FIFA Council approves Qatar’s request to host Arab Cup in 2025, 2029 and 2033

Bangkok: The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) Council approved the State of Qatar’s request to host the next three editions of the Arab Cup in 2025, 2029 and 2033, at its 74th Congress in Bangkok, Thailand.   In a statement on its official website, the FIFA Council confirmed the approval of the Qatar Football Association’s (QFA) request for Qatar to host the three editions of the tournament again after its successful hosting of the 2021 edition. The Council also decided that the upcoming three editions will be held in December of the aforementioned years.   QFA had expressed interest in hosting the event under the umbrella of FIFA and the Arab Federation out of the Arab region’s need for such tournaments, in addition to the availability of success factors and integrated infrastructure to host tournaments in Qatar.   The State of Qatar enjoys a prominent global position in organizing sporting events and tournaments, the most prominent of which were the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in which 32 teams participated, the Asian Cup Qatar 2023 in January and February 2024, and the U-23 AFC Asian Cup.   FIFA had announced that Qatar will host five editions of the FIFA U-17 World Cup from 2025 to 2029, with the participation of 48 team for the first time in its history.   The slot allocation was confirmed as follows: AFC: 9; CAF: 10; Concacaf: 8; CONMEBOL: 7; OFC: 3; UEFA 11.   Qatar has an integrated sport infrastructure with a modern transportation network to smoothly facilitate the arrival of fans and attendance of matches, enabling fans to attend more than one match per day.  

Sheikh Joaan attends Schools Olympic Program Closing Day

DOHA – His Excellency, the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) President, Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani attended the closing ceremony of the 17th edition of Schools Olympic Program, which was concluded at the Aspire Dome on Tuesday. The SOP closing ceremony was also attended by HE Mr. Mohammed bin Yusuf Al Mana, the First Vice President of the QOC, HE Dr. Ibrahim Bin Saleh Al-Naimi , the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Sheikh Khalifa bin Khalid Al-Thani, Chairman of SOP Organising Committee and  Mr. Mohamed Khalifa Al Suwaidi, CEO of Aspire Zone Foundation. This SOP’s 17th  edition has seen the participation of more than 4000 students competing in nine team and individual sport disciplines, volleyball, basketball, handball, shooting, Hockey, table tennis, gymnastics, Taekwondo and wrestling.  

Qatar to host 2024 World Padel Championships

Doha: The International Padel Federation (FIP) and the Qatar Tennis Federation (QTF) announced that the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex in Doha, Qatar, will host the 17th edition of the FIP World Padel Championships from October 28 to November 2, 2024. The flagship FIP bi-annual event will see 16 national teams across both the men’s and women’s categories have the opportunity to participate in the pinnacle national team padel tournament in Doha later this year. Qatar was selected to host this year’s tournament based on a range of leading criteria, including but not limited to the world-class quality of the sporting facilities, the player conditions and support, major events delivery experience, security, financial surety, geographic location and sporting heritage. The popularity of padel in Qatar has also sky-rocketed in recent years, thanks to QTF’s leadership and local activations, and the passionate local fan base is another advantage of this host location. The 17th FIP World Padel Championships will have prize money of €500,000, to be equally distributed between men and women to all countries qualified for the final stage. Nasser al-Khelaifi, President of Qatar Tennis Federation, said, “We are delighted to host the FIP World Padel Championships 2024 in Qatar at our world class facilities in the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex in Doha. Qatar has an exceptional track record of delivering fantastic major sporting events based on the highest standards, and where the conditions for players and fans are second-to-none. We look forward to partnering with the International Padel Federation to deliver this pinnacle tournament, and continuing to support FIP’s mission to drive the growth and development of padel worldwide.” Luigi Carraro, President of the International Padel Federation, said: “We are delighted to finalise the venue for the 2024 FIP World Padel Championships. Doha is a special home for padel – the Qatar Tennis Federation has played an integral role in repeatedly delivering unparalleled international padel tournaments; and we look forward to players and fans enjoying the fantastic hospitality and conditions during the most important tournament in our 2024 calendar. The 2024 FIP World Padel Championships will showcase the most talented athletes in the world and we cannot wait to deliver another historic edition of the tournament later this year. The sport had developed rapidly since the tournament was last hosted here in 2021 – padel is now a global phenomenon – and we continue to grow the sport under the banner of unity, uniqueness and professionalism.” The FIP World Padel Championships returns to Doha three years after the extraordinary success of the 2021 edition. In 2021, a total of 16 female teams and 16 male teams from 19 countries competed, with Spain triumphing in both the men’s and women’s team competitions and Argentina taking home a silver medal in both categories.  

IHF to hold World Handball Championship draw on May 29

Basel: The draw for the preliminary round of the 2025 IHF World Men’s Handball Championship will be held on May 29.  The championship will be staged in Croatia, Denmark and Norway from 14 January to 2 February 2025. Team Qatar secured their spot in the 2025 IHF World Men's Handball Championship after leading their group in the main round of the 21st Asian Men's Handball Championship 2024 in Bahrain.  

Team Qatar finish fourth at Beach Handball Global Tour

Brasilia- Team Qatar finished  fourth at the IHF Beach Handball Global Tour, which is concluded  in Brazil on Sunday. Team Qatar were unable to  advance to the semifinals stage , following a   2-1 defeat at the hands of German earlier on Sunday. Most notably, team Qatar were crowned  champions of  IHF Beach Handball Global Tour last  year  in Doha after defeating Brazil counterparts 2-1 in the final game.  The 2023 IHF Beach Handball Global Tour visited Brazil, Tunisia and Poland before the Finals Stage was held in Doha, Qatar in November, with Qatar’s men and Brazil’s women taking the overall titles.  

QOC participates in the OCA General Assembly Meeting

Bangkok -The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) participated in the 43rd General Assembly meeting of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) held in Bangkok, Thailand. HE Mr. Mohammed bin Yusuf Al Manea, the First Vice President of the QOC, headed the QOC delegation at the meeting. He was joined by HE Dr. Thani bin Abdulrahman Al Kuwari, the Second Vice President of the QOC and Vice President of the OCA for West Asia, and HE Mr. Jassim bin Rashid Al Buenain, the Secretary General of the QOC and Vice President of the OCA for the Doha 2030 Asian Games. The meeting reviewed progress reports on the following four upcoming events: •    The 6th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Bangkok and Chonburi, Thailand in November 2024 •    The 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China in February 2025 •    The 2025 Asian Youth Games in Tashkent, Uzbekistan •    The 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan in 2026 The meeting also discussed the report of the OCA’s Constitutional Reform Committee.