Qatar Stars League - History

History

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.

In 1972/73, the first official season was played. Al Estaqlal, 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 the participation of a majority of the Qatari players within the national team, who were then 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 ten clubs participating in the first division.

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".

Another method the QFA attempted 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 2003. It succeeded, and players such as Ronald and Frank de Boer, Pep Guardiola, and Gabriel Batistuta soon appeared in the league.

In addition, in 2004, the Aspire Academy was formed, which provides world-class training facilities to young people in order to not only improve the footballing standard in Qatar, but internationally. Many notable players have graduated from the academy, including Murad Naji, Saad Al Sheeb, and Ibrahim Majid.