Football clubs of Oman
The Sultanate of Oman has had a relatively long history of football clubs dating back to the 1940s. The oldest club still surviving to date in the Sultanate is Oman Club which was established in 1942. Many clubs have also experienced mergers such as Muscat, and Seeb. There are currently 43 clubs known to Oman.
Dhofar is known as the most successful club in Omani football earning them the nickname, "Al-Zaeem, or "The Leaders" due to them holding 9 Omani League titles; the most won by a club, and winning 7 Sultan Qaboos Cups, as well as reaching the final of the Gulf Club Champions Cup once in 1996 losing to Saudi club Al-Nassr. Fanja has also had a successful title history with 7 Omani League titles to their name, 8 Sultan Qaboos Cups to their name; the most ever won by a club, and also winning in 1989 the Gulf Club Championship, the only Omani club to hold the title, despite having a successful history, Fanja has been in downfall since the early 1990s, winning no titles since.
Evolution to a Professional League
Although being very popular in the local community, it is ranked according to the AFC as a Class D football League. Sayyid Khalid bin Hamid, OFA President, has announced his organization's plan to transform the Omani Football League into a professional league by the year 2012,[1][2] and will change its name to the "Oman Mobile League."[3] Many companies such as Nissan, Shell, and Oman Mobile, are one of the main reasons why the league is expected to transform,[4] along with the leadership of Sayyid Khalid.