Aleppo
Sport

The city of Aleppo is considered as important centre of team sports with football being the most popular in the city. The five major sporting clubs of the city are al-Ittihad SC, al-Hurriya SC, al-Yarmouk SC, Jalaa SC and Ouroube SC. Many other sport clubs are located in several districts of the city including al-Herafyeen SC, Shorta Aleppo SC, Ommal Aleppo SC, Nayrab SC, al-Shahbaa SC, al-Qala'a SC and Aleppo Railways SC.

Basketball is also played in the city. All of the 5 Aleppine major sport clubs participate in the men's and women's top division of the Syrian Basketball League, in which both Jalaa SC and Al-Ittihad SC consecutively dominated winning the league from 1956 to 1993.

In July 2022, international qualifying matches were played in Aleppo for the first time since the beginning of the conflict. In the Hamadaniah Arena, the Syrian national team met the teams of Iran and Bahrain as part of the qualification for the World Cup.

Other sports being practiced by the major clubs in the city include tennis, handball, volleyball, athletics, table tennis and swimming.

With a capacity of 53,200 seats, the Aleppo International Stadium is the largest sports venue in Syria. Other major sport venues in the city include the Al-Hamadaniah Sports Arena, Bassel al-Assad Swimming Complex, and Al-Hamadaniah Olympic Swimming and Diving Complex.

On 29 January 2017, Aleppo hosted the first sports event since 2012, when the local football rivals al-Ittihad SC and al-Hurriya SC played at the Ri'ayet al-Shabab Stadium, within the frames of the 2016–17 Syrian Premier League.
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