Al-Nasr CSC (Arabic: نادي النصر الرياضي, romanized: nādī an-naṣr ar-riyāḍī, lit. 'Victory Sports Club') is an Emirati professional football club based in Al Nasr, Dubai and competes in the UAE Pro League. Al-Nasr, literally translating to "victory" in Arabic, was founded in 1945 and is considered as the first and oldest club in the United Arab Emirates.
History
Pre–UAE League era (1945–1973)
Al Nasr Sports Club was founded by a group of young men in a Al Ghubaiba, Dubai in 1945, making it the oldest club in UAE footballing history. The team played in an empty playground near a highschool for three years until in 1948 were they finally decided to establish modern rules of football. In 1951, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum chose the headquarters to be in a cafe close to a fish market, the cafe had a room for rent so the club would rent the room for meetings, gatherings and studying. The club would later move their headquarters to Shindagha. During this period the club went on with the name Al Ahli until in the 1960s where the players traveled to Qatar to face Al Ahli and lose, after their loss in Qatar, the players proposed to change the name to Al Nasr which would later become official. The club decided to move their headquarters to a larger house in Shindagha and invited Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan to meet the club in their new headquarters, Sheikh Zayed decided to donate 60,000 AED as a gift to the club, they would use the money to develop the club.[1][2]
Rise of competition (1973–1990)
In 1973, the UAE Pro League was established and neighboring teams emerged forcing Al Nasr to start building a proper venue, so the construction of Al Maktoum Stadium began, however the team would join the league in 1974 so the club played their home games in Rashid Stadium until the completion of Al Makhtoum stadium in 1980, the club would win 3 UAE league, 3 presidents cup titles and a UAE federation cups during this time. The club would also be noted for hosting games with big clubs like Arsenal, Liverpool and Santos.[3][4]
Modern era (1990–present)
After the end of the eighties, the club has yet to win the league but won notable cup competitions such as the president's cup, league cup and the GCC Champions League, around 2018 the team would renovate the Al Makhtoum Stadium for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and host another friendly with Arsenal in 2019. Al Nasr removed coach Caio Zanardi and replaced him with former Dinamo Zagreb player and national Croatian player Krunoslav Jurčić, but he left Al Nasr in February 2021 after mediocre results in the league, and Jurcic was replaced with former River Plate coach Ramón Díaz.
Rivalries
The team has a big rivalry with Al Wasl, often called the Bur Dubai Derby or just simply Dubai Derby, both teams have competed to see which club is the best team in Bur Dubai area.[5] It also has a rivalry with Shabab Al Ahli which is also based in the same city but not in the same area.
