INTERVIEW: Hussein Al-Kubaisi

When the ball rolls from the kickoff spot at the Khalifa International Stadium for the first game of the 2022-23 QNB Stars League season, Hussein Al-Kubaisi will have experienced a strange feeling. As the deputy head of football at Al-Markhiya, he will be watching his side, freshly promoted from the second division, face defending champions Al-Sadd at what is popularly referred to as the country’s national sporting venue. It will be a moment in the making, for too long, if you ask Hussein.

In 2020-21, this football official had been at his childhood club Al-Shamal, serving as deputy to his friend, fellow Real Madrid fan and the club’s head of football Yousuf Al-Muhaiza. The duo were rather young to be in those positions but they successfully supervised operations as Al-Shamal completed a memorable campaign in the second division, edging past favourites Al-Shahania by a whisker to win the title and secure promotion to the QSL.

If that was a moment to savour, things would soon turn awry. Both Yousuf and Hussein had disagreements with the higher management and left the club, before they could taste the fruits of promotion. They would not be on the sidelines when their beloved Al-Shamal returned to the QSL for the first time since 2014-15.

The two officials would soon make a move, and it was a surprising one – to another second division club. Hussein became deputy head of football, while Yousuf was to serve as sporting director. At the end of the 2021-22 season, Al-Markhiya won the second division title, the second successive promotion for Hussein and Yousuf, making them ‘promotion specialists’!

Now, finally, after a year of waiting, they have finally got the opportunity to watch a team that they help manage, play in the top tier of Qatari football.

We spoke to Hussein before the start of the season in an interview during which he explained his passion for the game, how he got into management, his ambition, and his reaction to being called a ‘promotion specialist.’

INTERVIEW

Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your role at the club?

My name is Hussein Thani Al Kubaisi, and I am the deputy head of football, and the head of the development committee at Al-Markhiya Sports Club.

How did you get into football?

My beginnings in football were at Al-Shamal, the club from the town I grew up in. I played for all age groups at Al-Shamal, all the way to youth team and then moved to futsal. I played futsal at Al-Shamal, and then went on loan to Al Khor, before taking up a management role.

How and when did you decide to move into football management?

During the time I was playing futsal I suffered a cruciate ligament injury, I went through surgery but it was difficult to return to playing again. At that time Mubarak Al Mansouri, who was the Shamal club president at that time, offered me to be the head of the age group teams and I did not hesitate to take up the offer and start with my career in management

You’re definitely one of the youngest people in football management right now in the country..

Football is a passion for me. Almost my entire life has been in football. As far as I’m concerned, any person who loves something will excel in it. Football for me is life.

How would you describe the period in which you resigned from your role at your childhood club Al-Shamal?

My time at Al-Shamal was a good experience for me. After resigning from my role in the team’s management, I got multiple offers. After seeking God’s help, I preferred the offer from Al-Markhiya to take up a significant role at the club.

You have now been part of two successive promotion campaigns.. How does it feel?

In the second division, as a player or an official or the entire club, it is a hard task with the only objective throughout the season being promotion. The situation is a lot different to the first division, where there are different objectives and the pressure is comparatively less. I had a great experience, being able to experience promotion with Al-Shamal in my first season, and then I came to Al-Markhiya and in the very next season, the club won promotion as well. Some people say Hussein is a promotion specialist. For me, my ambition is not to be in the second division, I have bigger goals in the first division, to help the team as much as possible to reach higher positions.

At the midway point of last season, Al-Kharaitiyat were closer to winning promotion to the second division. How did Al-Markhiya manage to close the gap and get past them?

The pressure, as I said, in the second division is always huge. Al-Kharaitiyat had a five point lead before the start of the second phase of the league. In the last season, we had only two phases unlike previous seasons when we used to have three. So there was a reduction in the number of games, and Al-Kharaitiyat had a five-point lead. But our management successfully dealt with the pressure and made changes – bringing in a new coach, and some foreign players. After God, the biggest support was the management led by president Ali Al Mesaifri, and vice president Khalid Al Kubaisi, and CEO Misfer Al Mesaifri. They were all with us and never let us down, always responding to our requests and coordinating with us throughout the competition.

What will Al-Markhiya’s aim be in the QSL this season?

Personally, I have seen from Markhiya that the people here have high ambitions, without no limit. We aim high. I will be lying if I say that our goal is only to survive in the league, especially as 2.5 teams will be in danger of relegation, with the bottom two teams going down and the 10th placed team facing the second division winner in a playoff. It is a difficult situation. If our planning is based on not being relegated, we will be relegated. Our aim is higher than that. We are working on completing the deals and preparing the team for the season.

Tell us more about your role as the head of the development committee.

The management also appointed me as the head of the development committee. I want to thank them for their confidence in me. The committee’s job as part of the football organisation at the club covers the age group leagues. We have regular meetings with the members of the committee. Our role is to improve and develop the age group teams, to prepare players who can rise to the first team, and to also compete for all available titles.

What are your goals in the field of management, for the long term?

My goals in management is to be an effective part of the football community, who can help develop the game in our country Qatar. My highest ambition would be to be a part of the Qatar national team’s management.