Al-Ain FC (Saudi Arabia)

Al-Ain Saudi Football Club (Arabic: نادي العين السعودي) is a Saudi Arabian professional association football club based in Al Atawlah, Al Qara, Al Bahah.[2] The club was founded in 1978 and play their home matches at the King Saud Sport City Stadium. The team competes in the First Division League, the second tier of Saudi football. The club was founded in 1978 under the name of Zahran Football Club. The club was named after the Zahran tribe who are one of the largest tribes in Al-Bahah Province.[3] In 2001, the club changed their name to Al-Ameed Football Club before changing their name to Al-Ain in 2013.[4]

Al-Ain FC
Full nameAl-Ain Saudi Football Club
Founded1978; 46 years ago (1978) (as Zahran)
2001; 23 years ago (2001) (as Al-Ameed)
2013; 11 years ago (2013) (as Al-Ain)[1]
GroundKing Saud Sport City Stadium
Al Bahah, Saudi Arabia
Capacity10,000
ChairmanHassan bin Dabaj
ManagerZoran Milinković
LeagueFirst Division League
2022–23FDL, 14th of 18
WebsiteClub website

Al-Ain have won the Saudi Third Division title once in 2015–16,[5] and finished as runners-up once in 2010–11. The club have won the Al-Bahah Regional League ten times. The club spent four non-consecutive seasons in the Saudi Second Division before gaining to the MS League in the 2017–18 season. They spent two consecutive seasons in the MS League before gaining promotion to the top tier of Saudi football for the first time at the end of the 2019–20 season.[6] The club play their home games at the King Saud Sport City Stadium in Al Bahah, sharing the stadium with derby rivals Al-Hejaz.[7]

Honours edit

Domestic edit

Regional edit

  • Al-Bahah Regional League
    • Winners (10): 1981, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011

Current squad edit

As of 29 September 2021[8]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
3 DF   NGA Erhun Obanor
4 DF   KSA Nasser Al-Hulayel
5 DF   KSA Raed Al-Malki
6 DF   KSA Karam Barnawi
7 FW   NGA Anthony Okpotu
8 MF   KSA Nasser Al-Daajani
9 FW   KSA Ali Al-Mayyad
10 FW   CPV Dodô
11 MF   CHA Othman Maloum
12 MF   KSA Essam Al-Muwallad
14 FW   KSA Yazid Al-Ghamdi (on loan from Al-Ahli)
16 MF   KSA Ali Dabbaj
17 MF   KSA Albaraa Baadheem
18 MF   KSA Faisal Al-Johani
No. Pos. Nation Player
24 MF   CIV Sylla Daouda
25 MF   KSA Sattam Al-Tambakti (on loan from Al-Wehda)
28 MF   KSA Omar Al-Jadani (on loan from Al-Ittihad)
30 GK   BRA Bruno Grassi
33 DF   KSA Hussein Hawsawi
44 DF   CIV Mohamed Ouattara
50 DF   KSA Munif Doshi
70 DF   KSA Ali Dagarshawi
71 DF   KSA Khaled Al-Shamrani
77 MF   KSA Saeed Al-Qarni
87 MF   KSA Omar Al-Zahrani
88 GK   KSA Ghassan Barqawi (on loan from Al-Ahli)
93 MF   KSA Nawaf Al-Osaimi
97 FW   KSA Nawaf Al-Zahrani

Managerial history edit

Presidential history edit

As of 1 January 2021.[9]

No Name From To
1   Mohammed Jamhour 1978 1978
2   Salem Ahmed Al-Zahrani 1979 1983
3   Awadh Al-Hilali 1984 1984
4   Salem Ahmed Al-Zahrani 1985 1990
5   Bakheet Al-Saher 1991 1991
6   Salem Ahmed Al-Zahrani 1992 1993
7   Fahad Al-Banmi 1994 1994
8   Abdulaziz Odah 1995 2006
9   Hamdan Saeed Hamdan 2007 2010
10   Mohammed Abdulrahman Al-Zahrani 2010 2018
11   Ali Bakheet Al-Zahrani 2018 2018
12   Mazen bin Raddad Al-Zahrani 2018 2021
12   Hassan bin Dabaj Al-Zahrani 2021

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "العين ينعش اقتصاد الباحة".
  2. ^ "نادي العين".
  3. ^ "العين يخلص العميد من معاناة 12 عاما في ظل الاتحاد". akhbaar24.argaam.com (in Arabic). 16 December 2013.
  4. ^ "تغيير مسمى نادي العميد الى "نادي العين"".
  5. ^ "العين بطلا للثالثة ويتأهل للثانية".
  6. ^ "العين إلى الدوري السعودي للمرة الأولى في تاريخه". kooora.com (in Arabic). 11 September 2020.
  7. ^ "استاد مدينة الملك سعود الرياضية - King Saud Sport City Stadium".
  8. ^ "فريق: العين". www.kooora.com.
  9. ^ "بيان بأسماه السادة رؤساء مجالس إدارات نادي العين منذ تأسيسه". Retrieved 8 February 2021.

20°4′50.3″N 41°31′22.2″E / 20.080639°N 41.522833°E / 20.080639; 41.522833