Mansour Muftah

Al-Rayyan (1974–1994)

Muftah got promoted to the senior squad at the age of nineteen. He played for Al-Rayyan from the years 1974 till 1994, during his tenure he became a club legend and one of their greatest-ever players. He helped the team win six Qatari League titles, and was also the league’s top scorer on several occasions (1973–74, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, and 1985–86 seasons). In the 1985–86 campaign of the Qatari League, Under his captainship, Muftah set a remarkable record by scoring 22 goals In just 12 appearances out of the teams total 34 goals, featuring in all of Rayyan's matches, he was declared the top goal-scorer of the league, scoring an average of 1.83 goals per game. Due to this feat, he became the first player to win the Arabian Golden Boot twice, first in the 1981–82, and the second in the 1985–86 season, he also contributed to Al-Rayyan’s victory in the Qatar Sheikh Jassem Cup in 1992.

Al-Wakrah (1995–1998)

In 1995, Muftah was set to join Al Sadd, but strong opposition from Al-Rayyan fans due to the fierce rivalry between the two clubs prevented the move. As a result, he signed with Al-Wakrah instead. He played with the team till 1998. During his tenure, He scored 19 goals in 44 matches, and won the Qatar Sheikh Jassem Cup in 1998. Muftah also guided his team reach the runners-up position in the 1994–95 Emir Cup, scoring in the final. Muftah also notes regrettably when he scored the game-winning goal in a 1–0…

Early years (1976–1982)

Muftah made his international debut in the 1976 Gulf Cup against Saudi Arabia. He scored four goals in six games in the tournament, including a two-minute brace against Bahrain. He then featured in the 1978 Asian Games scoring a brace to level the game against arch-rivals Saudi Arabia to enable a draw. He also featured in the 1979 Gulf Cup in Iraq, scoring a single goal against the UAE, and again in 1982 Gulf Cup. scoring a goal against Oman. He scored his first World cup qualifier goal in 1978 against Bahrain at the 40th minute resulting in a 2–0 win for Qatar.

International Success (1982–1988)

In the 1980s, Muftah played a key role in Qatar's participation in tournaments, with his most successful spree in the FIFA World Cup qualification in 1986 where he scored a hat-trick and a poker against Lebanon, however, both matches were counted as annulled. Another one of his memorable moments came in 1990 where he scored a header from a difficult angle against rivals Saudi Arabia in the 87' minute to salvage a draw, In the same qualifying stage he scored in the 87' minute after teammate Mahmoud Soufi who scored a few moments prior in the game against China to give Qatar the victory. In 1981, he participated in the World Military Cup held in Qatar, helping his team finish as runners-up. From 1980 till 1986, the national team was coached by Evaristo de Macedo, who he describes as "undoubtedly the most influential person in his playing…

Mansour Muftah was born on 22 November 1955, in Doha, Qatar. He attended the New Rayyan School; the school's football pitch was shared by Al Rayyan's first team. One day, he joined in on an Al Rayyan training session, and scored two goals in a training match, prompting head coach Ashour Salem to ask him to join Al Rayyan's youth teams. Muftah rejected as he was a fan of Al Arabi, and was under pressure from his family to play for Al Arabi. Nonetheless, his sister-in-law presented him a contract with Al Rayyan, and he signed it without knowledge of the contents. Shortly after, his brother forced him into signing a contract binding him to Al Arabi. This caused the two respective clubs to involve the QFA, which offered him a chance to select between the two clubs. He chose to play for Al Rayyan, to the indignation of his brother. The following day, the Al Rayyan youth team secured a 3–1 victory over the Al Sadd youth team, with Muftah netting two goals. He then featured in a dominant 5–0 win against the Al Wakrah youth side. Continuing their strong form, Al Rayyan went on to defeat the Al Arabi youth team 3–1 in their next match.

Muftah's brother, Faraj Muftah, was a former volleyball referee and player who played for the Al Rayyan Volleyball Team and the Qatar national volleyball team. Muftah's son, Tameem Mansour, is also a professional footballer who plays for Al-Rayyan as well as the Qatar national team.