The Qatari Second Division ( Arabic : دوري الدرجة الثانية القطري ), QSD or Second Division League , also was known as Qatargas League due to sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of football league competition in Qatar . Contested by 8 teams, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Qatar Stars League (QSL), the top-tier football league in the country. The QSD seasons run from September to April.
19-427: The league's first season was played in 1979 which was won by Al-Ittihad . The club with the most QSD wins is Al-Markhiya which has won 6 QSD titles. According to the league's development strategy, starting with the 2022–23 season, the first-placed club of this league will play a relegation match against the tenth-placed club of the first league to decide which club will participate in the first league next season. There
38-437: 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. 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 ,
57-579: 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. Last competition win for Al Gharafa was Qatari stars cup in 18/19 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
76-553: 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
95-492: Is no relegation from the second division. In 1990, the Qatar Football Association dissolved three second division clubs: Al Nasr , Al Tadamon , and Al Nahda . The clubs' players and staff were distributed to first division clubs. As a result, the Qatari Second Division was unofficially dissolved on a temporary basis. The competition resumed operations in the 1996–97 season. The first promotion play-off took place in
114-436: Is planned to expand the existing 27,000 capacity to 44,740 for the 2022 FIFA World Cup . 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
133-492: 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 . The club won the league for the second time in the 1997/98 season with 32 points after they edged Al-Rayyan by
152-550: 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
171-426: The 1999–00 season, between Second Division champions Muaither SC and the bottom-ranked team of the Qatar Stars League , Al Shamal . Muaither lost the match. It was announced on 15 April 2009 that no clubs would be relegated from the top flight in the 2008–09 season , due to expansion reasons, however the announcement was made with only one game remaining. This meant that the Qatari Second Division would remain with
190-533: 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): 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. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. This list includes players whom have made significant contributions to their national team and to
209-409: The club. Rachid Amrane also won the league top goalscorer with a tally of 16 goals. 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
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#1732876846995228-425: 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 Last updated: 18 December 2014 Source: Board of Directors 1987%E2%80%9388 Qatar Stars League Statistics of Qatar Stars League for the 1987–88 season. Al-Sadd Sports Club won the championship. This article about
247-631: The district of Al-Gharafa, where the club is located. The club was founded by Bappa sorkar, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani, Sheikh Hamad bin Faisal Al-Thani, Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al-Thani and Saad Mohammed Al-Rumaihi. 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
266-451: The early years to the financial and material support of its Sheikh leaders. 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
285-469: 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 . Al-Gharafa owes much of its success in
304-545: The long-time captain of the team. Al-Gharafa also won the Crown Prince Cup in 2010 and 2011. 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
323-412: 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 . 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
342-504: The same number of teams despite the recent formation of Lekhwiya SC and El Jaish SC , while the top flight would expand to 12 teams. On 6 October 2013 it was announced Qatari Second Division had a sponsorship with Qatargas . An annual competition known as the Qatari Second Division Cup is played by all second division clubs. Source: Al-Gharafa SC Al-Gharafa Sports Club ( Arabic : نادي الغرافة الرياضي )
361-554: Was working as a sports journalist at the Al Raya newspaper. 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
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