The 2012–13 Qatari League, also known as Qatari Stars League was the 40th edition of top level football championship in Qatar. The season started on 15 September 2012 and took a monthlong break from 21 December to 21 January 2013 due to the 21st Arabian Gulf Cup. Lekhwiya were the defending champions. Al-Sadd won the league for the 13th time in their history, making them the most successful team in the Qatar Stars League.
| Season | 2012–13 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Al-Sadd 13th title |
| Relegated | Al Sailiya |
| Champions League | Al-Sadd Lekhwiya El Jaish |
| Top goalscorer | Sebastián Soria (19 goals) |
← 2011–12 2013–14 → | |
Teams
Al Ahli were relegated to the second level league after finishing bottom in the 2011–12 Qatar Stars League campaign.
Al-Sailiya were promoted as the 2nd level champions and are back after one season away from the top flight.
Stadia and locations
1 Al Sailiya do not have a stadium of their own so will share with Al Rayyan.[1]
Personnel and kits
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Arabi |  Abdelaziz Bennij |  Masoud Zeraei | Adidas | QPM |
| Al-Gharafa |  Habib Sadegh |  Alex | Errea | Vodafone |
| Al-Kharaitiyat |  Bernard Simondi | Nabeel Anwar | BURRDA | Al-Khuratiyat Co. |
| Al-Khor |  László Bölöni | Mustafa Jalal | Adidas | Qatar Airways |
| Al-Rayyan |  Diego Aguirre | Fábio César | Adidas | Rayan Co. |
| Al-Sadd | Hussein Ammouta | Abdulla Koni | BURRDA | Vodafone |
| Al-Sailiya | Abdullah Mubarak | Abdulla Darwish | Nike | Qatar Islamic Bank |
| Al-Wakrah |  Mehmed Baždarević |  Ali Rehema | Nike | Opel |
| El Jaish | Răzvan Lucescu |  Karim Ziani | Nike | Masrat Rayan Archived 2012-11-15 at the Wayback Machine |
| Lekhwiya |  Eric Gerets | Dame Traoré | BURRDA | Masrat Rayan Archived 2012-11-15 at the Wayback Machine |
| Qatar SC | Sebastião Lazaroni | Hussain Al-Romaihi | Adidas | QatarEnergy |
| Umm-Salal | Bertrand Marchand |  Sasa Ognenovski | Nike | Global Sports |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Jaish | Péricles Chamusca | Contract expired [2] | 9 May 2012 | Răzvan Lucescu[3] | 9 May 2012 |
| Al-Sadd | Jorge Fossati | Contract expired | 19 May 2012 | Hussein Ammouta[4] | 1 June 2012 |
| Al-Khor | Alain Perrin | Signed by Qatar U-23[5] | 21 May 2012 | László Bölöni [6] | 21 June 2012 |
| Al-Wakrah | Adnan Dirjal | Resigned [7] | 23 May 2012 | Mehmed Baždarević | 23 May 2012 |
| Umm Salal | Gérard Gili | Contract expired | 20 June 2012 | Bertrand Marchand[8] | 27 June 2012 |
| Qatar SC | Saïd Chiba | Contract expired | 8 July 2012 | Sebastião Lazaroni[9] | 9 July 2012 |
| Al-Kharaitiyat | Laurent Banide | Contract expired | 20 July 2012 | Bernard Simondi[10] | 23 July 2012 |
| Al-Arabi | Pierre Lechantre | Sacked [11] | 30 September 2012 |  Hassan Shehata[12] | 11 October 2012 |
| Lekhwiya | Djamel Belmadi | Resigned | 8 October 2012 | Eric Gerets[13] | 8 October 2012 |
| Al-Sailiya |  Uli Stielike | Sacked | 8 October 2012 | Maher Kanzari[14] | 8 October 2012 |
| Al-Gharafa | Paulo Silas | Sacked | 27 November 2012 | Habib Sadegh[15] | 27 November 2012 |
| Al-Arabi | Hassan Shehata | Sacked [16] | 6 December 2012 | Abdelaziz Bennij | 6 December 2012 |
| Al-Gharafa | Habib Sadegh | Temp mandate over | 20 December 2012 | Alain Perrin[17] | 20 December 2012 |
| Al-Sailiya | Maher Kanzari | Resigned[18] | 31 January 2013 | Abdullah Mubarak | 31 January 2013 |
| Al-Gharafa | Alain Perrin | Resigned[19] | 21 February 2013 | Habib Sadegh | 21 February 2013 |
Foreign players
League Expansion
At the end of the season it was announced that the 2013–14 season would feature 14 teams. The decision to increase the numbers of teams means Al Sailiya – who finished bottom of the league – will avoid relegation. Meanwhile, Muaither – who lost to Al Arabi in the play-offs – will join as the 14th team.
The Second Division and the reserve league will also merge to create a stronger second tier.[20]
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al Sadd (C) | 22 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 47 | 23 | +24 | 51 | 2014 AFC Champions League Group stage |
| 2 | Lekhwiya | 22 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 42 | 22 | +20 | 46 | 2014 AFC Champions League Qualifying play-off |
| 3 | El Jaish | 22 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 25 | 23 | +2 | 40 | |
| 4 | Al Rayyan | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 49 | 37 | +12 | 37 | 2014 AFC Champions League Group stage |
| 5 | Umm Salal | 22 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 30 | 37 | −7 | 31 | |
| 6 | Al Gharafa | 22 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 26 | 28 | −2 | 30 | |
| 7 | Al Khor | 22 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 26 | 24 | +2 | 29 | |
| 8 | Qatar SC | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 31 | 34 | −3 | 26 | |
| 9 | Al Wakra | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 27 | 31 | −4 | 26 | |
| 10 | Al Kharitiyath | 22 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 21 | 27 | −6 | 20 | |
| 11 | Al-Arabi | 22 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 25 | 40 | −15 | 17 | Promotion/relegation playoff |
| 12 | Al Sailiya (R) | 22 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 29 | 52 | −23 | 13 | Relegation |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Relegation playoff
| Al-Arabi | 2–1 | Al-Mu'aidar |
|---|---|---|
Spiranovic  23' Al Oraimi 82' | Report Summary | Laitoula 44' (pen.) |
Fixtures and results
Top scorers
- As of 18 April 2013[21]
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastián Soria | Lekhwiya | 19 |
| 2 | Nilmar | Al-Rayyan | 14 |
| 3 |  Moumouni Dagano | Al-Sailiya | 13 |
| 4 | Younis Mahmoud | Al-Sadd | 10 |
| Júlio César | Al-Khor | 10 | |
| Khalfan Ibrahim | Al-Sadd | 10 | |
| Rodrigo Tabata | Al-Rayyan | 10 | |
| 5 | Diego Tardelli | Al-Gharafa | 9 |
| Mohammed Razak | Qatar SC | 9 | |
 Raúl | Al-Sadd | 9 |