Al-Arabi Sports Club (Arabic: نادي العربي), also known as Al-Arabi Al-Saudi, is a professional multi-sports club based in Unaizah, Saudi Arabia. The football team competes in the Saudi First Division League, the second tier of Saudi football.[1]
Al Arabi Sporting Club was formed in Unaizah in 1958, by a group of young people in the city. The club operated unofficially as an amateur club until 1967 and was registered officially in the same year when General Presidency of Youth Welfare Abdulrahman Al-N'aim officially took over. The club has had fourteen presidents from its establishment until 2010, Currently, Adeeb Al-Kwiter is the president.
Al-Arabi played for the first time in the Saudi First Division in the 1986–87 season. However, It played for four seasons until it won the Saudi First Division in 1989–90 season and was promoted to the Saudi Premier League. The club played one season in the Saudi Premier League and then was relegated to the Saudi First Division, where they played for four years. Al-Arabi was relegated in 1994–95 to the Saudi Second Division and attempted to rise back to the Saudi First Division in the 1995–96 season. Al-Arabi lost in the qualifier finals which was held in Al-Hasa. They played the 1996–97 and the 1997–98 season in the second division, until they were relegated to the third division in the 1998–99 season. The club continued in the third division until managing to qualify in 2001–02 in the final qualification match which was held in Najran and was promoted. The team played in the second division for from the 2002–03 season until the 2004–05 season where it was once again to the third division. Al-Arabi returned to the Saudi Second Division in the 2008–09 season after getting second place in the final qualification which was held in Dammam. In the 2021–22 season, they were champions of the Saudi Second Division and was promoted in the Saudi First Division. They have been playing in that division since the 2022–23 season.
As of 1 July 2023:
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Akram Ahmad Salman 1989–1992[2]
Wardi Murad 2010–2011[3]
Zdravko Logarusic 2023 Alen Horvat 2023–present1997
1983
1977
2009
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Al-Arabi does not have its own football stadium, and uses a playground for training. A sport compound was built in Unaizah with facilities for a wide range of competitive sports, and the General Presidency of Youth Welfare decided to hold a draw between the city's two clubs for the right to use it. Al-Najma SC gained the right to use the stadium without a draw. In February 2007 during an interview on a program called C.V., Saleh Al-Wassel, the then-president of Al-Najma, admitted that he used his influence to obtain the newly built sports facility in Unaizah.
Al Arabi is currently playing all of its home matches at the Department of Education Stadium.
Al-Arabi Pavilion is an indoor sports arena used particularly for basketball and handball matches for the club. The capacity of the stadium is 7,000 people, and was built in 2007.
Suleiman Al-Badi Abdulrahman Al-Naim Ahmed Al-Turki Mohammed Al-Manea Ibrahim Al-Zaki Abdulrahman Al-Musaed Ahmad Al-Mansur Fahad Al-Wahaibi Ahmad Al-Subaie Ahmed Al-Marzouq Adeeb Al-Kwiter Mohammed Al-Dukahil Abdulaziz Al Dera Ameen Al Malah
26°3′51″N 43°59′48″E / 26.06417°N 43.99667°E / 26.06417; 43.99667