View source for Dhofar Club

{{Short description|Omani sports club}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox football club
| clubname = Dhofar Club<br/>نادي ظفار
| image = Dhofar Club.png
| image_size = 180px
| fullname = Dhofar Sports, Cultural and Social Club<br/>نادي ظفار الرياضي الثقافي و الاجتماعي
| nickname = ''Al-Za'eem'' (The Bosses)
| founded = {{Start date and age|1968|df=yes}} (as ''Al-Shaab'')<br/>{{Start date and age|20 May 1972|df=yes}} (as ''Dhofar'')
| ground = [[Al-Saada Stadium]]<br/>[[Salalah Sports Complex]]<br/>[[Salalah, Oman|Salalah]], Oman
| capacity = 20,000<br/>8,000
| chairman = Badar Ali Said Al-Rawas
| manager = Rasheed Jaber
| league = [[Oman Professional League]]
| season = [[2023–24 Oman Professional League|2023–24]]
| position = 10th of 12
| current = 2023–24 Oman Professional League
| website = 
| pattern_la1 = _dhofar1011h
| pattern_b1 = _dhofar1011h
| pattern_ra1 = _dhofar1011h
| pattern_sh1 = _adidaswhite
| pattern_so1 = _3_stripes_white
| leftarm1 = EF190E
| body1 = EF190E
| rightarm1 = EF190E
| shorts1 = EF190E
| socks1 = EF190E
| pattern_la2 = _hamburgersv1011h
| pattern_b2 = _hamburgersv1011h
| pattern_ra2 = _hamburgersv1011h
| pattern_sh2 = _adidasred
| pattern_so2 = _color_3_stripes_red
| leftarm2 = FFFFFF
| body2 = FFFFFF
| rightarm2 = FFFFFF
| shorts2 = FFFFFF
| socks2 = FFFFFF
}}

'''Dhofar Sports, Cultural and Social Club''' ({{langx|ar|نادي ظفار الرياضي الثقافي الاجتماعي}} is an Omani sports club based in [[Salalah]], Oman.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.national-football-teams.com/club/2967/2013_1/Dhofar_Scsc_Salala.html | title = Dhofar SCSC Salala | publisher = national-football-teams.com | access-date = 8 June 2014 | archive-date = 31 May 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140531040353/http://www.national-football-teams.com/club/2967/2013_1/Dhofar_Scsc_Salala.html | url-status = live }}</ref> The club currently plays in the [[Oman Professional League]], top division of [[Oman Football Association|Omani football]]. 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 the club also owns its own personal stadium and sports equipment, as well as their own training facilities.

==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'''", literally translating to "The People",<ref>https://translate.google.com/#ar|en|%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B9%D8%A8&nbsp;– {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102185833/https://translate.google.com/#ar{{!}}en{{!}}%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B9%D8%A8 |date=2 January 2020 }} Google translation from Arabic to English of Al-Shaab</ref> 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 he held until 1975.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://dhofarclub.com/about-us.asp |title=Dhofar S.C. history |access-date=4 March 2010 |archive-date=12 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212073717/http://www.dhofarclub.com/about-us.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> Officially, the club was founded on 20 May 1972 and was registered on 26 June 2002.

Dhofar is the most successful club in the [[Omani League]] with a total of eleven championships<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://dhofarclub.com/acheivements.asp#t2 |title=Dhofar League titles |access-date=28 April 2010 |archive-date=8 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150108065337/http://dhofarclub.com/acheivements.asp#t2 |url-status=live }}</ref> and ten Sultan Qaboos Cup titles<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://dhofarclub.com/acheivements.asp#t1 |title=Dhofar S.Q.C. titles |access-date=28 April 2010 |archive-date=8 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150108065337/http://dhofarclub.com/acheivements.asp#t1 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 Salalah|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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://forum.kooora.com/f.aspx?t=20977536 |title=Dhofar ranked as 30th most successful club in West Asia and North Africa (ARCHIVE, must have log-in to view page) |access-date=3 January 2010 |archive-date=8 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150108070328/http://forum.kooora.com/f.aspx?t=20977536 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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 Omani League|2010–11]] season.

The club in the [[2009–10 Omani League|2009–10]] season made a season comeback with their performances in the Sultan Qaboos Cup by reaching the final against a lower-leveled [[Saham Club|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]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://goalzz.com/main.aspx?c=4971 |title=09-10 league table |access-date=23 September 2010 |archive-date=27 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227050359/http://goalzz.com/main.aspx?c=4971 |url-status=live }}</ref> and in the process qualified for the [[2011 AFC Cup]]. After the end of the second-place finish earlier in the [[2009–10 Omani League|2009–10]] season, Dhofar made major signings and re-signings to boost the club's performance in future competitions.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://forum.kooora.com/f.aspx?t=23451568 |title=(Arabic) Kooora announces signings and re-signings of the 2010 offseason |access-date=23 September 2010 |archive-date=29 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529183410/http://forum.kooora.com/f.aspx?t=23451568 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 Omani League|2010–11]] season. It further went down in the [[2011–12 Omani League|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 Club (Salalah)|Al-Ittihad]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.omantribune.com/archives/index.php?page=news&id=110421&archdate=2012-01-21&heading=Sports | title = Dhofar Club to celebrate HM's Cup victory | publisher = Oman Tribune | access-date = 25 August 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140826115906/http://www.omantribune.com/archives/index.php?page=news&id=110421&archdate=2012-01-21&heading=Sports | archive-date = 26 August 2014 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2011/12/26/oman/sultan-cup/dhufar/al-ittehad/1233723/?ICID=PL_MS_01 | title = DHUFAR VS. AL ITTEHAD 1&nbsp;– 0 | publisher = soccerway.com | access-date = 20 February 2018 | archive-date = 17 December 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181217094248/https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2011/12/26/oman/sultan-cup/dhufar/al-ittehad/1233723/?ICID=PL_MS_01 | url-status = live }}</ref> 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.

Before the beginning of the [[2014-15 Oman Professional League]] season, on 4 July 2014 the club appointed Romanian manager [[Petre Gigiu]] who had managed [[Al-Seeb Club]] and [[Sur SC]] in the [[2013–14 Oman Professional League]]. His first triumph as a manager of the club came in the pre-season preparations of the club when he led his side to win the [[2014 Baniyas SC International Tournament]] winning two matches, 2–1 against [[United Arab Emirates national under-23 football team]] and 1–0 against [[Bahraini Premier League]] club [[Hidd SCC]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.kooora.com/default.aspx?n=343811&o=ncom | title = ظفار يتوج ببطولة بني ياس الودية | publisher = kooora.com | access-date = 23 July 2014 | archive-date = 8 January 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150108064352/http://www.kooora.com/default.aspx?n=343811&o=ncom | url-status = live }}</ref>

==Other sports==
Although being mainly known for their football, Dhofar S.C.S.C. like many other clubs in Oman, have not only football in their list, but also [[field hockey|hockey]], volleyball, [[Team handball|handball]], basketball, badminton and [[squash (sport)|squash]]. They also have a youth football team competing in the Omani Youth league.

==Crest and colours==
[[File:Dhofar S.C.S.C. Cap and Shirt.png|thumb|left|200px|A [[Lotto Sport Italia|Lotto]]-sponsored Dhofar S.C.S.C. jersey along with a [[Grand Sport Group|Grand Sport]]-sponsored cap]]
Like the [[Oman national football team]], Dhofar S.C.S.C. have also long-chosen red as the color to represent them, varying themselves from neighbors [[Al-Ittihad Club (Salalah)|Al-Ittihad]] (Green), [[Al-Nasr S.C.S.C.]] (Blue) and [[Salalah SC]] (Blue) [[Kit (association football)|kit]]s. Historically, they usually wore a red [[jersey (sports)|jersey]] with white [[shorts]], but after the 1990s they began to wear a full red kit.

Over the years, they have had numerous kit providers, ranging from [[Puma AG|Puma]] to [[Lotto Sport Italia|Lotto]] and [[Grand Sport Group|Grand Sport]]. As of now, [[Nike, Inc.|Nike]] provides them with kits. Currently, [[Oasis Grace L.L.C.]] is featured on the team's shirt.

They have also had many different sponsors over the years, but rarely featured a shirt sponsor (only during notable matches such as the [[Sultan Qaboos Cup]] final). Omani newspaper, [[Alwatan (Oman)|Al-Watan]], Dhofar Insurance, Al Makan Cafe and [[Bank Muscat]] have all been featured on their kit at one point in their history.

==Honours==

===National titles===

*'''[[Oman Professional League]]''' (11):
:*Winners [[1982-83 Omani League|1982–83]], [[1984–85 Omani League|1984–85]], [[1989–90 Omani League|1989–90]], [[1991–92 Omani League|1991–92]], [[1992–93 Omani League|1992–93]], [[1993–94 Omani League|1993–94]], [[1998–99 Omani League|1998–99]], [[2000–01 Omani League|2000–01]], [[2004–05 Omani League|2004–05]], [[2016–17 Oman Professional League|2016–17]], [[2018–19 Oman Professional League|2018–19]]
:*Runners-up [[1987–88 Omani League|1987–88]], [[2002–03 Omani League|2002–03]], [[2007–08 Omani League|2007–08]], [[2009–10 Oman Mobile League|2009–10]], [[2019–20 Oman Professional League|2019–20]]

* '''[[Oman First Division League]] ''' (1): 

:*Winners 2024-25

*'''[[Sultan Qaboos Cup]]''' (11):
:*Winners [[1977 Sultan Qaboos Cup|1977]], [[1980 Sultan Qaboos Cup|1980]], [[1981 Sultan Qaboos Cup|1981]], [[1990 Sultan Qaboos Cup|1990]], [[1999 Sultan Qaboos Cup|1999]], [[2004 Sultan Qaboos Cup|2004]], [[2006 Sultan Qaboos Cup|2006]], [[2011 Sultan Qaboos Cup|2011]], [[2019–20 Sultan Qaboos Cup|2019–20]], [[2020–21 Sultan Qaboos Cup|2020–21]], [[2023–24 Sultan Qaboos Cup|2023–24]]
:*Runners-up [[1984 Sultan Qaboos Cup|1984]], [[1993 Sultan Qaboos Cup|1993]], [[2009 Sultan Qaboos Cup|2009]]

*'''[[Oman Professional League Cup]]''' (2):
:*Winners [[2012–13 Oman Federation Cup|2012–13]], [[2018–19 Oman Professional League Cup|2018–19]]
:*Runners-up [[2014–15 Oman Professional League Cup|2014–15]]

*'''[[Oman Super Cup]]''' (3):
:*Winners 1999, 2017, 2019
:*Runners-up 2000, 2005, 2012

===Youth and friendly===
*'''[[Gulf Club Champions Cup U-17]]''' (1):
:*Winners 1994
*'''[[Bani Yas International Tournament]]''' (1):
:*Winners 2014

==Club performance: international competitions==

===AFC competitions===
*'''[[Asian Club Championship]]''' : 2 appearances
:*[[1986 Asian Club Championship|1986]] : Qualifying round
:*[[1996–97 Asian Club Championship|1996–97]] : First round
*'''[[Asian Cup Winners' Cup]]''' : 1 appearance
:*[[1991–92 Asian Cup Winners' Cup|1991–92]] : Second round
*'''[[AFC Cup]]''' : 6 appearances
:*[[2004 AFC Cup|2004]]: Group stage
:*[[2007 AFC Cup|2007]]: Group stage
:*[[2013 AFC Cup|2013]]: Group stage
:*[[2018 AFC Cup|2018]]: Group stage
:*[[2020 AFC Cup|2020]]: Group stage
:*[[2022 AFC Cup|2022]]: Group stage

===UAFA competitions===
*'''[[Arab Champions League]]''' : 1 appearance
:*[[2008–09 Arab Champions League|2008–09]] : Round of 32
:*[[2019–20 Arab Club Champions Cup|2019–20]] : Round of 32
*'''[[GCC Champions League]]''': 10 appearances
:*[[1982 Gulf Club Champions Cup|1982]] : 6th Position
:*[[1986 Gulf Club Champions Cup|1986]] : 3rd Position
:*[[1991 Gulf Club Champions Cup|1991]] : 4th Position
:*[[1994 Gulf Club Champions Cup|1994]] : 6th Position
:*[[1995 Gulf Club Champions Cup|1995]] : Runners-up
:*[[1996 Gulf Club Champions Cup|1995]] : Runners-up
:*[[2001 Gulf Club Champions Cup|2001]] : 3rd Position
:*[[2002 Gulf Club Champions Cup|2002]] : 5th Position
:*[[2008 Gulf Club Champions Cup|2008]] : Group stage
:*[[2011 GCC Champions League|2011]] : Quarter-Finals

==Players==

===First-team squad===
{{Fs start}}
{{Fs player|no=1|nat=OMA|name=[[Mazin Al-Kasbi]]|pos=GK}}
{{Fs player|no=4|nat=OMA|name=[[Thani Al-Rushaidi]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=5|nat=KEN|name=[[Alponce Omija]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=8|nat=OMA|name=[[Ali Salim Al-Nahar]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=10|nat=OMA|name=[[Qasim Said]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=11|nat=OMA|name=[[Fuad Al-Mashaikhi]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=13|nat=OMA|name=[[Abdul Salam Amur]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=17|nat=OMA|name=[[Khalid Al-Hajri]]|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player|no=18|nat=OMA|name=[[Hamad Al-Qasimi]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=19|nat=OMA|name=[[Abdullah Al-Mushaifri]]|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player|no=21|nat=OMA|name=[[Abdullah Nooh]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=25|nat=OMA|name=[[Ammar Hadid]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=26|nat=OMA|name=[[Ahmed Salem]]|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player|no=27|nat=OMA|name=[[Mataz Saleh]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=28|nat=OMA|name=[[Nayef Faraj]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=29|nat=OMA|name=[[Salem Al-Abdulsalam]]|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player|no=30|nat=OMA|name=[[Sultan Al-Marzouq]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs mid}}
{{Fs player|no=32|nat=OMA|name=[[Firas Al Suri]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=33|nat=OMA|name=[[Hossam Khaled Beit Farid]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=40|nat=OMA|name=[[Qusay Adil]]|pos=GK}}
{{Fs player|no=42|nat=OMA|name=[[Abdulaziz Al-Mdilwe]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=47|nat=OMA|name=[[Mohammed Al-Araibi]]|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player|no=50|nat=OMA|name=[[Abdul Aziz Al-Ruzaiqi]]|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player|no=51|nat=OMA|name=[[Sufian Awad]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=54|nat=OMA|name=[[Ammar Sabeh]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=55|nat=OMA|name=[[Abdullah Al-Aufi]]|pos=GK}}
{{Fs player|no=70|nat=OMA|name=[[Awad El Shehri]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=72|nat=OMA|name=[[William Munir Beit Nassib]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=74|nat=OMA|name=[[Mohammed Ahmed Allah]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=77|nat=OMA|name=[[Mohammed Saad Elsin]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=78|nat=OMA|name=[[Saeed Said Sulaiman]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=80|nat=OMA|name=[[Hussein Al-Shahri]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=94|nat=OMA|name=[[Mohammed Al-Seiman]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=99|nat=OMA|name=[[Nawmi Talib Salih]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=|nat=JOR|name=[[Odai Khadr|Odai Al-Qarra]]|pos=FW}}
{{Fs end}}

==Personnel==

===Technical staff===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Position
!Name
|-
|Head coach
|{{Flag icon|ROM}} [[Grigore Sichitiu]]
|-
|rowspan="2"|Assistant coach
|{{Flag icon|ROM}} [[Alexandru Iliuciuc]]
|-
|{{Flag icon|OMA}} [[Saleh Abd-Raboh Ju'man]]
|-
|Goalkeeping coach
|{{Flag icon|ROM}} [[Cristian Pătru]]
|-
|rowspan="4"|Other team staff
|{{Flag icon|OMA}} [[Faisal Al-Rowas]]
|-
|{{Flag icon|OMA}} [[Ahmed Sufrar]]
|-
|{{Flag icon|OMA}} [[Ahmed Awadh Bashir]]
|-
|{{Flag icon|OMA}} [[Said Faraj Al-Salem]]
|-
|}

===Management===

{| class=wikitable
|-
!Position
!Staff
|-
| Chairman || '''Sheikh''' [[Badar Ali Said Al-Rowas]]
|-
| Vice-president || '''Sheikh''' [[Ali Farah Al-Hadhri]]
|-
| General secretary || [[Abdullah Al-Mukaddam]]
|-
| Board member || [[Ahmed Awadh Al-Rowas]]
|-
| Board member || [[Hafidh Salim Al-Rowas]]
|-
| Board member || [[Said Ghalib Al-Rowas]]
|}

==Presidential history==
Below is the official presidential history of Dhofar S.C.S.C., from when [[Salim Annou Al-Kathiri]] took over at the club in 1970, until the present day.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://dhofarclub.com/about-us.asp |title=History of Dhofar's presidents (bottom of page) |access-date=4 March 2010 |archive-date=12 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212073717/http://www.dhofarclub.com/about-us.asp |url-status=live }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left"
|-
! style="color:#22228B; background:#FFFFFF;"|Name
! style="color:#22228B; background:#FFFFFF;"|From
! style="color:#22228B; background:#FFFFFF;"|To
|-
| [[Salim Annou Al-Kathiri]]
|align=left|1970
|align=left|1975
|-
| [[Ali Said Badr Al-Rawas]]
|align=left|1975
|align=left|1976
|-
|[[Saif Hafidh Abdullah Al-Rawas]]
|align=left|1976
|align=left|1986
|-
|[[Ahmed Salim Amer Al-Rawas]]
|align=left|1986
|align=left|1997
|-
|[[Ghazi Said Abdullah Al-Rawas]]
|align=left|1997
|align=left|2000
|-
|[[Hamid Ahmed Al-Aajayli]]
|align=left|2000
|align=left|2004
|-
|[[Naif Omar Awadh Al-Rawas]]
|align=left|2004
|align=left|2006
|-
|[[Badr Ali Said Al-Rawas]]
|align=left|2006
|align=left|2014
|-
|[[Ali Said Al-Rawas]]
|align=left|2014
|align=left|present
|-
|}

==See also==
* [[List of football clubs in Oman]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://int.soccerway.com/teams/oman/dhufar/6071/ Dhofar S.C.S.C.] at Soccerway
*[http://www.goalzz.com/main.aspx?team=1319 Dhofar S.C.S.C.] at Goalzz

{{Oman Professional League}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhofar Club}}
[[Category:Dhofar Club]]
[[Category:Football clubs in Oman]]
[[Category:Oman Professional League]]
[[Category:Salalah]]
[[Category:Association football clubs established in 1972]]
[[Category:1972 establishments in Oman]]