Qatar defeat Iraq in AFC U17 Asian Cup 2023™ Qualifiers

Muscat: Qatar kicked off their AFC U17 Asian Cup 2023™ Qualifiers Group C campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Iraq at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in  Muscat, Oman on Saturday. Iraq enjoyed a dream start to their campaign with forward Ali Akbar Al Darraji giving them the lead in the second minute. A stung Qatar immediately shifted gears but had to wait till the 28th minute to equalise, and it came with a touch of good fortune as Iraqi defender Kameran Ahmed Khudhair turned the ball into his own net.  Boosted by their leveller, Qatar pressed forward and were rewarded in the 39th minute, with midfielder Khalid Atiyaq Alshaaibi scoring what proved to be the winning goal. Qatar will aim for their second victory when they play Bahrain on Monday, with hosts Oman to open their campaign against Lebanon.  

Qatar to host AFC U23 Asian Cup 2024

Kuala Lumpur: Qatar have been selected as the hosts for the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2024 by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Competitions Committee at its fifth meeting held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Friday. Following a comprehensive Bid Evaluation process as well as the overall risk assessment on the key deliverables outlined in the subsequent report, Qatar – who will be hosting the FIFA World Cup 2022 in November this year – was selected by the Committee from among the five bidders, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan, the Asian Football Confederation said in a press release Friday. Led by Chairperson, Dr Tran Quoc Tuan, the Committee also lauded the strong momentum gathered by a majority of the AFC Member Associations (MAs) in staging a commendable recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, given the declining impact of the pandemic across Asia, the Committee agreed to recommend to the AFC Executive Committee to discontinue the operation of the Special Rules Applicable to AFC Competitions During Covid-19 Pandemic from 2023 onwards. At the same time, members of the Committee also acknowledged the challenges faced by several participating MAs and clubs, who continue to navigate through the various complexities caused by the pandemic. In this spirit, the Committee recognised that the withdrawals of Chinese clubs – Changchun Yatai FC and Shanghai Port FC – from the AFC Champions League 2022™ were the result of cases of force majeure. Similarly in the AFC Cup 2022, the withdrawals of the two clubs from Myanmar – Shan United FC and Hantharwady United FC, as well as MUST CPK from Macau - were also recognised as being the result of cases of force majeure, as was the withdrawal of Macau from the AFC U20 and U17 Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers. The Committee also approved the proposal to adopt a consistent approach in aligning other AFC competitions with the AFC Asian Cup with regard to the cancellation of single cautions (that have not resulted in an expulsion) from the qualifiers stage. This means that such cautions will not be carried over to the finals stage in order to ensure balance for all teams in the Finals. This approach has been reflected in the updated competition regulations of the AFC U20 Asian Cup 2023 and AFC U17 Asian Cup 2023, with the regulations of other competitions to be updated in due course. The Committee also noted the five-month long gap between this year’s AFC Champions League Semi-Final (East Region), which concluded in Saitama, Japan, in August and the two-legged Finals scheduled for February 2023, in comparison to the Knockout Stage (West Region) which will be played just before the Finals. Currently, Registration Window 3 of the Competition Regulations applies to the entire Knockout Stage which includes the Round of 16 through to the Finals, and only allows clubs to replace goalkeepers with long-term injuries or illness in accordance with Article 30.5 of the competition regulations. Therefore, the Committee approved to include an additional registration window for this year’s finalist from the East Region – Urawa Red Diamonds – on an exceptional basis before the two-legged Finals in February 2023. The Committee also approved the decisions of the AFC Club Licensing Task Force at its recent meeting, which was held on August 24, 2022, and agreed to give its consent for the participation of Brunei DPMM FC in the 2023 season of the Singapore Premier League and Singapore Cup and the matter will now be referred to FIFA. All the decisions will need to be ratified by the AFC Executive Committee to take effect.  

Sheikh Ahmad bin Nooh Al-Thani appointed as a new QEFMP Secretary General

DOHA – The board of Qatar Equestrian Federation and Modern Pentathlon (QEFMP) has appointed Sheikh Ahmad bin Nooh Al-Thani as its a new Secretary General , replacing  Mr. Ali Yousef Al Rumaihi . This appointment decision has issued in accordance to  the statute of the Qatar Equestrian Federation and Modern Pentathlon (QEFMP) In a  post- appointment  statement,  Sheikh Ahmad  bin  Nooh  Al-Thani appreciated efforts of  former secretary General Ali Al Romaihi saying he was most effective in developing equestrian sport in the country. He also thanked QEFMP for its confidence in him to take the office during the upcoming period. “ Our  key objective over the  next period is to  promote equestrian,  taking this beloved sport to new standards of excellence and raising the scale of success at the local, regional and international competitions” said Sheikh Ahmad. “ Qatar is a sport  loving community, its  people have a wide and  lasting legacy with equestrian  since long time ago. Today our nation built up a better world class sport infrastructure that why we will spare no effort to develop equestrian for generation to come” added Sheikh Ahmad.

Al Tamimi breaks into world's top 30

Abdulla Al-Tamimi has added another historical achievement to his record. The Qatari super star has climbed the PSA World Ranking to the 30 position this month. "I'm delighted to reach the top-30 . It's a great way to kick off the new squash season and I am looking forward to the rest of the year," Al-Tamimi commented on his achievement. Al Tamimi added that he will focus now on preparing for the upcoming events such as Oracle Netsuite Open 2022 to begin later this month in San Francisco. Al Tamimi made a huge leap in 2022 as he claimed the titles of Atlanta Open and West Asian Squash Championships held in Iran. He also qualified to the quarterfinals of QTerminals Qatar Classic 2022.  

Qatar fight back to draw with Chile

Vienna: Goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham saved a late penalty as Qatar fought back from a goal down to hold Chile 2-2 in their international friendly at the Franz Horr Stadium in Vienna on Tuesday. It was a far from convincing performance from the Asian Champions as Qatar most likely played their last competitive match before their World Cup debut at home in November. They, however, showed nerves of steel as they managed to hold Chile after a drab show in the first half. Having trailed at half-time, the Maroons fought back to lead 2-1, only to be denied victory by a late Chile equaliser. Felix Sanchez’s men went into the tie determined to bounce back from their 2-0 defeat to Canada. Chile, however, were difficult to breach and showed their intent with Alexis Sanchez giving them the lead in the 37th minute after Akram Afif lost the ball with sloppy passing.   Qatar came out for the second half with renewed purpose but had to wait till the 59th minute for the equaliser, with Afif drawing them level by finishing Almoez Ali’s assist. Boosted by the equaliser, Qatar upped their tempo and Hassan al-Haydos put them ahead in the 67th minute with a screamer from just outside the box. Chile, however, forced their way back into the tie and were rewarded for their efforts with Arturo Vidal drawing them level in the 78th minute. Chile could have won it in the closing stages after receiving a penalty for a foul on Ben Brereton. But Barsham guessed it right and dived to his right to block Sanchez’s spot kick as Chile remained winless since the end of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, with La Roja failing to make it to Qatar. Qatar, meanwhile, who were camping in Europe for the last four months, will return home today for a brief period. The players will be given three days’ rest before they will hold an open training session in front of fans and media for five days at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium on Sunday. Qatar then will return to isolation in Spain for more training as Sanchez looks to finalise his 26-member squad for the World Cup. Having spent tens of billions of dollars preparing for the first World Cup in an Arab nation, Qatar is desperate to see the national side get past the first round where they are grouped with Netherlands, Senegal and Ecuador.  

Qatar’s Tamim Al Kuwari tops Africa Triathlon

Agadir: Qatar’s Tamim bin Jamal Al Kuwari claimed the first place in the Africa Triathlon Championships held in the Moroccan city of Agadir on Sunday. Al Kuwari took the gold medal after leading the standings in 1500m swim, 40km bike and 10km run.  The Africa Triathlon Championships bring together a huge number of triathletes who participated in Elite, U23, Youth and Junior categories.