Al-Shamal Sports Club (Arabic: نادي الشمال الرياضي) is a Qatari multi-sports club based in Madinat ash Shamal. Al-Shamal was founded in 1980. Its football team competes in the Qatar Stars League, the top tier of the national football league system.
History
Mohammed bin Badr Al-Sadah founded the club in 1980. Al-Sadah started his football administration career as a member of the Al Sadd Board of Directors in 1972, before founding and serving as the first president of Al-Shamal in 1980.[1] With very few resources at their disposal, the team played its early matches on dirt pitches. The team's results in matches were sub-par initially, leading to the administration prioritising youth development. This led to the emergence of players such as Adnan Abdullah, the first Al-Shamal player to compete with the Qatar national team,[2] and Jassim Al Muhaiza, who achieved the rare feat of playing for three age categories of the Qatar national team in one season.[1]
The team's first coach was former Zamalek player Samir Kotb. He would be succeeded by his compatriot Ibrahim Al-Sheikh, who formerly played for Egypt's Al Nasr.[2] Other early coaches include Sudanese former footballer Anwar Babiker, whose son later played professionally for the club as well as other clubs in Qatar and abroad, and Zaid Al-Sadah.[3]
Initially, the club only had a football section, but in 1982 it branched out to handball, with early coaches for this category being Ezz El-Din Bin Sultan and Ramadan Madani Abdel-Al. In the following years, the club established teams in other sports, starting with volleyball, under the supervision of Abdel-Azim Bayoumi and Mamdouh Ali, and followed by table tennis, which was overseen by a Chinese coach. Following these were the additions of sections for basketball, whose early coaches included Hassan Youssef and Mohammed Hamed, and athletics, which was first coached by Ahmed Al-Maghrabi, followed by Qadri Bakri. During this period of the club's history, age categories for the football team were also formed.[3]
Among the earliest accomplishments of the club was its youth football team coming in third place in the General Youth League in 1982–83.[3] In 1983, Abel Verônico took charge of the senior team. Under his leadership, the club won its first championship, the 1985–86 edition of the Qatari 2nd Division.[4] This ensured their promotion to the country's top tier of football for the first time ever, taking part in the 1986–87 Qatar Stars League. They would go on to win the Arab Peace Championship, a regional tournament, in 1995.[3] Their most notable triumph was winning the 1996 Sheikh Jassim Cup.[5]
In 2001, the club administration successfully acquired ownership of the club's headquarters from the Ministry of Health.[3] In 2011, the club opened its home stadium, Al-Shamal SC Stadium in Madinat ash Shamal. It has emerged as a prominent local landmark in the city.[6] Aside from accommodating the club's sports teams, it also features a banquet hall and a lecture hall.[7]
Modeled after the historic Zubarah Fort, Al-Shamal SC Stadium, the club's home grounds is renowned for its unique design, with its red bricks being imported from India.[2] It was opened in 2011.[6] Spread over an area of 84,000 m2 in Madinat ash Shamal, the stadium had an original seating capacity of 3,500 spectators,[8] though this was later increased to a 5,000 seating capacity.[6] The club also has an indoor sports hall, with a capacity for 500 spectators, which is used by its handball, volleyball and basketball teams. Furthermore, an athletics field and a football training field can be found at the venue.[8]
^"نبذة عن النادي" (in Arabic). Al Shamal Sports Club. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
^ ab"QOC Venue Booklet"(PDF). Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC). 24 March 2015. p. 67. Archived from the original(PDF) on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
