Maaraba SC
Maaraba Sports Club (in Arabic: نادي معربا الرياضي) is a multi-sports club based in the town of Maaraba, a suburb of Damascus, capital of Syria, in Rif Dimashq Governorate. The club was established in the 1980s, but the football team has been added only in 2015, and since then they have intermittently competed in the Syrian Third League and other local competititions at the level of Rif Dimashq Governorate. The club is run by an Executive Committee, whose president is Ahmed Mohamed Khader Othman. They have their own synthetic mini-football ground, named Al Sadasi, located in Fistuqa neighbourhood of Maaraba, used only for training and for the academy. There is also a normal-sized ground on rammed earth in Maaraba, but it is only used for unofficial games and training. The senior team have played its league matches either at Al Feyha Stadium in Damascus or in other locations in and around Damascus. They use different colours, but most recently the kits have been blue with pink sleeves.
History
The club has been established since the 1980s, but the football department has only been added in 2015, at the initiative of the club president, Ahmed Mohamed Khader Othman. When enough players gathered to have a football team, guided by the manager Nabil Al Hanash, several friendly matches were played in December 2015 and January 2016. On 1 December 2015, the first friendly game was played against the youth team of Al Majd in Damascus. On 4 December 2015, in another friendly, Maaraba succeeded their first win, 5-2 over Al Midan.
The good results proved that the team was prepared to play in official matches, so president Ahmed Mohamed Khader Othman enrolled the team in the forthcoming 2015-2016 Syrian Third Division, to be played in January and February 2016.
Maaraba SC was placed in a group with other three Rif Dimashq teams, Al Nabek, Jayroud and Jdeidet Artouz. On 28 January 2016 they played their first official game in the Syrian Third Division, which they lost 3-0 away to Al Nabek. They also lost the other two games, against Jayroud and Jdeidet Artouz, and therefore classified last in their group.
In April 2016, Maaraba also played their first official game in the preliminary round of the Syrian Cup, which they lost 4-0 to Al Horjelah.
In August 2016, Maaraba participated for the first time in the Rif Dimashq Governorate Cup. They were placed in Group 3, together with hosts Jaramana (all matches were played in Jaramana), Al Shabiba and Al Qalamoun. They lost 3-2 their first match to Al Shabiba, but then they succeeded a convincing 6-0 win over Al Qalamoun, which gave them the second place in the group on goal difference, despite losing the last match to Jaramana, and taking advantage of a surprising win of Al Qalamoun over Al Shabiba. As such, Maaraba qualified for the quarter-finals of this competition, but they lost 4-3 to Zakiyah.
Club president Ahmed Mohamed Khader Othman started the preparations for the 2016-2017 season with a new manager, Emad Alhaj, and other players came in, joining the already existing squad. Young players (born in 1992 and after) were preferred for the senior team, while several junior teams have been also set up and enrolled in different local competitions. The club was however hampered by the absence of a normal-sized ground in Maaraba, and all the training sessions took place on the synthetic mini-football ground called Al Sadasi, belonging to the club. Friendly matches were therefore played away. Some of the players were also involved with the Maaraba SC futsal team, which had good results in the futsal league, in December 2016 and January 2017, eventually classifying for the Syrian Second Division in futsal.
The number of friendly matches increased at the beginning of 2017, as the 2016-2017 Syrian Third Division was scheduled to begin in mid-February 2017. All matches of the Rif Dimashq Group were played on Al Feyha Stadium in Damascus. In their first match of the new season, Maaraba lost 5-0 to Al Horjelah on 15 February 2017, but then, on 25 February 2017, they obtained their first win in the competition, 5-2 over Al Ghazlaniya, the goals being scored by Bilal Harb (2), Mohammed Abdullah (2) and Maher Al Husami.
Maaraba SC at Al Feyha Stadium in Damascus, before their match against Al Ghazlaniya on 25 February 2017. Source: Maaraba SC Facebook page
Nevertheless, they lost the other two games against Al Qalamoun and Qara in March, and therefore only classified fourth in their group. It is worth mentioning that the group winners, Al Horjelah, promoted to the Second Divison, and then they got successive promotions, reaching the Syrian Premier League in 2020, therefore becoming the first team in Rif Dimashq Governorate to play in the Syrian top division.
In 2017, the junior teams of Maaraba SC received much attention and the club even organized a tournament for juniors born in 2000 or after.
In September 2017, the senior team participated again in the Rif Dimashq Governorate Cup, and obtained several good results, including two wins, 5-2 over Al Ghazlaniya and 11-1 over Irbin, under manager Mohamed Al Abrash.
At the end of the tournament, the Maaraba player Mohammed Ahmed Abdullah was awarded by the organizers for his abilities.
In autumn 2017 and winter 2017-2018 several friendly matches were played, in preparation for the 2017-2018 Third Division season, but no news regarding the results of this season have emerged. In 2019, Maaraba SC participated in the futsal Second Division, but it is unclear whether they participated or not in the football Third Division. It is possible that the ongoing Syrian civil war, along with the economic and financial problems, impeded the club to enrol in all competitions.
In December 2019, Maaraba SC organized a tournament for children, won by the organizers, Maaraba SC, managed by Abed Hamra Abu Ahmed, followed by Al Tall, Marouna and Ain Menin. Four, then five children belonging to Maaraba SC have been called up in the first months of 2020 to the Rif Dimashq Governorate team.
After March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic affected the whole world, football activities have been reduced. Nevertheless, a football academy for children, called Alqimma Sports Academy, under the management of Abed Hamra Abu Ahmed, has been established in June 2020, headquartered at Al Sadasi ground of Maaraba SC. Many kids enrolled and therefore the future of football seems to be ensured.
At the same time, senior players organized unofficial local leagues, or neighbourhood championships, at an unofficial football ground in Maaraba, on rammed earth, which has been adjusted to be close to the proper size of a normal football ground. Maaraba SC president Ahmed Mohamed Khader Othman has also been involved in the works carried out at this new ground, despite the rather primitive conditions in which football is played.
The unofficial local Maaraba league, known as the ”neighbourhood championship”, attracted a lot of interest and matches are highly disputed and the audience is ever larger. The presence of former or present Maaraba SC players is a trigger for others to join in and for the local authorities to get involved in the design of proper facilities and improvements at the footbal ground, which one day may turn into a stadium.
It is therefore quite obvious that Maaraba SC has now better reasons to enrol the senior team in the Syrian lower leagues than before, as football has grown and continued to develop a lot in the town of Maaraba in recent years.
Results season by season
2020-2021: it is not known whether the Syrian Third Division will take place
2019-2020: results unknown, possibly Maaraba SC did not enroll in the Third Division
2018-2019: results unknown, possibly Maaraba SC did not enroll in the Third Division
2017-2018: results unknown, possibly Maaraba SC did not enroll in the Third Division
Rif Dimashq Governorate Cup, Group 2: at least two wins, other results unknown
2016-2017: Syrian Third Division, Group 2: 4th (out of 5) 4 1 0 3 (unknown goal difference) 3 pts
Rif Dimashq Governorate Cup, Group 3: 2nd (out of 4) 4 1 0 3 ….. 3 points
Lost 4-3 to Zakiyah in the quarter-finals
2015-2016: Syrian Third Division, Group ?: 4th (last, out of 4) 3 0 0 3 ….. 0 points
Syrian Cup: lost 4-0 to Al Harjaleh in the preliminary round
Stadium
The club does not have a proper stadium for home matches. They have a synthetic mini-football ground, Al Sadasi, in the Fistuqa area of the town of Maaraba, where the club headquarters are also located, along with other amenities. The ground is only used for training and for the junior teams of the club, and has lighting.
More recently, a second synthetic ground has been set up side by side to the original one, so right now there are two grounds at Al Sadasi, which provide a better schedule for training sessions.
The senior team has played its official matches elsewhere, in Damascus or in the surroundings. As this problem also affects other clubs in the lower leagues, usually all league matches are scheduled on the same ground. For instance, all the matches in the 2016 Rif Dimashq Governorate Cup, Group 3, were played in Jaramana. All the matches of the 2016-2017 Syrian Third Division, Group 2, were played at Al Feyha Stadium in Damascus.
However, in recent years, a rammed earth ground has been set up in Maaraba, close to the proper size for a football ground. Maaraba SC has contributed to the works for this ground, and it is expected that this ground, if properly designed and supported by the local authorities, may become the official football ground of the town and for Maaraba SC.
The high interest shown by the locals for the unofficial local championship between neighbourhoods is a good sign for the future of football in Maaraba, which connects very well with the creation of Alqimma Sports Academy for children at Al Sadasi in 2020.
Crest
The club has a round crest, which is set around a white-grey vertical monument in the shape of two unequal hexagonal towers rising from a common pedestal, in the background, with an aesthetically rounded flag of Syria (red, white and black, with two green stars) and a stylized black running athlete below, in the foreground.
All the symbols in the foreground are surrounded by two olive tree branches, forming an olive wreath, with green leaves and black olive fruits. The two branches start from below, where they are united by the five Olympic rings. Above, the highest leaves nearly touch each other. The background vertical towers rise above the olive wreath.
The name of the club, written in Arabic in three words, is stylized. The first two words of the club name appear above the olive wreath, to the left and right of the towers. The last word of the club name is written below the Olympic rings and the olive wreath.
Kit colours
The club has no definite colours and therefore they used various kits throughout the years. Since August 2016, blue kits with pink sleeves have been used for the senior team, in official games.
In the first half of 2016, they used grey shirts with some yellow on the sides and shoulders, and white shorts and socks.
Other colours have also been used from time and time and for different teams within the club. For instance, green shirts with orange sleeves and white shorts and socks were used in the first friendly matches in December 2015. The junior teams used a large variety of colours for their kits. The futsal team played in electric yellow-green shirts and black shorts and socks in 2016-2017 and in red shirts and socks and white shorts in 2019.
The kit sponsors are Adidas. There are no shirt sponsors. The shirts usually wear the flag of Syria and the club crest in the upper top half.
Players
Mohamed Adeeb Abdul Karim (Abu Saleh) – goalkeeper
Fadi Al Kurdi – goalkeeper
Ahmed Abdel Karim (Abu Amin) – defender
Wissam Qishani – defender
Firas Walid Al-Khatib
Mohamed Nour Mohamed Farroukh – left back
Mohamed Mansour Sednawi
Jihad Essam Ammouna – midfielder
Omar Muammar Al-Hanash – midfielder
Faras Al Khaled
Walid Al-Hanoon
Safwan Bakeer – midfielder
Walid Ahmed Al Milhani – right winger
Bilal Harb – forward (team captain)
Mohamed Ahmed Abdullah (Abu Hassan) – forward
Maher Al-Husami
Karam Al Abrash
Omar Bin Marjah
Notable juniors
Mohammed Samer Bakir
Ghanem Talal Abdul Karim
Abdul Samer Al-Zaiti
Ayham Hammouda
Muhammad Muhammad Harb
Managers and staff
Ahmed Mohamed Khader Othman – club president
Mohamed Al-Abrash – manager of the senior team (since 2017)
Abed Hamra Abu Ahmed – manager of the junior teams
Riad Ezzarjal – media coordinator and therapist
Notable former players
Ahmed Rajab
Mansour
Abu Abdo Alaa Ofadi Alkurdi
Former managers
Nabil Al Hanash (2015-2016)
Emad Alhaj (2016-2017)
Sources:
Maaraba SC Facebook page (mostly in Arabic)
Maaraba Sport Facebook page (mostly in Arabic)
Al-Baath (in Arabic)
Maaraba village Facebook page (mostly in Arabic)
GSF Sport (in Arabic)
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