Football

As in most places in the world, you don’t have to travel far to see a game of football in Oman. Rural villages usually have a group knocking a ball around on the local sand and rock pitch – and you could probably join in if you wanted. There are also often teams kicking about on the beaches, particularly at the InterContinental beach strip.


There’s a semi-professional football league in Oman that teams such as the Oman Club, Sidab and Quriyat participate in. A maximum of two expatriate players are allowed to join each of these clubs, so the majority of expat football fans play in the weekly social soccer games at the grounds of the Oman Club. The main teams include Loan Service, Deuch PDO, Aerworks, British PDO, Royal Flight and the Sultan Qaboos University Squad. Unfortunately, all of the above teams only accept players from within their own organisations, making it difficult for newcomers to get into the game. So you could always start a team of your own, either via your company or group of friends. 

The schools have taken charge of the footie scene for children. The PSSL schools soccer league has five age categories, ranging from under 9s to under 19s. The students play from September to December, with the Irishman’s cup for the under-13s a fitting climax to the season. The Al Sahwa school and PDO Elementary usually fare well in the youngest age group, while the ABA School and Indian School Wadi Kabir tend to dominate the under 11s. The ABA and the Indian School Muscat are strong in the under 13 sector, while Muscat Private School, British School and ISM are the main rivals in the under 15s category.


In the older age groups, Royal Guard and Sultan School tend to be the dominant forces. Touch football is also played at the PDO Elementary playing field Sunday and Tuesday evenings from 17:30 till 19:00 – you simply need to turn up.


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