Langbahn Team – Weltmeisterschaft

Al-Fayha FC

Al Fayha
Full nameALFAYHA CLUB
Nickname(s)Al Burtuqali (The Orange)
Tawahin Sudair (The Mills of Sudair)
Founded1953; 71 years ago (1953)
GroundAl Majma'ah Sports City
Capacity7,000
ChairmanTawfiq Al-Modaiheem
ManagerVacant
LeagueSaudi Pro League
2023-24Pro League, 9th of 18
Websitealfayhasc.com
Current season

Al Fayha FC (Arabic: نادي الفيحاء السعودي) is a professional football club based in Al Majma'ah, that plays in the Saudi Pro League, the first tier of Saudi football. It was founded in 1953.

Al Fayha's colors are orange and blue, hence the nickname "Al-Burtuqali." Al-Fayha have won the Saudi Second Division once in the 2013–14 season and have finished runners-up once in the 2003–04. On 29 April 2017, Al-Fayha won their first promotion to the Pro League, winning their first First Division title on 5 May 2017. They won the King Cup for the first time in 2022.[1]

The club plays their home games at Al Majma'ah Sports City in Al Majma'ah, sharing the stadium with city rivals Al-Faisaly and Al-Mujazzel.[2]

History

Al Fayha (Arabic: الفيحاء, romanizedal-fayḥāʿ, lit.'wide, extensive')[3] was founded in 1953 in Al Majma'ah and were officially registered on August 15, 1966. Al Fayha is one of the oldest clubs in the country and the oldest club in Al Majma'ah. Al Fayha is a merging of two different clubs, Minikh and Al-Fayha, who joined to become the only representative of Al Majma'ah.

Since the formation of the club, Al Fayha has played a continuous role in the service of the youth in Al-Majma'ah. Al Fayha is considered to be one of the most active and interactive clubs in the city, often acting as a safe haven for the youth.[4]

First piece of silverware

Al Fayha won their first promotion to the First Division in 1985 and spent five consecutive seasons in the First Division before getting relegated at the end of the 1989–90 season. After an absence of 14 years, Al-Fayha returned to the First Division after finishing as runners-up in the 2003–04 Second Division. Al Fayha spent 4 consecutive seasons in the First Division before getting relegated at the end of the 2007–08 season. They were then promoted once again during the 2013–14 season when they won the Second Division title. On 29 April 2017, Al-Fayha won promotion to the Pro League for the first time in their history following their 2–1 home win against Ohod.[5] They were crowned champions of the 2016–17 Saudi First Division for the first time on 5 May 2017 after drawing Wej 1–1 away from home.[6]

Al Fayha spent three consecutive seasons in the Saudi top flight, performing above expectations in their debut season and barely escaping relegation in their second season, however they couldn't avoid relegation in the 2019–20 season, losing 0–1 to Al-Taawoun in the final matchday. In their first season back in the Saudi First Division Al-Fayha managed to achieve promotion back to the top flight following a 0–0 home draw with Al-Tai on the 20th of May 2021, as well as finishing the season as runners-up with 81 points. In their first season back in the Pro League Al Fayha acquired the services of players such as; veteran Serbian goalkeeper Vladimir Stojković, Greek midfielder Panagiotis Tachtsidis and Macedonian international Aleksandar Trajkovski. Vuk Rašović managed his squad with a direct play approach along with disciplined organisation, and as a result the club has had the best defensive record in the 2021–22 league.

King Cup winners and AFC Champions League debut

Al Fayha partook in the 2021–22 King Cup, with their first match being against Abha whom they routed 4–0 to progress to the quarter-finals. In the quarter-final they faced Al-Batin, whom they beat 2–1. In the semi-final they were up against Al Ittihad in a highly contested and hard-fought match in which Al Fayha came up on top to win 1–0 and advance to a historic cup final. Al Fayha would face Al Hilal in the final.The two sides were locked at 1–1 after extra time with Al Fayha prevailing in the penalty shootout thanks to a superb performance from their Serbian goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic to clinch their maiden Saudi King's Cup at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium and also qualified them to the first 2023–24 AFC Champions League group stage.[7] On 3 October 2023 in the AFC Champions League group stage fixtures, Al-Fayha recorded their first win in a 2–0 victory against Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan with both goal scored by Abdelhamid Sabiri. Al Fayha finished as group runners-up with 9 points which send the club to the Round of 16 fixtures against Al Nassr. However the club bowed out from the AFC Champions League after a 3–0 defeat on aggregate.

Honours

Current squad

As of 3 September 2024:[8][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 Saudi Arabia KSA Abdulraouf Al-Duqayl
2 DF Saudi Arabia KSA Mukhair Al-Rashidi
3 DF Brazil BRA Rangel
4 DF Saudi Arabia KSA Sami Al-Khaibari (captain)
5 DF England ENG Chris Smalling
6 MF Saudi Arabia KSA Saud Zidan
7 FW Nigeria NGA Henry Onyekuru
8 MF Spain ESP Alejandro Pozuelo
9 FW Uruguay URU Renzo López
10 FW Zambia ZAM Fashion Sakala
11 MF Venezuela VEN Aldry Contreras (on loan from Angostura)
13 MF Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Gojko Cimirot
14 MF Saudi Arabia KSA Mansor Al-Beshe
15 MF Saudi Arabia KSA Abdulhadi Al-Harajin
20 MF Uzbekistan UZB Otabek Shukurov
22 DF Saudi Arabia KSA Mohammed Al-Baqawi
25 DF Saudi Arabia KSA Faris Abdi
No. Pos. Nation Player
27 FW Saudi Arabia KSA Redha Al-Abdullah U19 (on loan from Al-Ettifaq)
29 MF Saudi Arabia KSA Nawaf Al-Harthi
31 GK Saudi Arabia KSA Osama Al-Thumairy U19
33 GK Saudi Arabia KSA Sattam Al-Shammari
37 DF Saudi Arabia KSA Naif Almas
46 DF Saudi Arabia KSA Osama Al-Turki U19
47 DF Saudi Arabia KSA Mohammed Al-Dowaish
52 GK Panama PAN Orlando Mosquera
55 FW Saudi Arabia KSA Ali Al-Hussain U19
66 MF Saudi Arabia KSA Rakan Kaabi
71 FW Saudi Arabia KSA Sabri Dahal U19
72 MF Saudi Arabia KSA Abdullah Al-Aklabi U19
75 DF Saudi Arabia KSA Khalid Al-Rammah U19
77 MF Saudi Arabia KSA Khalid Kaabi
99 FW Saudi Arabia KSA Malek Al-Abdulmenem
MF Saudi Arabia KSA Mohammed Al-Moqbali U19

Other players under contract

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
41 MF Saudi Arabia KSA Saud Al-Muqbil
51 FW Saudi Arabia KSA Abdulaziz Al-Burayk
61 MF Saudi Arabia KSA Eyad Badri
No. Pos. Nation Player
62 DF Saudi Arabia KSA Hossam Majrashi
96 GK Saudi Arabia KSA Abdulaziz Al-Murdih

Out on loan

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
21 DF Saudi Arabia KSA Muteb Al-Khaldi (on loan to Al-Ain)
No. Pos. Nation Player
70 DF Saudi Arabia KSA Abdulrahman Al-Anazi (on loan to Al-Orobah)

Management staff

Position Name
Manager Greece Vacant
Assistant Managers Greece Alexandros Tziolis
Goalkeeping Coach Greece Dionysis Chiotis
Fitness Coach Greece Efthymios Kyprianou
Video Analyst Greece Charis Tselemponis
Performance Analyst Saudi Arabia Faris Al-Dowaish
Sporting Director Saudi Arabia Khalid Al-Shammari
Doctor Saudi Arabia Ibrahim Al-Rashidi
Physiotherapist Saudi Arabia Makram Majrashi
Director of Development Algeria Alioua Mohamed Lamine

Managerial history

Record in Asian Football

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2023–24 Champions League Group A Turkmenistan Ahal 3–1 0–1 2nd
Uzbekistan Pakhtakor Tashkent 2–0 4–1
United Arab Emirates Al-Ain 2–3 1–4
Round of 16 Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr 0–1 0–2 0–3

See also

References

  1. ^ "رسالة - نادي الفيحاء السعودي". www.alfiha.com.
  2. ^ "ملعب مدينة المجمعة الرياضية". Kooora.
  3. ^ Wortabet, John; Porter, Harvey (December 5, 1995). Arabic-English English-Arabic Dictionary. Hippocrene Books. ISBN 9780781803830 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ "رسالة - نادي الفيحاء السعودي". www.alfiha.com.
  5. ^ "رسمياً.. الفيحاء أول الصاعدين إلى دوري جميل". dawriplus. 29 April 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  6. ^ "مسيرة للاعبي الفيحاء بـ "الباص المكشوف" بعد الصعود لدوري جميل". sportksa. 6 May 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  7. ^ "Al Fayha upset Al Hilal to win historic Saudi King's Cup". the-AFC. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
  8. ^ "التشكيلة". kooora.
  9. ^ "اللاعبين". Retrieved 1 January 2019.