Al-Rayyan SC

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.

History

1967–1973: Founding

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.

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.

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.

1973–1988: Early history

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.

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.

1988–2000: Relegation and return to glory

In the 1987–88 season, much to the surprise of critics and fans, they got relegated for the first time in league history. 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. 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

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

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.

Supporters

Al-Rayyan is one of the most popular clubs in Qatar and is supported throughout the Gulf region, as well as other parts of the world due to their high-profile signings. In 2010, they had the highest attendance in the Qatar Stars League. 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.

Rivalries

Al Arabi

Head-to-head

Since 1994 Updated 26 September 2023

Al Sadd

Head-to-head

Since 1995 Updated 22 September 2023

Al Gharafa

Head-to-head

Since 1995 Updated 21 September 2023

Al Duhail

Head-to-head

Updated 21 September 2023

Honours

As of 1 May 2026

League

• Qatar Stars League Champions (8): 1975–76, 1977–78, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1989–90, 1994–95, 2015–16

Cup

• Emir of Qatar Cup Champions (6): 1998–99, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2010, 2011, 2013
• Qatar Cup Champions (4): 1995, 1996, 2001, 2012
• Sheikh Jassim Cup Champions (5): 1992, 2000, 2012, 2013, 2018

• QSL Cup Champions (1): 2025-26

Continental record

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

Notes

Stadium

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. The construction of the new stadium started in early 2016. This was done by the joint venture between Al-Balagh and Larsen & Toubro. After the World Cup the stadium will be reduced to 21,000 seats. The new stadium was built for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which was hosted by Qatar.

Asian competitions goals

Statistics correct as March 7, 2023

Players

Current squad

As of Qatar Stars League:

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

Olympic squad

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

Out on loan

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

Technical staff

Last update: August 2023.

First team

Notable 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.

Managerial history

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

• Sudan Salem Ashour (1967–??), (1973–??)1
• Egypt Saleh Youssef (ca. 1976)2
• England Powell (1976–??)3
• Egypt Abdul Moneim Al Haj (1981–83)
• Brazil Vavá (1984–85)
• England Wayne Jones (1985)
• England Alan Dicks (1985)
• England Colin Dobson (1985–87)
• Brazil Vavá (ca. 1989)
• England Alan Dicks (1989–90)
• Egypt Abdul Moneim Al Haj (1990)
• Brazil René Simões (1 July 1990–91)
• Brazil Luis Alberto (1991–92)
• Brazil René Simões (1992 – 30 June 1993)
• Brazil Cabralzinho (1993–94)
• Denmark Jørgen E. Larsen (1 July 1994 – 30 June 1995)
• Brazil Evaristo de Macedo (1995)
• Denmark Benny Johansen (1 July 1995–96)
• Qatar Eid Mubarak (1996–97)
• Poland Antoni Piechniczek (1997)
• Poland Zdzisław Podedworny (1997–98)
• England Allan Jones (1998)
• Denmark Roald Poulsen (1998–99)
• Denmark Jørgen E. Larsen (1 July 1999 – 30 June 2000)
• Brazil Dutra (2000)
• Brazil Paulo Campos (2000)
• Brazil Santos (2000–01)
• Brazil Paulo Henrique (2001–02)
• Brazil Amarildo (2002)
• France Jean Castaneda (2002–04)
• Sweden Bosse Nilsson (2004)
• Denmark Jørgen E. Larsen (1 July 2004 – 30 June 2005)
• Netherlands Ron van den Berg (2005)
• France Luis Fernández (26 June 2005 – 15 Nov 2005)
• Morocco Hassan Hormatallah (Nov 2005–05)
• France Ladislas Lozano (2005–06)
• Algeria Rabah Madjer (2006 – 30 June 2006)
• France Pierre Lechantre (2006–07)
• Brazil Paulo Autuori (2 May 2007 – 17 May 2009)
• Brazil Marcos Paquetá (1 July 2009 – 30 June 2010)
• Brazil Paulo Autuori (21 Nov 2009 – 30 June 2011)
• Uruguay Diego Aguirre (Sept 6, 2011 – 3 Nov 2013)
• Serbia Rastko Stojkovic (2013)
• Spain Manuel Jiménez (4 Nov 2013 – 20 May 2015)
• Uruguay Jorge Fossati (20 May 2015 – 3 October 2016)
• Denmark Michael Laudrup (26 September 2016 – 30 June 2018)
• Argentina Rodolfo Arruabarrena (5 July 2018 – 8 October 2018)
• Turkey Bülent Uygun (10 October 2018 – 5 March 2019 )
• Brazil Gilson (6 March 2019 – 30 June 2019)
• Uruguay Diego Aguirre (28 May 2019 – 11 December 2020)
• Qatar Fábio César (10 December 2020 – 18 December 2020)
• France Laurent Blanc (19 December 2020 – 13 February 2022)
• Chile Nicolás Córdova (13 February 2022 – 30 June 2023)
• Portugal Leonardo Jardim (1 July 2023 – 30 June 2024)
• Sweden Poya Asbaghi (1 July 2024 – 24 September 2024)
• Qatar Younes Ali (24 September 2024 – 3 January 2025)
• Portugal Artur Jorge (4 January 2025 – 19 March 2026)

Administrative managers

• Egypt Ashraf Mehdi (1984–85)
• Egypt Saad Abu El Dahab (1985–)

Notes

• 1. Non-professional coach; worked as local physical education teacher.
• 2. First professional coach.
• 3. First non-Arab coach.

External links

• (in Arabic and English)
• at QFA