Al-Gharafa Sports Club (Arabic: نادي الغرافة الرياضي) is a Qatari multi-sports club based in the Al Gharrafa district of Al Rayyan municipality. The club is best known for its football team, although it also has teams for other sports. The club 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, where the club is located.

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
Head coachPedro Martins
LeagueQatar Stars League
2023–24Qatar Stars League, 3rd of 12
Websitehttps://algharafa.qa/

The club was 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

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1980–2000

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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

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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

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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] Last competition win for Al Gharafa was Qatari stars cup in 18/19

Stadium

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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

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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

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Records & statistics

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Other records

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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
1996–97 QSL 3 16 8 5 3 22 14 +8 29
1997–98 QSL 1 16 10 5 1 23 13 +10 32
1998–99 QSL 2 16 10 4 2 32 11 +21 34
1999–2000 QSL 4 16 5 8 3 24 15 +9 23
2000–01 QSL 5 16 8 4 4 27 19 +8 28
2001–02 QSL 1 16 13 2 1 42 18 +24 41
2002–03 QSL 2 18 8 8 2 29 21 +8 32
2003–04 QSL 6 18 7 5 6 33 24 +9 26
2004–05 QSL 1 27 20 6 1 71 23 +48 66
2005–06 QSL 6 27 8 10 9 29 30 -1 34
2006–07 QSL 2 27 11 10 6 51 41 +10 43
2007–08 QSL 1 27 20 2 5 72 35 +37 62
2008–09 QSL 1 27 17 5 5 56 33 +23 56
2009–10 QSL 1 22 16 5 1 55 16 +39 53
2010–11 QSL 2 22 14 1 7 51 31 +20 43
2011–12 QSL 6 22 8 7 7 26 27 -1 31
2012–13 QSL 6 22 8 6 8 26 28 -2 30

Performance in AFC competitions

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

Players

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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   QAT Yousef Hassan
2 DF   QAT Abdalla Sirelkhatim
3 FW   QAT Mohammed Muntari
4 MF   QAT Assim Madibo
5 DF   QAT Mostafa Essam
6 DF   QAT Dame Traoré
7 MF   ROU Florinel Coman
8 MF   ALG Yacine Brahimi
9 FW   ESP Joselu
10 FW   ESP Rodrigo (on loan from Al-Rayyan)
11 MF   QAT Amro Surag
12 DF   QAT Hamid Ismail
14 MF   QAT Andri Syahputra
15 FW   QAT Ahmed Al Ganehi
16 DF   QAT Yousef Houssam U21
17 MF   QAT Rabh Boussafi
18 GK   QAT Khalifa Ababacar
19 FW   QAT Yousef Saeed U21
20 DF   KOR Jang Hyun-soo
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 DF   QAT Saifeldeen Fadlalla
22 GK   QAT Hamad El-Kahlout U21
24 MF   ISL Aron Gunnarsson
25 MF   QAT Ibrahim Khalid U21
28 MF   QAT Abdullah Halabi U21
29 MF   URU Fabricio Díaz
30 DF   TUN Wajdi Kechrida
31 MF   TUN Ferjani Sassi (captain)
32 DF   ARG Matías Nani (on loan from Al-Shamal)
33 DF   QAT Chalpan Abdulnasir U21
34 DF   QAT Ayoub Al-Alwi U21
37 DF   QAT Mohammed Ali Jamin
39 MF   QAT Abdelziz Beshir U21
40 GK   QAT Amine Lecomte
42 DF   SEN Seydou Sano
45 FW   QAT Waleed Al-Ashwal U21
55 MF   QAT Nawaf Al-Riyami U21
99 FW   PLE Jamal Hamed
GK   ESP Sergio Rico

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
13 FW   QAT Ahmed Alaaeldin (on loan to Al-Arabi)
44 DF   QAT Mohammed Mansour (on loan to Al-Kharaitiyat)
74 FW   QAT Jamil Friakh U21 (on loan to Júpiter Leonés)
MF   QAT Nasser Al Ahrak (on loan to Al-Shahania)
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   QAT Abdullah Al-Saei (on loan to Al-Khor)
MF   QAT Othman Al-Yahri (on loan to Umm Salal)
MF   QAT Jassim Al-Zarra (on loan to Al-Wakrah)
FW   CIV Yohan Boli (on loan to Al-Khor)

Notable players

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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

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

Club officials

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Management

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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

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

References

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  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.
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