Date | R | Home vs Away | - |
---|---|---|---|
01/10 17:30 | 12 | Al-Arabi Doha vs Al-Shahaniya SC | View |
01/10 17:30 | 12 | Al-Ahli Doha vs Al-Wakrah SC | View |
01/10 17:30 | 12 | Al Sadd vs Al-Shamal SC | View |
01/10 17:30 | 12 | Al Duhail vs Qatar SC Doha | View |
01/10 17:30 | 12 | Umm Salal vs Al-Rayyan SC | View |
01/10 17:30 | 12 | Al Gharafa vs Al-Khor SC | View |
Date | R | Home vs Away | - |
---|---|---|---|
12/08 16:30 | 11 | [10] Al-Arabi Doha vs Umm Salal [9] | 0-3 |
12/08 14:30 | 11 | [5] Al-Wakrah SC vs Al Shamal SC [6] | 0-3 |
12/08 14:30 | 11 | [8] Al-Shahaniya SC vs Al Gharafa [4] | 2-4 |
12/07 14:30 | 11 | [1] Al Duhail vs Al-Khor SC [12] | 1-2 |
12/07 14:30 | 11 | [11] Qatar SC Doha vs Al-Rayyan SC [9] | 1-2 |
12/07 12:00 | 11 | [3] Al-Ahli Doha vs Al-Sadd SC [2] | 2-2 |
11/23 14:30 | 10 | [10] Qatar SC Doha vs Al-Shahaniya SC [11] | 1-3 |
11/23 14:30 | 10 | [7] Umm Salal vs Al-Ahli Doha [4] | 0-3 |
11/23 12:00 | 10 | [9] Al-Arabi Doha vs Al Duhail [1] | 0-5 |
11/22 15:00 | 10 | [4] Al Gharafa vs Al-Wakrah SC [5] | 3-1 |
11/22 13:00 | 10 | [7] Al-Rayyan SC vs Al Shamal SC [8] | 1-2 |
11/22 13:00 | 10 | [12] Al-Khor SC vs Al-Sadd SC [2] | 2-5 |
The Qatar Stars League (Arabic: دوري نجوم قطر; abbreviated as QSL), known as Ooredoo Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Qatari Second Division (QSD). The QSL season usually runs from September to April. The league's first season was played in 1963, although the first official season occurred in 1972. The league currently features 12 clubs, with one club being demoted to make room for one club being promoted.
The Qatari league system provides 5 domestic cups that various clubs can compete for: the Emir of Qatar Cup, open to all teams in both the first and second divisions, the Qatar Crown Prince Cup a postseason tournament played by the top four first division teams, the Sheikh Jassem Cup, a prelude to the first division regular season, the Qatari Stars Cup, a round-robin tournament played midseason, and the Qatar FA Cup, where the bottom 8 teams from the QSL and the entire QSD participate. The league title has been officially won by 7 clubs since its inception. The club that has won the most championships is Al Sadd SC, with 16 titles.
The first unofficial season of the Qatar Stars League was the 1963–64 season, 3 years after the formation of the QFA. Similarly, a second division was also created during this time. For many years, there was no promotion or relegation system. Al-Maref, a club representing the Ministry of Education, was dissolved in 1966-67 by decision of the QFA and its players distributed to other clubs.
In 1972–73, the first official season was played. Al Esteqlal, now known as Qatar SC, won the first championship.
The first time there was a playoff for the championship was in 1980, between Al Sadd and Al Arabi. Al Sadd won the match 1–0.
Although a second division had been in place for some time, there was no relegation or promotion system. However, in 1981, such a system was put in place for the first time. Five clubs participated in the second division that year.
In 1984–85, there was no relegation or promotion due to a lack of players as members of the Qatar national football team were preparing for the qualification rounds of the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
In 1994, for one season, the QFA launched a new system where matches ending in draws would end in a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner. This was put in place in an effort to improve attendance.
Three second division clubs were dissolved in the 1990 season: Al Nasr, Al Tadamon, and Al Nahda. Many of their players were distributed to first division clubs and became prominent players in Qatari football history, such as Fahad Al Kuwari, Ahmed Al Kuwari and Hamad Al Khalifa. After the dissolution of these clubs, there was no longer any relegation or promotion for five years. In 1995/96, the second division was brought back with five clubs, while there were ten clubs participating in the first division.
A successful method the QFA used to develop the league was allocating each Q-League club with a sum of $10,000,000 to buy big-name foreign players in order to increase popularity, in the summer of 2003. The attempt brought in players such as Ronald and Frank de Boer, Romário, Pep Guardiola, Fernando Hierro, Marcel Desailly, Stefan Effenberg, Claudio Caniggia, and Gabriel Batistuta who soon appeared and shone in the league.
In addition, in 2004, the Aspire Academy was formed, which provides training facilities to young people in order to improve the footballing standard not only in Qatar, but internationally. Many notable players have graduated from the academy, including Abdelkarim Hassan, Saad Al Sheeb, and Ibrahim Majid.
In 2009, no clubs were relegated from the top division. Due to the recent formation of Lekhwiya and El Jaish, this meant that the second division would lose two clubs while two more clubs would enter the first division, bringing the total number of clubs in the first division to 12, and the second division to 6. As part of the expansion campaign, the "Q-League" changed its name to what it is currently known as, "Qatar Stars League", and inaugurated a new domestic cup, the "Qatari Stars Cup".