Al Bidda’s second triumph showcases consistency, cements legacy

Al Bidda are rejoicing after the sports club last week underlined their growing stature by claiming the Qatar Second Division Cup defeating Al Sailiya 2-0 in the final at Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium, last Wednesday night.

The victory, which marked their first triumph since the 2021 season, was sealed with goals from Cristian Dal Bello and Abdullah Nouri, cementing Al Bidda’s legacy in the tournament’s seventh edition.

Dal Bello had opened the scoring with a penalty in first-half stoppage time (45+1’), capitalising on a red card given to Al Sailiya’s goalkeeper Nabil Akram in the 36th minute for a foul.

Nouri then doubled the lead in the 61st minute, securing the trophy for Al Bidda in the presence of Qatar Football Association (QFA) Executive Committee member Hani Ballan, and QFA Secretary-General Mansoor al-Ansari, who also presided over the post-match awards ceremony.

The match showcased intensity and skill, with both teams delivering a spirited performance despite Al Sailiya’s numerical disadvantage. Al Bidda’s path to the final included a 2-0 semi-final win over Al Waab, while Al Sailiya edged Al Markhiya 1-0.

In the league stage, Al Markhiya had topped Group A with 16 points, while Al Bidda narrowly led Group B over Al Sailiya on goal difference (11 points each).

Al Bidda lifting the trophy a second time also saw them join Muaither SC (2017, 2019) and Mesaimeer SC (2018, 2020) as multi-time winners of the Second Division Cup. The tournament, which had paused in 2023-2024, resumed this season with Al Shahania as defending champions (2022-2023).

Al Bidda SC have shown remarkable growth in the recent times and their success can also be traced to the signing a long-term partnership agreement with Amsterdam’s famous football club - Ajax (last year) - to manage and train their club youth programme, utilising Ajax’s worldwide renowned philosophy, culture, and methodology.

At the signing ceremony, held at Stadium 974, Sheikh Hamad bin Mohamed bin Fahad al-Thani, Vice-Chairman of Al Bidda SC, had said: “With this partnership, we are setting a strong and solid foundation towards creating the best local club Football Youth Academy in Qatar. This, in turn, will help us foster great talents who will move up to join our first team. The Ajax academy is one of the best, if not the best, in the world. They have been doing it for a long time, and they have produced global talents and legends. Indeed, this would have a very positive impact on our players, coaches, administrators at the club, and, of course, for the development of Qatari football.”

Alex Kroes, Technical Director of Ajax, had said: “We are delighted to expand our international football network through this partnership. The global interest in Ajax’s football expertise is enormous and we are convinced that, in Al Bidda SC, we have found a partner with the same vision as Ajax. In the coming years, we will make every effort to set up a strong youth academy, which should ultimately ensure a constant flow of youth players to their first team. It is also great that we can implement our football philosophy on a broader scale. We have noticed a huge demand for this and are looking forward to these activities”.

Ronald De Boer, former Netherlands star and now Ajax A1 assistant manager, who was also present on the occasion, while speaking of the partnership said Ajax were keen to work with the youth of Al Bidda SC.

“When I came here, I saw football was already very popular, and Qatar had a vision to improve, and it doesn’t stop even after the FIFA World Cup.”
The Al Bidda SC was established in Qatar in 2015 and started with an amateur team playing in the Second Division, winning the cup first in 2022 and being a finalist in 2023. In July 2023, the club was granted full membership in the Qatar Football Association.