Qatar defeat Kuwait in Asian joint qualifiers

Doha: Akram Afif donned the captain’s armband for the first time and the star striker celebrated his new role in style with a brace as Qatar swept past Kuwait 3-0 in the preliminary joint qualification – Round 2 match for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027. At the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, the Asian champions broke the deadlock two minutes into second half after a simple tap-in from Afif. Four minutes later 19-year-old substitute Ahmed al-Rawi scored his first ever senior goal, before Afif added another in 68th minute. The win took Qatar a step closer to qualifying for the next round as they aim to qualify for the World Cup for the first time. Qatar lead the Group A with nine points, five clear of second-placed India, who drew with Afghanistan 0-0 on Thursday. Qatar now travel to Kuwait for the reverse fixture, which will be held on March 26 at the Sabah al-Salem Stadium and a win in Kuwait City could well seal their place in the third round of the qualifiers. The first sight on goal went Qatar’s way, Jassem Garber’s half-volley from outside the box took a deflection off a defender to go narrowly wide with Kuwait goalkeeper Sulaiman Abdulghafoor rooted. There was a poignant moment at the 10th minute mark when the fans at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium paid homage to former Qatar captain Hassan al-Haydos – who recently announced his international retirement – by unfurling a banner with the image of the two-time AFC Asian Cup winner. On the pitch, a mistake in the 15th minute almost gifted the opening goal to Kuwait, goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham missed an attempted punch and had teammate Lucas Mendes to thank for clearing Yousef al-Sulaiman’s follow-up on the line. Qatar gradually grew stronger and a curling free-kick from Afif – appointed captain – only needed a touch but Almoez Ali and Yusuf Abdurisag got in each other’s way, with the ball rolling harmlessly out of play for a goal kick. Marquez Lopez’s side came out firing on all cylinders in the second half after the Spanish coach – who was recently rewarded for Asian Cup triumph with a contract till 2026 – made changes. He brought in Ismail Mohamed and Ahmed al-Rawi for Abdullah al-Maarafi and Mahdi Salem. And the hosts quickly built themselves a two-goal lead. Two minutes into the restart, Afif fired in from close range before substitute al-Rawi doubled the score in the 51st minute, controlling the ball perfectly to smash home a rebound after Abdulghafoor spilled a save. Qatar’s dominance saw them add a third through Afif in the 68th minute, the skipper scoring from the rebound after his initial effort had bounced off Abdulghafoor. With eight minutes left to play, Afif unselfishly set up al-Rawi for the shot, only for the attempt to hit a defender as Qatar eased off in the closing minutes to claim a comfortable win.  

Sport Events and Procurement teams into Beach Volleyball Semifinals at QOC Ramadan Tournament

DOHA – Sport events and procurement teams recorded wins on Wednesday to book  their spots  in  the semifinals of Beach Volleyball competition of the QOC Ramadan Tournament 2024 , which is running  from  17th to 26th  of March  at the Lusail Shooting Range. In Wednesday’s beach volleyball competition , Sport Events team got better of Procurement 2-1 in the first game, while in the second game, Procurement came back to the way of victory after defeating Sport Affairs 2-0,  Sport Events kept their winning streak to beat Sport Affairs 2-1 in the third game.  In the light of these results, the semifinals stage on Friday will see the  President Office take on Procurement in the first game, while Secretariat - General Office will play Sport Events in the second game. In a statement on Wednesday, Director of Sport Affairs Department of QOC, Mr. Mohammed Issa Al Fadala said “ I’m truly happy to attend the QOC Ramadan Tournament, it’s a family, tournament for QOC employees and relatives away from work environment”.  “ Really a family and competitive spirit is prevailing among all, we hope departments would keep  up this sport challenge in the years to come” said Mr. Al Fadala. Mr Al Fadala  called for  further cooperation between employees , asked them to  redouble efforts and  promote more initiatives to make this  tournament exceptional in the Holy Month of Ramadan. For his part,  President of Qatar Boxing and Wrestling Federation (QBWF) , Sheikh Fahad bin Khalid Al-Thani said “ I’m truly happy to be with QOC family in this Ramadan night, the QBWF is an  integral part of this family. We are enjoying brotherly atmosphere here, we will  take this opportunity to wish better luck and success for our athletes who will compete in  the Olympic Games Paris 2024”.   This  QOC Ramadan Tournament is  seeing  three key sport disciplines, Beach Volleyball ( for departments), Shooting event (Shotgun + Air gun) for Men , Women  and families  and Padel Event-Doubles (Men).  

Departments begin participation in Beach Volleyball event at QOC Ramadan Tournament

DOHA – The beach volleyball competitions for teams  were kicked off on Tuesday as a major sport discipline of  the QOC Ramadan Tournament 2024 , which is running  from  17th to 26th  of March  at the Lusail Shooting Range. President Office team recorded a 2-0 victory over Secretariat - General Office in the opening game and kept their winning streak to ensure a second victory 2-0 over  QOC workers team as Secretariat - General Office secured a 2-0 victory over QOC workers team in the third game. Six QOC teams distributed into two groups are competing in the men’s beach volleyball,  group A, includes President Office, Secretariat -General Office  and QOC workers team  , while group B, includes, Procurement, ,  Sport Affairs and Sport Events. In statement on Tuesday, Mr. Ali Ghanem Al-Kuwari, President of the Qatar Volleyball  Association (QVA) said  I’m truly happy to be part of beach volleyball games of the QOC Ramadan Tournament 2024  for the third consecutive year. It’s amazing tournament that plays important role in strengthening social relations between officials and employees away from work environment. “ In the same time, this tournament promotes for QOC’s logo “Sport For Life) and Sport For All  principle” added Mr. Ali Ghanem Al-Kuwari. For his part, the Director of   the QOC Ramadan Tournament 2024,   Mr.  Mohammed Abdulsalam praised QOC employees and family turnout and performance in shooting event, said this is the first time employee and a family member formed one team to participate in the shooting event. “ This tournament has become an annual sport legacy that provides QOC employee and family member an opportunity to enjoy sport activities together during the Holy Month of Ramadan” added Mr. Mr.  Mohammed Abdulsalam. This  QOC Ramadan Tournament is  seeing  three key sport disciplines, Beach Volleyball ( for departments), Shooting event (Shotgun + Air gun) for Men , Women  and families  and Padel Event-Doubles (Men).  

Qatar to resume World Cup 2026 qualifiers after thrilling Asian Cup 2023 campaign

Doha: Qatar will resume the preliminary joint qualifications for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 when they face Kuwait on Thursday. The Group A third round at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium will be Qatar's first official match after they claimed their second successive AFC Asian Cup trophy at home in February. Marquez Lopez's men now lead their group with six points after a home 8-1 victory over Afghanistan and away 3-0 win over India. Kuwait come second with three points, ahead of India on goal difference, while Afghanistan remain at the bottom of the group with no points.

Qatar's 28-man squad announced for pre-U23 Asian Cup friendlies

DOHA: Qatar U23  head  coach Ilidio Vale yesterday named 28-player squad  for  four  upcoming  friendly games ahead of the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024, which is starting next month. The  Qatar  U23  squad  will meet Uzbekistan twice on March 23 and 26 before taking on their China counterparts on March 31. They will also play against Malaysia on April 7, wrapping up their preparations for the U23 Asian Cup to be played from April 15 to May 3. Hosts Qatar are in Group A of the 16-team continental event along with Australia, Jordan and Indonesia. Qatar U-23 squad: Ali Nader, Amir Hassan, Youssef Abdullah ((goalkeepers), Abdullah Al Ali, Abdullah Al Yazidi, Abdulaziz Mohammed, Abdulla Youssef, Ahmed Al Saeed, Ahmed  Riyadh,  Ayaub  Al  Ouwi,  Eissa  Al  Nagar,  Faisal  Mohammed, Fares Saeed, Hassan Al Ghareeb, Hashemi Al Hussain, Jassem Al Sharshani, Khaled Ali, Latif Majer, Mostafa Al Sayed, Mohammad Jouda, Mohammad Khaled, Mohammad Mannai, Mubarak Shannan, Naif Al Hadrami, Nabil Erfan, Saif Al Din Hassan, Tameem Mansour and  Youssef Ali.  

Qatar Olympic Committee Ramadan Tournament kicks off

DOHA – The competitions of the 2024 Qatar Olympic Committee Ramadan Tournament, which runs from  17th to 26th  of March,  were kicked off   at the Lusail Shooting Range on Sunday , with participation of QOC employees and families. The tournament’s opening day has seen strong competition in Air gun shooting for QOC employees and families. A total of 14 family teams participated in the event, in which promising talents  were emerged in this sport. Spoke on the opening day,  Deputy Director of Qatar Olympic Committee Ramadan Tournament 2024, Mrs. Amna Al-Ansari said the center stage goal of the tournament is to strengthen social relations between the QOC employees and to promote Olympism  and Sport For Life idea among employees during the Holy Month of Ramadan. “ We are truly happy  to include family category into shooting and Padel events for the first time in the history of  the QOC Ramadan Tournaments” added Mrs.  Amna Al-Ansari In the same context, the head of  shooting technical committee, Mrs. Hind Al-Ibraheem said we are really delighted to see this impressive turnout from QOC employees and families to  the tournament’s opening day. Mrs. Hind also confirmed that  the QOC will spare no effort to empower women participation in the community events and strengthening their role in the sport. In this year, the QOC Ramadan Tournament is  seeing  three key sport disciplines, Beach Volleyball ( for departments), Shooting event (Shotgun + Air gun) for Men , Women  and families  and Padel Event-Doubles (Men).