Al-Shabab SC (Syria)
| Full name | Al-Shabab Sports Club |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1962 |
| Ground | Raqqa Stadium, Raqqa |
| Capacity | 15,000 |
| League | Syrian League 2nd Division |
Al-Shabab Sports Club (Arabic: نادي الشباب الرياضي) is a Syrian football club based in Raqqa. It was founded in 1962.[1] They play their home games at the Raqqa Stadium.
In 2016 Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently reported that members of the club were targeted by the Islamic State in the course of the Syrian civil war, and that 5 men, including players and a coach of the Al-Shabab SC football club, were publicly beheaded by them.[2][3]
In 2018 the inaugural match of the Euphrates Championship was played at Raqqa Stadium against Manbij SC by the partially reunited team.[4]
Raqqa Stadium
[edit]Raqqa Stadium or Malaab al-Baladi[5] (nicknamed "Black Stadium"[6][5]) was constructed in 2006[7] and was operational as a sports facility until 2011, the start of the protests against Bashar al-Assad.[5] In 2012 the Syrian Arab Armed Forces were accused by opposition activists of shelling opposition areas from the stadium.[8]
ISIS used the stadium as the "largest detention center" in the region.[9] During the Battle of Raqqa, ISIS made their last stand at the stadium, which was liberated by the Syrian Democratic Forces on 17 October 2017.[10] The virtual ISIS Prisons Museum has extensively 3D-modelled and photographed the stadium for an exhibit and virtual tour in a virtual museum intended to document Islamic State prisons and what the victims of them had been through.[11]
It is estimated that the grandstand of the stadium became severely damaged by fighting "between November 2015 and May 2016"[12] while Raqqa was the de facto capital of the Islamic State
The stadium was repaired and rehabilitated from 2017[6] to 2019[13] by the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and has a current spectator capacity of 15,000.[6].
The stadium's various halls and its grounds have since been used for sporting events such as karate lessons[14] and civic events such as the celebration of Newroz in March 2024.[15] It has also been used for the assistance of internally displaced persons by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.[16]
References
[edit]- ^ "الشباب - Al-Shabbab" (in Arabic). Retrieved 22 October 2017.
- ^ Byrne, Paul (2016-07-08). "ISIS extremists behead four footballers after declaring the sport anti-Islamic". The Mirror (UK). Retrieved 2025-01-23.
- ^ "ISIS in Raqqa beheads 5 persons, among them three players and a coach". Syrian Arab News Agency. 2016-07-09. Archived from the original on 10 July 2016. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
- ^ Fache, Wilson. "Raqqa hosts the beautiful game again as football team rebuilds from ruin". The National (Abu Dhabi). Retrieved 2025-01-23.
- ^ a b c "The History of Raqqa's Stadium: From Sports Facility to Security Prison". ISIS Prisons Museum. Archived from the original on 2024-12-10. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
- ^ a b c al-Hasan, Ahmad (19 June 2020). "From torture center to sports center: athletes hope for rehabilitation of sports village in Syria's Raqqa". North Press Agency. Archived from the original on 14 December 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
- ^ "Raqqa Rehabilitates Stadiums, Once Turned into Mass Graves and Detention Centers". Enab Baladi. 27 December 2018. Archived from the original on 22 June 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
- ^ "Syrian army shelling kills 6 children - activists". Reuters. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
- ^ Al-Hassan, Ahmad (18 Jul 2019). "Multi-venue sports complex to reopen soon in Raqqa". North Press Agency. Archived from the original on 14 December 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
- ^ "U.S.-backed Syrian militias raise flag in Raqqa stadium". Reuters. 17 October 2017.
- ^ Najjar, Sobhiya (1 November 2024). "New online museum takes visitors into ISIS jails". The National (Abu Dhabi). Archived from the original on 23 January 2025. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
- ^ Braun, Andreas (2018-07-02). "Assessment of Building Damage in Raqqa during the Syrian Civil War Using Time-Series of Radar Satellite Imagery". GI_Forum 2018. 6: 237. doi:10.1553/giscience2018_01_s228. ISSN 2308-1708. Archived from the original on 10 July 2024.
- ^ Hilal, Abdullatif (25 Jul 2019). "After being ISIS detention center, a local sports stadium in Raqqa fully restored". North Press Agency. Archived from the original on 14 December 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
- ^ Rebrii, Anna (2023-04-02). ""Woman, Life, Freedom": Syrian Women Are Rising Up Against Patriarchy". Truthout. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
- ^ "Raqqa Stadium is decorated for Newroz celebrants". Hawar News Agency. 20 March 2024. Archived from the original on 21 December 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
- ^ "UNHCR Syria Emergency Response Brief - 5 December 2024" (PDF). UNHCR. 5 December 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 January 2025. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
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