Muscat, Oman, August 31, 2020: Sayyid Khalid al Busaidi, Chairman of the Oman Olympic Committee, presented retired goalkeeper Ali bin Abdullah Al Habsi with a memento and thanked him on behalf of the NOC and the sports family on his services to the country.
Al Habsi, who represented Oman in 135 internationals, announced his retirement by posting a message on his twitter account earlier this month.
“After nearly 20 years in which I had the honour to represent my country I announce today the end of my career as a football player. I raise my sincere thanks and great gratitude to everyone who supported me throughout my career,” Al Habsi said.
FIFA’s website noted the legendary goalkeeper enjoyed a gold-studded career with many honourable achievements for both country and club, adding his deeds will be engraved in the history of Omani sport.
FIFA tweeted on its Arabic website: “Our sincere congratulations to the legendary Omani goalkeeper, Ali Al Habsi, on his wonderful football career, which he decided to end after years of brilliance at club and national level. Thanks for the memories Captain Ali.”
An ambassador for the Arab world, Al Habsi also played for clubs overseas, in Norway and England where he turned out for Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic. In 2016, Al Habsi became the first Arab goalkeeper to captain an English team – Reading. The last leg of his English career was with West Bromwich.
The veteran goalkeeper first represented Oman in 2002. He was crowned best goalkeeper four times in a row at the Gulf Cup and was a member of the team that won the tournament in 2019 in the Sultanate.