Early history The first unofficial season of the Qatar Stars League was the
1963–64 season, three years after the formation of the
QFA. Similarly, a
second division was also created during this time. For many years, there was no promotion or relegation system.
First official season In 1972–73, the first official season was played. Al Esteqlal, now known as
Qatar SC, won the first championship. The first time there was a playoff for the championship was in 1980, between
Al Sadd and
Al Arabi. Al Sadd won the match 1–0. In 1994, for one season, the
QFA launched a new system where matches ending in draws would end in a
penalty shoot-out to determine the winner. This was put in place in an effort to improve attendance. In addition, in 2004, the
Aspire Academy was formed, which provides training facilities to young people in order to improve the footballing standard not only in Qatar, but internationally. Many notable players have graduated from the academy, including
Abdelkarim Hassan,
Saad Al Sheeb, and
Ibrahim Majid.
2009: Changing name to Qatar Stars League In 2009, no clubs were relegated from the top division. Due to the recent formation of
Lekhwiya and
El Jaish, this meant that the second division would lose two clubs while two more clubs would enter the first division, bringing the total number of clubs in the first division to 12, and the second division to six. and inaugurated a new domestic cup, the
Qatari Stars Cup. ==Clubs==