Baniyas SC

The club took its name from the district it was built for and started playing in 1981. The full title — Baniyas Sports & Cultural Club — still carries the second half of that remit.

The long wait after 1992 broke in 2013, and not at home. Baniyas won the GCC Champions League, the Gulf club competition. Al-Smawi, the nickname, translates plainly enough as the Sky Blues, and the colours have not moved from light blue and white.

Twice the league title has been within reach and twice it has gone elsewhere: second place in 2010/11, then second again a decade later in 2020/21.

Home is Baniyas Stadium out on 6th Street in Al Shamkha, a ground of around 9,500 seats.

The league title is still missing, and so is anything to follow 2013 abroad.