Footballer Ahmed Mubarak, known as Ahmed Kano, who was a member of the first squad of the Oman national football team in 2003, announced his retirement on Sunday.
In the first team, he played along with the likes of Ali Al Habsi and Ahmed Hadid.
He scored 23 goals in 180 appearances for the Oman National Team.
He last played for Suwaiq Club, and before that represented Al Orouba and Dhofar clubs.
"First of all, I am proud of all that I gave to my country’s national team and my foreign professional career. My football career ended as a player, and I will certainly continue my journey with it, but this time not inside the green rectangle," he said in a statement.
He made appearances in the 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, and 2017 editions of the Arabian Gulf Cup. In the 2003 edition of the tournament, he scored one goal in an important 2−0 win against the United Arab Emirates.
In the 2014 edition, he scored one goal in a close 1−1 draw against Iraq, and in the 2017 edition, he managed to score a critical penalty kick in a difficult 1−0 win against the hosts Kuwait.
Kano won the most valuable player award of the 2017 Gulf Cup for his role in the success of the Oman team.
Kano has made a total of four appearances in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, six in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers and 14 in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.
In the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, he scored one goal in a 1−1 draw against Japan.
He scored three goals in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers - the first one came in the second round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in a 2−0 win over Myanmar, and the other two goals were scored in the fourth round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, one in a 2−1 win over Jordan and another in a 1−2 loss against Japan.
[Oman entered the last game of group play with a chance to qualify for at least the playoff round, but a 1−0 loss to Jordan eliminated them from the competition.
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