Country | Oman |
---|---|
Confederation | AFC |
Founded | 1976 |
Number of teams | 14 |
Level on pyramid | 1 |
Relegation to | Oman First Division League |
Domestic cup(s) |
Sultan Qaboos Cup Oman Professional League Cup Oman Super Cup |
International cup(s) | AFC Cup |
Current champions |
Fanja (2015–16) |
Most championships |
Dhofar Fanja (9 titles) |
TV partners | Oman Sports TV |
Website | http://www.opl.om/ |
2016–17 Oman Professional League |
The Oman Professional League (Arabic: دوري المحترفين عمان) (known as the Omantel Professional League for sponsorship reasons), previously known as the Omantel Elite League is the top division of the Oman Football Association, and was officially created in 1976. Currently the most successful teams in the league are Dhofar and Fanja with a total of nine titles to their name.
In 2010, during the annual draw for the Sultan Qaboos Cup, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, Sultan of Oman, granted the OFA an annual 2.6 million rial (approximately 6.7 million dollars) till the year 2015 to further boost the development of the league. The move was made to nurture Oman's football youth, and create higher hopes of Oman qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The deal is in addition to the annual 1.6 million rial that the Sultan gives to the OFA every year.
Although being very popular in the local community, it was ranked according to the AFC as a Class D football League till the 2012–13 season. Sayyid Khalid bin Hamid Al-Busaidi, OFA President, had already announced his organization's plan to transform the Omani Football League into a professional league by 2012, and also announced to change the league's name to the Oman Mobile League. The interest from many companies such as Nissan, Shell and Oman Mobile, was one of the main reasons why the league was expected to transform, under with the leadership of Sayyid Khalid.