won an additional league title in 1995. [citation needed]

2000–2013: League title drought

[edit]

They inaugurated their home ground, Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, in 2003 during the reign of Sheikh Mishaal Al Thani. The first match held on the grounds was the 2003 Emir Cup finals. [citation needed]

The club has not experienced much league success as of late, with the last successful league campaign being in 1994–95; however they finished third in the 2010–11 season under Paulo Autuori. Nonetheless, they faced great success in the Emir's Cup and Heir Apparent Cup winning eight cups in total in 14 years. [citation needed]

2014–: Return to success

[edit]

In 2014–15 the club won the Qatargas League and returned to Qatar Stars League. On 28 November 2015, Al-Rayyan Broke the record of most consecutive league matches won to 11. [citation needed]

On 5 March 2016, after 21 years Al-Rayyan won the league once again, and became the first ever team to win both leagues in two years.[8]

Supporters

[edit]
Al Rayyan fans in an Emir Cup final.

Al-Rayyan is one of the most popular clubs in Qatar and is supported throughout the Gulf region,[9] as well as other parts of the world due to their high-profile signings.[2] In 2010, they had the highest attendance in the Qatar Stars League.[10] The fan club won the QFA-sanctioned award of "best fans" in the 2008–09 season, and shared the award with Al Sadd in the 2012–13 season.[11]

Rivalries

[edit]

Al Arabi

[edit]

Head-to-head

[edit]

Since 1994 Updated 26 September 2023

Head-to-head
Competition P W D ND L GF GA GD CSF CSA Top Scorer For Top Scorer Against
Qatar Stars League 63 27 19 3 17 108 87 +21 17 8 Sonny Anderson (8) Waleed Hamzah (8)

Al Sadd

[edit]

Head-to-head

[edit]

Since 1995 Updated 22 September 2023

Head-to-head
Competition P W D ND L GF GA GD CSF CSA Top Scorer For Top Scorer Against
Qatar Stars League 61 20 13 5 28 79 104 -25 13 19 Rodrigo Tabata (4) Baghdad Bounedjah (14)

Al Gharafa

[edit]

Head-to-head

[edit]

Since 1995 Updated 21 September 2023

Head-to-head
Competition P W D ND L GF GA GD CSF CSA Top Scorer For Top Scorer Against
Qatar Stars League 59 15 18 3 26 87 109 -22 8 12 Rodrigo Tabata (10) Younis Mahmoud (9)

Al Duhail

[edit]

Head-to-head

[edit]

Updated 21 September 2023

Head-to-head
Competition P W D ND L GF GA GD CSF CSA Top Scorer For Top Scorer Against
Qatar Stars League 24 6 7 2 11 36 45 -9 4 7 Sebastián Soria (5) Youssef El-Arabi (6)

Honours

[edit]
As of 9 May 2023[12][13]

League

Cup

Continental record

[edit]
Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
1991 Asian Club Championship 1R Oman Al-Orouba 4–2 1−0 5–2
QF Thailand Port Authority
3–1
 1st
United Arab Emirates Al Shabab
2–1
Bangladesh Mohammedan
3–1
SF Iran Esteghlal
1–2
 1–2
Third Place United Arab Emirates Al Shabab
2–2
 2–2 (5–4 p)
1996–97 Asian Club Championship 2R Kuwait Kazma 1–1 1−0 2–1
QF Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr
2–1
 4th
Iraq Al-Zawraa
0–2
Iran Persepolis
1–2
1997–98 Asian Club Championship 1R Bahrain Al-Riffa – – w/o[A]
2R Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal 0–0 2–3 2–3
2005 AFC Champions League Group A Iran PAS Tehran 1–2 1–2 3rd
Kuwait Al-Salmiya 2–1 0–2
Iraq Al-Shorta 2–0 0–0
2007 AFC Champions League Group A United Arab Emirates Al Wahda 0–1 0–3 4th
Iraq Al-Zawraa 1–3 0–0
Kuwait Al-Arabi 1–3 1–1
2010 AFC Cup Group E Jordan Al-Wehdat 3–0 4–2 1st
Oman Al-Nahda 3–2 2–0
Bahrain Al-Riffa 0–2 4–1
R16 Thailand Muangthong United 1–1 – 1–1 (2–4 p)
2011 AFC Champions League Group D Saudi Arabia Al-Shabab 1–1 0–1 4th
United Arab Emirates Emirates 2–0 0–2
Iran Zob Ahan 1–3 0–1
2012 AFC Champions League Group A Iran Esteghlal 0–1 0–3 3rd
United Arab Emirates Al Jazira 3–4 2–3
Uzbekistan Nasaf Qarshi 3–1 1–0
2013 AFC Champions League Group D Iran Esteghlal 3–3 0–3 4th
Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal 0–2 1–3
United Arab Emirates Al Ain 2–1 1–2
2014 AFC Champions League Group A United Arab Emirates Al Jazira 2–3 2–3 4th
Iran Esteghlal 1–0 1–3
Saudi Arabia Al-Shabab 0–2 3–4
2017 AFC Champions League Group D United Arab Emirates Al Wahda 2–1 1–5 3rd
Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal 3–4 1–2
Iran Persepolis 3–1 0–0
2018 AFC Champions League Group D Iran Esteghlal 2–2 0–2 3rd
United Arab Emirates Al Ain 1–4 1–1
Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal 2–1 1–1
2019 AFC Champions League PO Iran Saipa 3–1 – 3–1
Group B Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad 0–2 1–5 4th
Uzbekistan Lokomotiv Tashkent 2–1 2–3
United Arab Emirates Al Wahda 1–2 3–4
2020 AFC Champions League PO Iran Esteghlal 0–5 – 0–5
2021 AFC Champions League Group E India Goa 1–1 0–0 4th
Iran Persepolis 1–3 2–4
United Arab Emirates Al Wahda 0–1 2–3
2022 AFC Champions League Group A Tajikistan Istiklol 1–0 3–2 2nd
Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal 0–3 2–0
United Arab Emirates Sharjah 3–1 1–1
R16 Qatar Al-Duhail 1–1 1–1 (6–7 p)

Key: PO – Play-off round; 1R/2R – First/Second round; R16 – Round of 16; QF – Quarter-final; SF – Semi-final;

Notes
  • ^
    Al-Riffa withdrew.


    • Stadium

    [edit]
    See also: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium
    Ahmad bin Ali Stadium (Al-Rayyan Stadium)
    Al-Rayyan Stadium
    Full nameAhmad bin Ali Stadium
    LocationUmm Al Afaei, Al Rayyan, Qatar
    Capacity44,740 (football)
    SurfaceGrass
    Construction
    Built2016
    Opened2020

    Ahmad bin Ali Stadium (Arabic: ملعب أحمد بن علي), popularly known as the Al-Rayyan Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Al-Rayyan, Qatar which serves as the home stadium for Al Rayyan's football section. It was used as a venue for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[14]

    Asian competitions goals

    [edit]

    Statistics correct as March 7, 2023

    P Player Goals Games
    1 Qatar Rodrigo Tabata 11 32
    2 Venezuela Gelmin Rivas 6 6
    = Ivory Coast Yohan Boli 6 13
    4 Qatar Mansour Muftah 4
    = Qatar Sebastián Soria 4 17
    = Nigeria Kalu Uche 4 3
    7 Brazil Nilmar 3 6
    = France Steven Nzonzi 3 7
    = Morocco Abdeslam Laghrissi 3
    = Qatar Mohammed Salem Al-Enazi 3
    = Uruguay Gonzalo Viera 3 18
    = Spain Sergio García 3 6
    = Morocco Abderrazak Hamdallah 3 5

    Players

    [edit]

    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 Fahad Younes
    2 DF Qatar QAT Murad Naji
    3 DF Qatar QAT Hazem Shehata
    4 MF Belgium BEL Julien De Sart
    5 DF Spain ESP David García
    6 MF Qatar QAT Abdulaziz Hatem
    7 MF Qatar QAT Rodrigo Tabata
    8 FW Egypt EGY Trézéguet (on loan from Trabzonspor)
    9 FW Qatar QAT Ahmed Al-Rawi
    10 FW Brazil BRA Róger Guedes
    11 FW Brazil BRA Gabriel Pereira
    12 DF Qatar QAT Ahmed Al-Minhali
    13 DF Portugal POR André Amaro
    14 MF Qatar QAT Adel Bader
    15 FW Qatar QAT Tameem Al-Abdullah
    16 MF Qatar QAT Abdurahman Al-Harazi
    17 MF Qatar QAT Mohamed Surag U21
    18 MF Uruguay URU Francisco Ginella
    No. Pos. Nation Player
    20 MF Qatar QAT Khalid Ali Sabah
    21 DF Qatar QAT Hussain Bahzad
    22 GK Qatar QAT Sami Habib Beldi
    23 MF Brazil BRA Thiago Mendes
    24 DF Qatar QAT Khalid Muftah
    25 MF Qatar QAT Mostafa Essam U21
    26 MF Qatar QAT Osama Al-Tairi
    27 MF Qatar QAT Ali Qadry (at Al-Ahli)
    29 DF Qatar QAT Hassan Al-Ghareeb U21
    30 GK Qatar QAT Fahad Al-Qasaimi
    31 GK Qatar QAT Sami Mazen U21
    33 DF State of Palestine PLE Ameed Mahajna
    37 MF Qatar QAT Wassim Matar
    48 GK Brazil BRA Paulo Victor
    55 DF State of Palestine PLE Mohammed Saleh
    62 DF Curaçao CUW Joshua Brenet
    77 MF Morocco MAR Achraf Bencharki
    99 MF Brazil BRA Davi Cruz U21

    Unregistered players

    [edit]

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

    No. Pos. Nation Player
    — DF Qatar QAT Yousif Umar
    — DF Qatar QAT Mubarak Al-Nasser
    No. Pos. Nation Player
    — DF Qatar QAT Ali Jasimi

    Out on loan

    [edit]

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

    No. Pos. Nation Player
    19 FW Spain ESP Rodrigo (on loan to Al-Gharafa)
    88 MF Qatar QAT Moameen Mutasem (on loan to Al-Khor)
    — DF Qatar QAT Mouaz Abdalla (on loan to Al-Sailiya)
    — DF Qatar QAT Abdullah Al-Ali (on loan to Al-Khor)
    No. Pos. Nation Player
    — MF Qatar QAT Ibrahim Al-Hassan U21 (on loan to Calahorra B)
    — MF Qatar QAT Naif Al-Hadhrami (on loan to Al-Shahania)
    — FW Spain ESP Jaime Rubio U21 (on loan to Al-Shahania)

    Technical staff

    [edit]

    Last update: August 2023.[15]

    First team

    [edit]
    Position Staff
    Manager Qatar Younes Ali
    Assistant coach Sweden Nercy Tourang
    Spain Sergi Angulo Lerín
    Spain Juan Ochoa
    Goalkeeping coach Brazil Welesley
    Fitness coach Italy Andrea Azzalin
    Club analyst Brazil Yuri de Souza
    Sports scientist Republic of Ireland Gavin Donoghue

    Notable players

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

    This list includes players whom have made significant contributions to their national team and to the club. At least 90 caps for the club or 100 caps for their national team is needed to be considered for inclusion.

    Local players

    Foreign players

    Managerial history

    [edit]

    Present and past managers of Al-Rayyan from 1967 (incomplete):

    Administrative managers

    [edit]
    • Egypt Ashraf Mehdi (1984–85)
    • Egypt Saad Abu El Dahab (1985–)[23]
    Notes
    • 1. Non-professional coach; worked as local physical education teacher.
    • 2. First professional coach.
    • 3. First non-Arab coach.

    References

    [edit]
    1. ^ "الرئيسية / أخبار الرياضة / مفاجأه من العيار الثقيل لصاحب اكبر قاعده جماهيريه في قطر : الريان يهبط الى دوري الدرجه الثانيه القطري". chatal3nabi.com. 12 April 2014. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
    2. ^ a b الاحتفالات تجتاح الدوحة بعد تتويج الريان بكأس الأمير (in Arabic). al-sharq.com. 19 May 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.[permanent dead link]
    3. ^ a b الريان "حكاية" قطرية ! (in Arabic). al-watan.com. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
    4. ^ "نبذة عن تاريخ نادي الريان القطري". iraqisworld.ahlamontada.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
    5. ^ a b الدوري القطري تاريخ و نجوم (in Arabic). aljazeerasport.net. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
    6. ^ "Trivia on Winning Domestic Championships". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
    7. ^ "1987 / 1988 هبط الريان وصعد الغرافة" (in Arabic). superkoora.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
    8. ^ "الريان بطلا للدوري القطري بعد انتظار دام 21 عاما | المصري اليوم". www.almasryalyoum.com (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 8 May 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
    9. ^ @alraya_n (19 June 2020). "Al-Rayyan one of the most popular clubs in Qatar" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
    10. ^ "Spectator report per match of QSL" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
    11. ^ "Sadd's Khalfan, Raul, Amotta shine at QFA awards gala". gulf-times.com. 20 May 2013. Archived from the original on 4 February 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
    12. ^ "Qatar » Qatar Stars League » Champions". Archived from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
    13. ^ "Al Rayyan SC". Archived from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
    14. ^ "2022 World Cup: Al Rayyan stadium to be inaugurated on Qatar National Day". 2 December 2020. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
    15. ^ "Administrative staff". Archived from the original on 19 February 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
    16. ^ "«الن ديكس» مدربًا للريان" (in Arabic). Al Raya. 1 June 1985. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
    17. ^ زامل الكواري (in Arabic). alrayyan-sc.net. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
    18. ^ "المدرب – عيد مبارك (Coach – Eid Mubarak)". mundial11.com (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
    19. ^ كاظمة والنصر يتنافسان على لقب اندية الخليج (in Arabic). Ad Diyar. 31 December 1996. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
    20. ^ المدرب المتألق في الملاعب القطرية سعد حافظ قدت فريق التضامن لإحراز كأس قطر رفضت العقد اللبناني إكراماً لعيون النصر خرجت نجوم المنتخب القطري (in Arabic). almadapaper.net. Archived from the original on 30 May 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
    21. ^ الريان القطري يستغني عن الهويدي (in Arabic). alazraq.com. 18 March 2002. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
    22. ^ a b "Al Rayyan Manager history". Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
    23. ^ "ﺳﻌﺪ أﺑﻮاﻟﺪھﺐ ﯾﻔﺘﺢ ﻣﺨﺰن أﺳﺮار اﻟﺮﯾﺎن ﻃﻮال 28 ﻋﺎﻣﺎ". alarab.qa. 9 May 2012. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
    [edit]
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