Dhofar S.C.S.C.
 | |||
| Full name | Dhofar Sports, Cultural and Social Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) |
Al-Zaeem (The Leader(s)/The Boss) | ||
| Founded |
1968 (as Al-Shaab) July 24, 1970 (as Dhofar) | ||
| Ground |
Al-Saada Stadium Salalah Sports Complex Salalah, Oman | ||
| Capacity |
12,000 8,000 | ||
| Chairman |
 Sheikh Badr Ali Said Al-Rawas | ||
| Manager |
 Dragan Talajić | ||
| League | Omani League | ||
| 2012-13 | 6th | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
| |||
Dhofar Sports, Cultural, and Social Club (Arabic: نادي ظفار الرياضي الثقافي الاجتماعي; also known locally as Al-Zaeem, or "The Leader(s)" because of their great success, or just plainly as Dhofar) is an Omani sports club based in Salalah.[1] The club is currently playing in the Omani League, top division of Oman Football Association. Their home ground is Al-Saada Stadium, but they also recognize the older Salalah Sports Complex as their home ground. Both stadiums are government owned, but Dhofar also own their own personal stadium and sports equipments, as well as their own training facilities in the heart of Salalah in Al-Salaam Street.[2]
History
The idea for the foundation of a club in Salalah began in the 1960s resulting in various meetings among the town's people. The names considered for the new club were Al-Ahlia, Al-Nahda, Al-Arabi, and Al-Shoala, but the name to be chosen for the club was to be "Al-Shaab", a name literally translating to "The People",[3] and in 1968 the new club was finally founded.
Two years later the young club merged with the neighboring club Al-Shoala from the Dahariz district of Salalah and was re-founded as Dhofar in 1970 appointing Salim Al-Kathiri as the club's first president, a position which was held by him till 1975.[4]
Dhofar is the most successful club in the Omani League with a total of nine championships[5] and seven Sultan Qaboos Cup titles[6] to their name. Dhofar have also reached the final of the 1995-1996 Gulf Club Champions Cup, only losing to Saudi giants, Al-Nassr. The club has never been relegated to second division. They have a long lasting rivalry with neighbours Al-Nasr S.C. Although being relatively younger in foundation than many other Arab clubs, which generally were founded in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, Dhofar has been ranked as the 30th most successful club title-wise in the Arab World with a total of 19 titles.[7]
Dhofar, along with the neighbours Al-Nasr have been generally labelled as the front runners of the Omani League, but as seen in the recent seasons, both the clubs performed horribly with Dhofar losing many games, and not going far in the Sultan Qaboos Cup, along with Al-Nasr who even got relegated in the 2010-11 season.
The club in the 2009-10 season made a season comeback with their performances in the Sultan Qaboos Cup by reaching the final against a lower-leveled Saham. Saham won the match 7-6 on penalties after the match had ended 2-2 at normal time.
Dhofar also received second place in the 2009–10 Omani League losing only a few points short of first-time winners, Al-Suwaiq,[8] and in the process qualified for the 2011 AFC Cup. After the end of the second-place finish earlier in the 2009-10 season, Dhofar made major signings and re-signings in order to boost the club's performance in future competitions.[9] Then in the next season, they were placed 4th in the league table securing 30 points from 22 games. Dhofar lost all its last 5 matches in the 2010-11 season. It further went down in the 2011-12 season and was placed 12th in the league. But at the end of the same season they also won their 8th Sultan Qaboos Cup title by winning 1-0 against neighbours Al-Ittihad.[10] In the previous season of the Omani League, Dhofar was ranked 6th in the league. This was one of their worst performances in the top division football. In 2013, Dhofar appointed Dragan Talajić of Croatia as their manager.
Being a multisport club
Although being mainly known for their football, Dhofar like many other clubs in Oman, have not only football in their list, but also hockey, volleyball, handball, basketball, badminton and squash. Dhofar also have a youth football team competing in the Omani Youth league.
Colors, kit providers and sponsorships
Like the Oman national football team, Dhofar have also long-chosen red as the color to represent them. Historically, Dhofar usually wore a red jersey with white shorts, but after the 1990s Dhofar began to wear a full red kit.
Over the years Dhofar have had numerous kit providers, ranging from Puma to Lotto and Grand Sport. As of now, Adidas provides Dhofar with kits.
Dhofar have also had many different sponsorships over the years, but rarely featured a shirt sponsor (only during notable matches such as the Sultan Qaboos Cup final). Omani newspaper, Al-Watan, Dhofar Insurance, Al Makan Cafe and Bank Muscat have all been featured on Dhofar's kit at one point in their history.
Achievements
- Omani League (9): 1982-83, 1984–85, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2004–05; Runner-up 1987–88, 2002–03, 2007–08, 2007–08, 2009–10
- Sultan Qaboos Cup (8): 1977, 1980, 1981, 1990, 1999, 2004, 2006, 2011; Runner-up 1984, 1993, 2002, 2009
- Omani Super Cup (1): 1999; Runner-up 2000, 2005, 2012
Performance in AFC competitions
- Asian Club Championship: 2 appearances
- 1987: Qualifying Stage
- 1997: First Round
- AFC Cup: 3 appearances
- 2004: Group Stage
- 2007: Group Stage
- 2013: Group Stage
- Asian Cup Winners Cup: 2 appearance
- 1991/92: Second Round
Performance in UAFA competitions
- GCC Champions League: Qualified 10 times, participated 9 times.[11]
| Year | Host Country | Place |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 |  U.A.E. | 6th place |
| 1986 |  Saudi Arabia | 3rd place |
| 1991 | Oman | 4th place |
| 1993 |  Kuwait | 4th place |
| 1994 | U.A.E. | 6th place |
| 1995 |  Bahrain | 2nd place |
| 2001 | Oman | 3rd place |
| 2002 | Bahrain | 5th place |
| 2005 | Kuwait | Qualified but did not participate |
| 2008 | Saudi Arabia | 6th place |
| 2011 | Bahrain | 5th place |
- U-17 Gulf Club Champions Cup:
- 1994: Winners
Current squad
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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History of club presidents[12]
| No | Name | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salim bin A'nnou Al-Kathiri |
1970 | 1975 |
| 2 | Ali bin Said Badr Al-Rawas |
1975 | 1976 |
| 3 | Saif bin Hafidh Abdullah Al-Rawas |
1976 | 1986 |
| 4 | Ahmed bin Salim Amer Al-Rawas |
1986 | 1997 |
| 5 | Ghazi bin Said Abdullah Al-Rawas |
1997 | 2000 |
| 6 | Hamid bin Ahmed Al-Aajayli |
2000 | 2004 |
| 7 | Naif bin Omar Awadh Al-Rawas |
2004 | 2006 |
| 8 | Badr bin Ali Said Al-Rawas |
2006- |
References
- ↑ "DHUFAR". soccerway.com.
- ↑ http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Dhofar+Football+Club&sll=17.014139,54.098034&sspn=0.001318,0.002406&ie=UTF8&hq=Dhofar+Football+Club&hnear=&t=h&z=19
- ↑ http://translate.google.com/#ar|en|%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B9%D8%A8 - Google translation from Arabic to English of Al-Shaab
- ↑ - Dhofar S.C. history
- ↑ - Dhofar League titles
- ↑ - Dhofar S.Q.C. titles
- ↑ - Dhofar ranked as 30th most successful club in West Asia and North Africa (ARCHIVE, must have log-in to view page)
- ↑ - 09-10 league table
- ↑ - (Arabic) Kooora announces signings and re-signings of the 2010 offseason
- ↑ "DHUFAR VS. AL ITTEHAD 1 - 0". soccerway.com.
- ↑ - Dhofar's history in the Gulf Club Championship Cup as of 2005. (does not include 2008, 2011 competitions)
- ↑ History of Dhofar's presidents (bottom of page)