Al-Ain FC (Saudi Arabia)

Al-Ain FC
Full nameAl-Ain Saudi Club
Nickname(s)Fares Al'Hejaz (Knight of Hejaz)
Fakhr Al-Baha (Pride of the Al-Bahah Province).[1]
Founded1978 (1978) (as Zahran)
2001 (2001) (as Al-Ameed)
2013 (2013) (as Al-Ain).[2]
GroundKing Saud Sport City Stadium
Al-Bahah, Saudi Arabia
Capacity10,000
ChairmanHassan bin Dabaj
ManagerJorge Paixão
LeagueSaudi First Division League
2023–24FDL, 13th of 18
Websitealainclub.sa

Al-Ain Saudi Club (Arabic: نادي العين بالأطاولة) is a Saudi Arabian professional football club based in Al-Atawlah, Al-Qara, Al-Bahah, The club play their home matches at the King Saud Sport City Stadium. the club competes in the Saudi First Division League, the second tier of Saudi football.[3]

History

The club's name is inspired by UAE team Al Ain 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.[4] In 2001, the club changed their name to Al-Ameed Football Club before changing their name to Al-Ain in 2013.[5]

Al-Ain have won the Saudi Third Division title once in 2015–16,[6] 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.[7] The club play their home games at the King Saud Sport City Stadium in Al-Bahah, sharing the stadium with derby rivals Al-Hejaz.[8]

Honours

Domestic

Regional

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

Current squad

As of 29 September 2021[9]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  KSA Bander Al-Shahrani
2 DF  KSA Bander Al-Shamrani
3 MF  GHA Kwame Bonsu
4 DF  KSA Hassan Rabee
5 DF  KSA Yousef Al-Zahrani
6 MF  KSA Ali Dabbaj
7 FW  KSA Hassan Sharahili
8 MF  KSA Khalid Medad
9 FW  KSA Muteb Al-Hammad
10 MF  KSA Mohammed Al-Sufyani
11 MF  KSA Ali Al-Shaikhi
12 DF  KSA Yasser Yaqoub
15 MF  KSA Ziyad Al-Refaei
17 MF  KSA Ali Al-Jassem
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF  KSA Muhannad Al-Najei
20 FW  KSA Humood Al-Shammari
21 DF  UGA Halid Lwaliwa
22 GK  KSA Mohammed Al-Ismail
23 DF  KSA Fares Al-Sharari
24 MF  KSA Abdulmajeed Al-Thubaiti
30 FW  GNB Ença Fati
52 DF  KSA Abdulmajeed Al-Enezi
55 DF  KSA Nawaf Al-Sobhi
66 DF  KSA Nawaf Al-Arifi
70 MF  KSA Al Mutasim Seddiq
77 MF  KSA Mohammed Al-Nakhli
88 MF  ARG Mauro González
93 GK  BIH Slaviša Bogdanović

Coaching staff

Position Name
Manager Jorge Paixão
Assistant Manager Hugo Relvas
Goalkeeper Coach Yasser Al-Khaldi
Fitness Coach Miguel Bragança
Video Analyst Hussein Yaqoub
Sporting Director Ziyad Al-Najei
Doctor Mohammed Al-Nakhli
Physiotherapist Nawaf Al-Zahrani
Administrative Coordinator Abdullah Hakmi
Team Supervisor Khaled Kahwaji

Managerial history

  • Bahaa Qebsisi (August 5, 2015 – November 5, 2016)
  • Abbas Noureddine (November 11, 2016 – February 22, 2017)
  • Hamood Al-Saiari (June 12, 2017 – December 3, 2017)
  • Mohammed Dahmane (December 8, 2017 – April 1, 2018)
  • Mohamed Al Maalej (May 3, 2018 – February 8, 2019)
  • Alen Horvat (February 9, 2019 – May 20, 2019)
  • Habib Ben Romdhane (June 19, 2019 – September 22, 2020)
  • Michael Skibbe (October 12, 2020 – January 28, 2021)
  • Pablo Machín (January 31, 2021 – May 31, 2021)
  • Hamood Al-Saiari (August 13, 2021 – October 27, 2021)
  • Faisal Al-Ghamdi (caretaker) (October 27, 2021 – November 8, 2021)
  • Mohamed Mkacher (November 8, 2021 – June 1, 2022)
  • Mohammed Dahmane (August 11, 2022 – November 17, 2022)
  • Didier Gomes Da Rosa (November 17, 2022 – May 31, 2023)
  • Valeriu Tița (June 24, 2023 – November 9, 2023)
  • Zoran Milinković (November 9, 2023 – June 1, 2024)
  • Ricardo Sousa (August 15, 2024 – October 28, 2024)
  • José Moreira (caretaker) (October 28, 2024 – October 31, 2024)
  • Toufik Rouabah (October 31, 2024 – February 20, 2025)
  • Jorge Paixão (February 21, 2025 – )

Presidential history

As of 1 January 2021.[10]

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

References

  1. ^ "العين فخر الباحة".
  2. ^ "العين ينعش اقتصاد الباحة".
  3. ^ "نادي العين".
  4. ^ "العين يخلص العميد من معاناة 12 عاما في ظل الاتحاد". akhbaar24.argaam.com (in Arabic). 16 December 2013. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  5. ^ "تغيير مسمى نادي العميد الى "نادي العين"".
  6. ^ "العين بطلا للثالثة ويتأهل للثانية".
  7. ^ "العين إلى الدوري السعودي للمرة الأولى في تاريخه". kooora.com (in Arabic). 11 September 2020. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  8. ^ "استاد مدينة الملك سعود الرياضية - King Saud Sport City Stadium".
  9. ^ "فريق: العين". www.kooora.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-22. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  10. ^ "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