From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Sep 2026
Mayed Saeed was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Al Shaab
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hernán Di María was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match12 Sep 2026
Khalid Yaqoob scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Dibba, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad14 Sep 2026
The medical room confirms 18 days on the sidelines for Ismail Al Shamsi, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A muscle injury sidelines Ismail Obaid for 14 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Al Shaab will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑2 Abdullah Khalfan left the room before anybody could ask which.
Market14 Sep 2026
Experience through the door at Al Shaab
Khalid Serroukh arrives at 36 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Khalid Juma
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A one-man rearguard from Hamad Saeed
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market7 Sep 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Al Shaab, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Al Shaab close the window on a squad of their own making
10 in and 1 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: River Plate keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Al Shaab
Hernán Di María and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Graduation day at Al Shaab
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Mayed Saeed falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Market7 Sep 2026
One of our own: Amer Juma joins the Al Shaab first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Amer Juma is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 Aug 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Al Shaab, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market31 Aug 2026
The fee is $360.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Al Wasl drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Squad31 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Al Shaab
Hernán Di María and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Al Shaab asked and Al-Ahli said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Mahmoud Al Suwaidi falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to River Plate: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
The terraces24 Aug 2026
Ahmed Al Hashmi has gone, the accounts have $3.5M in them, and the supporters have the feeling of having been sold something themselves. Good business and a good decision are not always the same thing.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
$360.0K settles it between the clubs for Yousif Ali
Al Wasl have accepted the money. What Al Shaab do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Market24 Aug 2026
Al Ahli paid $3.5M and Al Shaab took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Market24 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market24 Aug 2026
The fee is $150.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Baniyas drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Mahmoud Ismail was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Al Shaab
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hernán Di María was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Venezia have kept their man, and Al Shaab go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market17 Aug 2026
Al Shaab say no — this time
The offer from Al Ain for Hernán Di María was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Al Ain have kept their man, and Al Shaab go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad17 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Shaab this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ahmed Al Hashmi, and the manager let it.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Al Shaab
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mohamed Atwa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad17 Aug 2026
The medical room confirms 47 days on the sidelines for Ismail Al Shamsi, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad17 Aug 2026
The formation has left Mohamed Atwa behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Al Shaab will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
The Ahmed Al Hashmi rumours reach the terraces
What was a back-page link has become a chant, and the chant is not friendly. Al Shaab would rather it were settled quietly, and it has stopped being quiet.
Market17 Aug 2026
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Ahmed Hassan may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Aug 2026
Al Shaab say no — this time
The offer from Al Ahli for Ahmed Al Hashmi was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market10 Aug 2026
Mayed Saeed arrives at Al Shaab in a $310.0K statement of intent
There comes a point where a club either backs its own ambition or admits it does not have any. Al Shaab have paid $310.0K for Mayed Saeed, which is the loudest way there is of saying which one it chose.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ahmed Al Hashmi and Al Shaab agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Al Shaab
Ahmed Al Hashmi and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Stockport County have kept their man, and Al Shaab go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Hamad Saeed
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad10 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Al Shaab
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rashid Hussain was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Al Shaab count the cost of losing Nico
50 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Venezia have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
Al Shaab asked and Al Wasl said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Al Shaab
Ahmed Al Hashmi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Khalfan Al Hashmi commits to Al Shaab for another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Al Shaab
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hernán Di María was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to Al Jazira: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
Ahmed Al Hashmi asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.