Al Rayyan Sports Club
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Al Rayyan Sports Club
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| Full name | Al-Rayyan Sports Club | |||
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| Founded | 1967 | |||
| Ground | Ahmed bin Ali Stadium Al-Rayyan, Qatar (Capacity: 27,000) |
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| Chairman |  Sheikh Abdulla Bin Hamad Al-Thani |
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| Manager |  Diego Aguirre |
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| League | Qatar Stars League | |||
| 2010–11 | 3rd | |||
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Al-Rayyan Sports Club (Arabic: نادي الريان الرياضي) is a Qatari professional 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 Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Omm Alafai 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. The team is nicknamed is 'The Lions' and also 'Al-Raheeb' which means the The Fierce.
The club has 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 the GCC basketball championship. Both the basketball and handball teams have qualified for the world championships. However, the football team gets the most attention from the club officials as well as the media and the fans. The club has one of the largest fan bases in Qatar.
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History
Al Rayyan Sports Club was founded in 1967 with the announcement by the Al-Rayyan Sports Committee that it would merge with Nusoor.
Al-Rayyan 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. They won the league in 1976 and 1978. Further league titles came in 1982, 1984, 1986, 1990 and 1995. During this period, Al Rayyan dominated the league along with Al-Arabi and Al-Sadd. They also won other trophies, such as the Qatar Crown Prince Cup (1995, 1996, 2001, 2012) and the Emir of Qatar Cup (1999, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2011). The club has not experienced much league success as of late, with the last successful season being 1994/95, however they finished 3rd in the 2010/11 season under Paulo Autuori.
Al Rayyan are the only Qatari team in history to win the league with a negative goal difference in 1983/84, and one of the only 6 teams in the world to achieve this feat.[1]
Current squad
First team
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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For recent squad changes see: List of Qatari football transfers winter 2011–12.
Reserve team
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Players with dual nationality
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Notable players
For a list of all former and current Al-Rayyan players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:Al-Rayyan Sports Club players.
Other sports
Basketball
Main article: Al Rayyan Basketball Team
Al Rayyan Basketball Team participated in the league after the establishment of the Qatar Basketball Federation (QBF) headed by Mr. Nasser Al-Mubarak Al-Ali in 1979. They had to play in outside courts paved with cement as Al-Rayyan Sports Club, or any club for that matter, did not have air-conditioned halls at that time, meaning that the surface area would be very dangerous to play on. At a time while basketball was first being introduced to Qatar, there were only four other clubs competing in the basketball league.
A report published by QBF in 1982 stated that the total number of basketball players in Al-Rayyan in 1970 was eight, with that number gradually decreasing throughout the decade, until 1974, when it was three. They were then coached by Sudanese Abdul Monem Salem. The game started to pick up in the early '80s after the formation of QBF. The playerbase increased, and South Korean coach Young-Suk was selected to bring the team glory. In the '80s, their team was one to be reckoned with, with the likes of Ahmed Mohammed Ali, the top scorer of the division in 1980-81, and Omar Mohammed, the top scorer of the youth division in the same year. Players were laid off in the mid-'80s, rendering the club ineligible to compete in the 1985-86 season. In 1988, the club had once again picked itself up again, with the juniors winning the 1988-89 and 1990-91 seasons. By 1992, the club had more than 95 players.
The club was able to achieve its first league trophy in 1998 under the guidance of coach Ali Fakhro. Sheikh Saud Bin Khaled Al-Thani, then-president of the club, awarded every player with a sum of 2,000 QR. The team continued to show good performances in the basketball league throughout the new millennium, winning the Asia Basketball championship back in 2005.
Futsal
Main article: Al Rayyan Futsal Team
The team was founded in 2006. Since the Qatar professional futsal league started in 2006/2007, Al Rayyan were the main force in Qatar. They won the first Qatar professional league when it first started in 2006/2007. Al Rayyan won the first Qatar Association Cup in 2008/2009, beating Qatar SC 7-5 in the final. In addition to the first league and cup titles, Al Rayyan secured the first Qatar Futsal Super Cup in 2010/2011 after beating Al Sadd 3-2 in a thrilling encounter. In the first time in the history of futsal in Qatar, the winner of the league would be decided by a play-off. Al Rayyan subsequently won their third league title by beating Al Gharafa 3-2 and 4-3 in both final games sealing their second consecutive league title.
Handball
Main article: Al Rayyan Handball Team
Handball has been played in Al Rayyan Sports Club since 1962, before Al Rayyan was officially founded. In 1978, the team was officially formed, and was then overseen by Tunisian Rachid Hammami on a temporary basis for about a month, before Hassan Abou El Fadl arrived as new head coach. He coached the team for 13 years and lived in the club. Originally, starting a handball team was very difficult in Qatar, as there were no facilities specially designed for it and it was hard to persuade children to join the youth teams as it was a period where football was blooming in popularity.
However, in the 1982-83 season, Al Rayyan achieved the impossible by winning all domestic championships in all age groups, which was 9 titles in one season. No other team in Qatar has accomplished a domestic triple with all age groups.
In 2000, Al Rayyan had won its first international title by defeating Zamalek SC in the Arab Club Handball Championship, a competition where they had finished third-placed the prior year. They were also runners-up in the Asian Club League Handball Championship in 2006.
Managerial history
Present and past managers of Al-Rayyan (incomplete):
| Period | Manager |
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| 1973–76 | Asour Salem |
| 1976–79 |  Saleh Youssef |
| 1979–82 |  Abdul Moniem |
| 1989–90 |  Alan Dicks |
| 1990–93 |  René Simões |
| 1994–95 |  Jørgen E. Larsen |
| 1995–97 | Benny Johansen |
| 1997 |  Antoni Piechniczek |
| 1997–98 | Zdzislaw Podedworny |
| 1998–99 | Roald Poulsen |
| 1999–00 | Jørgen E. Larsen |
| 2002–04 |  Jean Castaneda |
| 2004–05 | Jørgen E. Larsen |
| 2005 | Luis Fernández |
| 2005–06 |  Rabah Madjer |
| 2006–07 | Pierre Lechantre |
| 2007–09 | Paulo Autuori |
| 2009 | Marcos Paquetá |
| 2009–11 | Paulo Autuori |
| 2011–present | Diego Aguirre |
Management
| Position | Staff |
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| President | Sheikh Abdulla Bin Hamad Al-Thani |
| Vice-president | Sheikh Saud bin Nasser Al Thani |
| Secretary General | Mohamed Ali Al-Marri Hobash |
| Assistant Secretary | Mohamed Mansour Shahwani |
| Treasurer | Jamal Abdul Latif Al-Kuwari |
| Board Member | Sheikh Nawaf bin Mubarak Al-Thani |
| Board Member | Abdullah Rashid al-Amiri |
| Board Member | Husayn ibn Said |
| Board Member | Sheikh Khalid bin Hassan Al-Thani |
Last updated: 20 October 2011
Source: Board of Directors
Honours
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- 1975-76, 1977–78, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1989–90, 1994–95
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- 1995, 1996, 2001, 2012
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- 1999, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2011
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- 1978, 1980, 1982, 1983
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- 1992, 2000
Performance in AFC competitions
- AFC Champions League: 4 appearances
- AFC Cup: 1 appearance
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- 2010: Round of 16
Notes
External links
- Official website (Arabic)
- Al-Rayyan Management on AlMajles (Arabic)
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