Al-Arabi Doha

The club was founded in 1952 under the name "Al-Tahrir", making them the second oldest team in Qatar. In 1957, the club merged with Al-Wehda, a club founded in the same year under the leadership of Mohamed Ali Ahmed Al-Ansari, after playing a friendly. They merged under the name of Al-Wehda. Al-Wehda did not play outside of Qatar nor host any foreign clubs due to its limited budget. In 1972, the club rebranded under their current name, Al-Arabi. The first president of the club was Ahmed Ali Ahmed Al-Ansari.

Al-Arabi was known for having one of the largest fan bases in all of Qatar, as well as in other Gulf states, and was well-known overseas. Their popularity outside the Middle East was bolstered by their achievements and national team players, until 2003 when it reached its peak with the signing of Argentine legend Gabriel Batistuta.

It placed 14th in the International Federation of Football History & Statistics's 1901–2000 Asian Club of the Century poll.

Al-Wehda

The club solidified themselves as one of the best clubs in the Qatari League during the 1970s, securing a runner-up spot in the 1975/76 Emir Cup and achieving a remarkable feat by winning the Emir Cup three consecutive times in a row against Al-Wakrah in 1977/78 and 1978/79, and also winning against Al-Khor in the 1979/80 final.

Al Arabi established themselves as one of Qatar's dominant football clubs during the 1980s. The team, featuring standout players like Ali Zaid, Ibrahim Khalfan, Man'a Al-Barshi, Mohammed Daham, Khamis Daham, The team went on to win the Qatar Stars League title twice in 1982–83 and 1984–85, Al Arabi also lifted the Emir Cup in 1982–83 and 1983–84 and also back to back titles in 1988–89, 1989–90. They also secured the Sheikh Jassem Cup in 1980 aswell as in 1982.

The 1990s marked the start of a long streak of success for Al-Arabi. The dream team had come to fruition with the likes of Marquinho Carioca and Richard Owebukeri, who were the top scorers in the league at one point. Some of the most significant player were Mubarak Mustafa, Adel Al Mulla, Abdulaziz Karim, etc. The team, impressing many with its versatile squad, took the Qatari league by storm, winning it five times out of ten. In 1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96 and 1996–97.

The team also achieved a runners-up position in the AFC Champions League in 1995 losing to Thai Farmers Bank FC in the final.

During this period, the team won the 1992–93 Emir Cup, The Sheikh Jassim Cup in 1994, and the 1997 Qatar Crown Prince Cup defeating Al-Rayyan on penalties.

The new century saw a significant slump in Al-Arabi's performance. Factors which impacted this may include the departure of Mubarak Mustafa and the increase of competitiveness from local clubs. In the 2002 season, Al-Arabi finished in 7th place, the lowest position since its debut in the Qatar Stars League.

The arrival of Gabriel Batistuta in 2003 saw a glimpse of hope for Al-Arabi as they finished significantly higher in the league than the 2 previous seasons, however they ended up finishing 9th in the league at the end of the 2007 season, a new low. They did not win a single domestic title during this period, and had limited success in international competitions. Furthermore, they suffered their largest-ever defeat against Al-Sadd that season when they were beaten 7–0, which resulted in the sacking of their coach Cabralzinho.

In 2006, due to popular dissent accosting the club president Sheikh Falah bin Jassim, there was an administrative change which resulted in Sheikh Faisal bin Mubarak being elected as president.

The beginning of the 2011–12 season looked bright for Al-Arabi, with the club winning its first domestic silverware in 13 years after defeating Umm Salal SC in the final of the 2011 Sheikh Jassem Cup. However, a string of bad results in the league resulted in the sacking of their coach, Paulo Silas.

They also qualified for the 2012 AFC Champions League, wherein they were the first team to be eliminated. During this period, the club had appointed 3 coaches in a span of 3 months. They infamously made history by being the first team since 2007 to lose every match of the group stage, as well as the first Qatari team to witness such failure. As a result, the club's director of football, Mubarak Mustafa, announced his departure from the club. Furthermore, Dr. Abdullah al-Mal, president of the club, announced his retirement from sports. He was replaced by Hitme bin Ali Al-Hitmi. The fiscal budget of the club was reduced from 15 million riyals to 9 million riyals. They have just also lost the qualification for the AFC entry for the 23/24 season which has been a major setback