Qatar U23 Squad Set To Start Training Camp

DOHA -  Qatar’s U-23 Olympic team will enter a preparation camp that will last for a month from May 9 to June 8. The camp has been planned as part of the team’s preparations for the qualifiers for the AFC U-23 Finals to be held at the end of October 2021. Chilean coach Nicholas Cordova on Thursday announced the following players: Mustafa Tariq Mishaal, Youssef Abdullah Blida, Faisal Mohamed, Baha Mamdouh Al Laithi, Hashem Abdul Latif (Al Sadd) Jassim Muhammad Al Muhairi, Khaled Muhammad Saleh, Ali Mal Allah, Lotfi Madjer (Al Duhail) Jassim Jaber Abd Al Salam and Abdullah Issa Al Sulaiti (Al Arabi), Yusef Ayman Ahmed, Issa Ahmed (Qatar SC) Muhammad Ayyash, Yassin by Farid (Al Wakra) Nasir Saleh Al Yazidi, Rabah Busafi (Umm Salal) Abdul Rashid Umaru, Muhammad Khalid Al Nuaimi (Al Ahli) Ahmed Al Janahi, Andrei Siahputra (Al Gharafa), Abdulaziz Hazza (Al Rayyan) Diab Haroun Taha (Al Khor) Marwan Sharif Al Sayed (Al Shahaniya) Shihab Mamdouh Al Laithi (Al Kharaitiyat) and Osama Abdel-Karim Al Tayry (Muaither). The preparation camp will be divided into two periods – the first starting from May 9 at Aspire pitches and the second period will start from May 22, the date of travel to Croatia. In Croatia, the Qatar team will play three friendly matches. Qatar take on Malta on May 29, face Croatia on June 4 and then play Bosnia on June 7. Qatar also conducted a similar training camp in March when they played friendlies against Kosovo.

Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan win gold in Cancun

Cancun- It took them three attempts, but Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan will leave the Cancun Hub with gold medals around their necks. Silver medalists in the first two FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 4-star events at the Playa Delfines, the Qataris climbed another step on the podium on Sunday as they won the third and final tournament in Mexico.After losing back-to-back finals to Norway’s Anders Mol and Christian Sorum, the 25-year-old Cherif and the 26-year-old Ahmed remained strong and secured the title of the final tournament in Mexican sand with a 2-0 (21-15, 21-12) win against Russians Konstantin Semenov and Ilya Leshukov.“It’s great that we finally managed to reach our goal, but we weren’t rushing anything”, Cherif commented. “We trust the process and we know it’s a long-term process. We just remained patient and tried to play better than the tournaments before, we weren’t even thinking about the gold, but we are really thankful that we won it. We are physically and mentally exhausted now, but we kept our focus as strong as we could and that made the difference.”It was the first victory for the Qataris together in a 4-star event and just their second as a team, following their triumph in a 1-star tournament in their home sand Doha in February. Cherif and Ahmed have won more medals than any other men’s team in 2021, with two golds and two silvers in five tournaments.“It’s a historical moment for us,” said Cherif, who was very emotional after the final point. “It’s the first gold for us on a four-star event and it feels amazing. To make it to three finals in three weeks and to get the gold at the end, it’s unbelievable. We just kept fighting, that's what we did."American veterans Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena won their first World Tour medal since March 2019 as they finished third in Cancun after defeating Italians Adrian Carambula and Enrico Rossi 2-0 (21-19, 21-15) in the bronze medal match.

Team Qatar qualify for quarterfinals of Cancun Hub 3rd Event

Mexico City -Team Qatar's duo of Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan have qualified to the quarterfinals of the 4-stars FIVB Cancun Hub - 3rd event. The Qatari team qualified after defeating the Dutch duo Steven van de Velde and Christiaan Varenhorst (21-17 and 21-18) in the match that took place yesterday within the tournament's Round of 16. The Qatari team will play against the Brazilian team later today. Team Qatar won two silvers in the 4-stars FIVB Cancun Hub - 1st event and 2nd event, achieving a leap in the global rankings.

Qatar in Group A of FIFA Arab Cup 2021

Doha- The draw for the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021 was conducted at Katara Opera House in Doha on Tuesday evening. The nine highest-ranked teams, including host country Qatar, will join the seven winners from the qualifying stage in the final tournament. The 16 teams have been drawn into four groups of four, as follows: Group A: Qatar, Iraq, Winner of Oman v. Somalia and Winner of Bahrain v. Kuwait Group B: Tunisia, UAE, Syria and Winner of Mauritania v. Yemen Group C: Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Winner of Jordan v. South Sudan and Winner of Palestine v. Comoros Group D: Algeria, Egypt, Winner of Lebanon v. Djibouti and Winner of Libya v. Sudan The draw ceremony was attended by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, HE President of Qatar Olympic Committee Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani, HE President of Qatar Football Association Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al-Thani, HRH President of the Union of Arab Football Associations Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa and President of the Confederation of African Football Patrice Motsepe. The draw was made by four Arab football legends: Wael Gomaa (Egypt), Nawaf Al Temyat (Saudi Arabia), Haytham Mustafa (Sudan) and Younus Mahmood (Iraq), along with FIFAs Director of Competitions Manolo Zubiria. The tournament will be held from December 1 to 18, jointly organized by the FIFA and the Union of Arab Football Associations. Addressing the ceremony, FIFA President Gianni Infantino extended thanks to HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, expressing delight with this historic moment. Infantino extended thanks to the hosts at this beautiful place of Katara Opera House, especially HE President of Qatar Olympic Committee Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani and HE President of Qatar Football Association Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al-Thani. The FIFA President welcomed all guests from all parts of the world, headed by the AFC President, the CAF President, representatives of FIFA, all representatives of the football federations and representatives of the participating 23 teams. Infantino underlined that the upcoming edition of the Arab Cup will be distinguished, especially that it will be the first edition to be organized under the supervision of FIFA, stressing that the tournament will be the best eyewitness to what the State of Qatar will present in the FIFA World Cup 2022, and millions of people will discover the football qualifications of the Arabs during this sporting event. He added that the State of Qatar is making every effort to host the first edition of the Arab Cup under the supervision of FIFA, and reiterated that it will be the best and most beautiful edition. In conclusion, the FIFA President stressed the importance of this tournament which celebrates the brotherhood among all Arab teams, and delivers a message to all parts of the world that the tournament will pave the way for the 2022 World Cup. Matches of the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021 includes 23 Arab national teams and will be played at six FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 tournament venues. The participating teams includes the teams of Qatar - the host nation - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen. Of the 23 nations involved, the 14 lowest-ranked teams according to the April edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking will participate in single-leg play-offs ahead of the tournament, which will be held later this year. The seven winning teams will join the nine highest-ranked teams who have already qualified for the tournament: host nation Qatar (58), Tunisia (26), Algeria (33), Morocco (34), Egypt (46), Saudi Arabia (65), Iraq (68), the United Arab Emirates (73) and Syria (79). The tournament will consist of a group stage and knockout rounds. The 16 teams are split into four groups of four, with the top two from each progressing to the quarter-finals. The tournament will take place later this year during a similar timeslot to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. It is seen as a vital opportunity to test operations and facilities exactly a year before Qatar hosts the first World Cup in the Middle East and Arab world. (QNA)

Joaan bin Hamad meets Abdulaziz Al Faisal

Doha- HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee, received HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, President of the Union of Arab Football Associations, upon his arrival and his accompanying delegation at Hamad International Airport on Tuesday. The meeting was also attended by HE Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, President of the Qatar Football Association. Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal is visiting Doha to attend the draw ceremony of FIFA Arab Cup 2021 to be held in Doha in December with participation of 23 Arab national teams.

Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan qualify to Cancun final

Cancun-Qatar’s Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan and Norway’s Anders Mol and Christian Sorum will meet in Cancun with FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour gold medals on the line for the second time in six days after the teams won a pair of matches at the Playa Delfines on Sunday.Cherif and Ahmed, who took silver last week after finishing fourth at the season-opening Katara Cup in Doha last month, are the only team to appear in the semifinals of each of the three 4-star World Tour tournaments played so far in 2021.The Qataris had somewhat of a less exhausting day than the Norwegians as they prevailed against two Italian teams but needed only two sets to beat Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallists Daniele Lupo and Paolo Nicolai 21-17, 21-16 in the quarterfinals and another two to down Adrian Carambula and Enrico Rossi, who had defeated them on pool play on Friday, 21-16, 21-10.Norwegians and Qataris have met four times in the World Tour before with each side taking the win on two occasions.