The Arab Castle has witnessed rapid winds of change over the past few hours, and it may continue for a little while after the turmoil that the club experienced during recent weeks, as a result of a series of failures and heavy defeats locally and in the Gulf, the last of which was a three-to-one defeat to Umm Salal in the final round of the league. Al-Arabi has become one of the teams threatened with relegation if serious steps are not taken to save the team.
Dr. Bilal Walid Al-Hitmi, head of the football apparatus, submitted his resignation, accompanied by the resignations of the administrative staff he was working with. These resignations came under great pressure from the masses demanding change.
The club’s management “secretly” decided to dismiss English coach Anthony Hudson, despite the lack of an official announcement, as the fans held him responsible for the series of heavy defeats, especially the repeated five-game loss. The administration came close to signing Portuguese Nuno Almeida, the former coach of Al-Shamal Club, and he became the closest to assuming the task of leading the team and preparing it for the second division of the league.
Sources within the club reported that His Excellency Sheikh Tamim bin Fahd Al Thani, the club’s president, will supervise the football apparatus during the coming period. A number of names were also nominated to join the administrative staff, most notably:
Khalifa Al-Sada, deputy head of the agency, Mishal Al-Malik as director, and Nasser Al-Kubaisi, head of the Sunni groups sector, as administrative staff for the team.
At the level of professional players, sources within the club confirmed that it was agreed to terminate the contract with Tunisian professional Youssef Msakni by mutual consent, while Syrian professional Omar Al-Souma is demanding that he receive his full financial dues before leaving the club.
Al Arabi seeks to strengthen its ranks with a number of local players, most notably:
Ahmed Suhail, Al-Sadd player, as Al-Saddawiya prefers to loan him to Al-Arabi, while the club wants to buy his contract outright.
As for Italian Marco Verratti, his contract with Al-Arabi Club continues until next season, with the option of renewal if the two parties agree to that.
Al-Arabi Club hopes that these changes will restore confidence to its fans, who have demanded improved performance and competition at the highest levels, away from the specter of relegation. The coming days will reveal whether these changes are enough to save the season and achieve the ambitions of the club and its fans.
