Al-Arabi Irbid Sports Club (Arabic: نادي العربي إِربِد الرياضي) is a football club based in Irbid, Jordan which currently competes in the Jordanian First Division League.[2]
Full name | Al-Arabi Irbid Sports Club | ||
---|---|---|---|
Founded | 1945 | ||
Ground | Al-Hassan Stadium | ||
Capacity | 15,000 | ||
Chairman | Habes Al-Zinati | ||
Manager | Imad Rashad[1] | ||
League | Jordanian First Division League | ||
2023 | Jordanian First Division League, 4th of 14 | ||
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History
Al-Arabi Sports Club's origins began when a group of 22 young intellectuals were interested in establishing a place, where they could gather and practice their various hobbies. Thus, the Acting and Music Club was formed in 1945.[3] The club began as one that focused on youth culture and music, and sports was not a focus of the club at the time. It established its sports branch in 1955, under the current name Al-Arabi SC.[4] Al-Arabi SC is considered to be one of the oldest football clubs formed in Jordan, and the oldest club in Northern Jordan.[5]
According to Fayez Salim, the football team rose to the ranks of the Premier League team and was the first team from Irbid to win the Jordan FA Cup in 1986 and is still the only team from the city of Irbid to have won it[6] as of 2024.
Al-Arabi was also famous for its handball team,[7][8] as it dominated the Kingdom’s championships for nearly 16 consecutive years, between 1983 and ending in 1991, as well as hosting other sports such as tennis, volleyball, cycling and athletics.[9] A peculiarity within the club during the domination of its handball team was that some of their players switched between representing Al-Arabi in handball and Al-Arabi in football.[10]
Recent history
Al-Arabi finished as runners-up of the 2009–10 Jordan FA Cup, where they narrowly lost 1-0 to Al-Wehdat at the King Abdullah II Stadium.[11]
On 8 November 2017, Al-Arabi was threatened with collapse as it faced a difficult financial situation, owing a debt of over 1 million dinars.[12]
On 1 July 2019, various properties of Al-Arabi were put up for sale that amounted to approximately $10.4 million.[13]
On 17 December 2019, Al-Arabi and Al-Hussein began renovating a football stadium in the Zabada area of Irbid. It would be used as a training ground for both clubs, as opposed to go all the way to Ar-Ramtha to conduct their training.[14]
Current squad
As of 22 September 2024[15] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Personnel
Current staff
Position | Name |
---|---|
President | Habes Al-Zinati[26] |
Vice-president | Abdullah Al-Akour[27] |
Director | Ayman Al-Naimi Abu Al-Abd[28] |
Secretary | Khaled Abu Zaid |
Manager | Fathi Al-Dhawahra[29] |
Technical director / Head-coach | Imad Rashad |
Assistant coaches | Hadi Al-Maharmeh[30] Abdel-Ilah Al-Hanahneh[31] |
U-19 head coach | Tariq Salah[32] |
U-13, U-15, U17 technical director | Abdul Rahman Suleiman[33] |
Goalkeeping coach | Mohamed Badarna[34] |
U-13 head coach and physical trainer | Moamen Hamed[35] |
U-17 head coach and U-15 assistant coach | Mohamed Ahmed Al-Azayda[36] |
U-15 assistant coach | Mustafa Al-Turkmani[37] |
Notable players
The following players have either played at the professional or international level, either before, during or after playing for Al-Arabi SC (Irbid):
- Mustafa Abu Musameh
- Ammar Abu-Aleeqa
- Saed Al-Rosan
- Hatem Aqel
- Omar Athamneh
- Mohammad Balas
- Anas Bani Yaseen
- Bashar Bani Yaseen[38]
- Ihsan Haddad
- Ahmed Hatamleh
- Salah Massad
- Saeed Murjan
- Abdel-Ru'ouf Al-Rawabdeh
- Yasser Al-Rawashdeh
- Yousef Al-Rawashdeh
- Yousef Al-Thodan
- Mahmoud Za'tara
- Anas Al-Zboun
- Mohammad Zureiqat
- Musa Ouattara
- Mohammad Hussein
- Firas Al Ali
- Ibrahim Al Hasan
- Maher Al Sayed
- Ahmad Deeb
- Ahmed Idrees
Managerial history
- Fares Shdifat (?–2009)
- Kadhim Khalaf (2009–2010)
- Osama Qasem (2010)
- Muneer Masbah (2010–2011)
- Mustafa Al-Lubani (2011–2012)
- Hisham Khalf (2011)
- Issa Al-Turk (2012)
- Maher Bahri (2012–2013)
- Ahmed Sobh (2013)
- Kadhim Khalaf (2013–2014)
- Bega (2014)
- Mohammad Al-Ababneh (2014)
Honours
- Jordan FA Cup
- Winners (1): 1986
Kit Providers
References
External links
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