Al-Nasr SC (Dubai)


Al-Nasr Sports Club is a professional association football club located in Dubai and plays in the UAE Arabian Gulf League. Al-Nasr, literally translating to "victory" in Arabic, was founded in 1945 and is considered as the first and oldest club in the United Arab Emirates. They play at Al Maktoum Stadium, which can hold 15,000 people.

History

Pre–UAE League era (1945–1973)

Al Nasr Sports Club was founded by a group of young men in a Al Ghubaiba, Dubai in 1945, making it the oldest club in UAE footballing history. The team played in an empty playground near a highschool for three years until in 1948 were they finally decided to establish modern rules of football. In 1951, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum chose the headquarters to be in a cafe close to a fish market, the cafe had a room for rent so the club would rent the room for meetings, gatherings and studying. The club would later move their headquarters to Shindagha. During this period the club went on with the name Al Ahli until in the 1960s where the players traveled to Qatar to face Al Ahli and lose, after their loss in Qatar, the players proposed to change the name to Al Nasr which would later become official. The club decided to move their headquarters to a larger house in Shindagha and invited Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan to meet the club in their new headquarters, Sheikh Zayed decided to donate 60,000 AED as a gift to the club, they would use the money to develop the club.

Rise of competition (1973–1990)

In 1973, the UAE Pro-League was established and neighboring teams emerged forcing Al Nasr to start building a proper venue, so the construction of Al Maktoum Stadium began, however the team would join the league in 1974 so the club played their home games in Rashid Stadium until the completion of Al Makhtoum stadium in 1980, the club would win 3 UAE league, 3 presidents cup titles and a UAE federation cups during this time. The club would also be noted for hosting games with big clubs like Arsenal, Liverpool and Santos.

Modern era (1990–present)

After the end of the eighties, the club would see limited success where they would stop winning the league yet win two arabian super cups in the nineties and two UAE league cups and a president's cup in 2015, the team would renovate the Al Makhtoum Stadium for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and host another friendly with Arsenal in 2019.

Rivalries

The team has a big rivalry with Al Wasl, often called the Bur Dubai Derby or just simply Dubai Derby, both teams have competed to see which club is the best team in Bur Dubai area. It also has a rivalry with Shabab Al Ahli which is also based in the same city but not in the same area.

Honours

17 Official Championships.

Domestic competitions

GCC Champions League

Staff

Board of Directors

Technical Team

Administrative Team

Medical Team

Current squad

First team squad

As of UAE Pro-League:

Reserve U21

Out on loan

Famous players

Past managers

Other sports

Al-Nasr also fields teams in Futsal, Volleyball, Handball, Basketball, Table Tennis, Swimming, Cycling, Athletics, Karate and Jujitsu.
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