Key renewals will bolster Al Gharafa’s aims of building on to the Amir Cup triumph last year.

Al Gharafa have handed contract extensions to Yacine Brahimi and captain Ferjani Sassi, the Qatar Stars League side announced on Tuesday.

Both Sassi and Brahimi’s contracts were due to expire this summer, but the new contract will see them continue with the Panthers for at least until the end of next season.

They will now be a part of the pre-season camp in Slovakia, where the club will play five friendlies, including one with English side Crystal Palace on August 1.

The extension will be a boost for Al Gharafa’s hopes of building on the Amir Cup triumph last season, in which the duo were crucial.

Sassi opened the scoring in the 2-1 win over Al Rayyan to end Al Gharafa’s 13-year trophy drought in May. It was a familiar sight, as the Tunisian midfielder had also scored the winner against UAE’s Shabab Al-Ahli to help his side book a place in the AFC Champions League Elite.

Since joining the side in 2023, the 33-year-old has scored 17 times and registered nine assists in 63 appearances for the Panthers. His ever-assuring presence in the heart of midfield meant he was also handed the captain’s armband.

Winger Brahimi, meanwhile, has been a talismanic presence and the side’s key creative outlet for a good three seasons now. His output was impressive for the 2024/25 season as well as the Alegrian scored 11 and assisted 12 goals in 31 appearances.

An Africa Cup of Nations champion with Algeria in 2019, Brahimi joined Al Gharafa from fellow Qatari side Al Rayyan at the start of the 2022/23 season.

He was also a part of the Algerian side that won the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 in Qatar, beating Tunisia 2-0 in the final. Sassi had started for Tunisia but was substituted, contrary to Brahimi, who stayed on to score the winner in the added minutes of the extra time.

The duo’s extension comes days after Al Gharafa announced the signing of ex-Everton and West Bromwich Albion full-back Mason Holgate.

The Jamaican international will join the likes of Brahimi, Sassi and the studded foreigners’ cast of Sergio Rico, Joselu and Fabricio Diaz in the club, under Portuguese manager Pedro Martins.