The countdown to 2021-2022 QNB Stars League has begun even as the clubs are eagerly continuing their preparations for the season’s competitions after returning from their overseas camps, where they sought to achieve maximum technical and physical benefits for the players.

Against this backdrop, we are highlighting the pre-season preparations made by Al Shamal.

AL SHAMAL

The QNB Stars League welcomes Al Shamal back to the First Division after a gap of more than six years. They won the Second Division League last season (2020-2021) to qualify for the top flight.

Al Shamal will be facing a new challenge this time and there will be no option for them, but to work hard and diligently in order to compete strongly against teams that have much experience in the competition.

Continuation of Moroccan coach Hicham Jadrane

Al Shamal retained the services of Moroccan coach Hisham Jadrane, who succeeded in taking the team back to the QNB Stars League and his continuation is expected to maintain the stability of the team, especially since he knows the potential of his players and also Qatar football well.

Jadrane trained Al Shamal in the 2018 season and achieved successes with the team, which was the reason why the club management decided to make him continue at the helm of technical staff in the 2021-2022 season.

Three foreign professionals retained

As part of the team management’s keenness on stability, Al Shamal retained the foreign professional trio of Jordanian Baha Faisal, Khalil Bani Attiah and Dutchman Jeremy de Nooijer, who were with the team in the Second Division.

Signing of an Argentinian defender and a Colombian striker

As part of strengthening their ranks, Al Shamal signed Argentinian defender Matias Nani and Colombian striker Jeison Medina.

New deals

Al Shamal had announced that they had signed contracts with a number of Qatari players to bolster the team in the new season, namely: Mohammed El Sayed ‘Jedo’ from Umm Salal for a year, Khalifa Saad from Al Arabi on loan for a season and Moaz Al Salmi from Al Gharafa for three seasons. And Mohammad Al Jabri for two seasons, Zaid Saad for three seasons, Walid Fawzi and Faisal Abdullah for three seasons, goalkeeper Hassan Idris from Al Wakrah, Mohammad Al Nasr and Ali Awad.

Overseas camp in Turkey

Al Shamal began preparations for the new season last July which included strong training in Doha and the team left for its overseas camp in Turkey on 5th August.

The camp featured three friendly matches, two against Turkish clubs and one against the Lebanese national team in addition to the technical and physical sessions supervised by the technical staff.

Tough start

Al Shamal begin their campaign in the league with a strong game against Al Gharafa, who came fourth last season. They will then play Al Sailiya, Qatar SC and defending champions Al Sadd in the following weeks.

Fan factor

The fans of Al Shamal will have a great role in supporting the team on its return to the QNB Stars League, just like they did in the past years. Therefore, everyone hopes that the team will display a strong level that will help them keep their place in the First Division and build on their achievements.