QOA administrative and financial integrity training course concludes

DOHA, February 4, 2018-The Qatar Olympic Academy (QOA) organized the administrative and financial integrity in sport training course last week. The training course was held in cooperation with the International Federation against Sport Corruption (FIACS). The training course highlighted a number of issues including governance and its role in fighting corruption in sport organizations. The training course also focused lights on the FIASC efforts in promoting the concept of integrity in sport and Olympic organizations. The QOA Executive Director Mr. Saif Al Naimi hailed the cooperation between the FIASC and Academy and stressed that the training course covered the administrative, financial and media issues in sport organizations.

Tala Abujbara to participate in 2018 Asian Games

DOHA, February 4, 2018-Qatar's Tala Abujbara began her preparations for rowing competitions at the 2018 Asian Games to be staged in Jakarta. Tala Abujbara claimed the bronze medal of singles event at the 12th Arab Rowing Championship held in Tunisia. The three-day event featured the participation of 8 countries.

PSG win Al Kass International Cup

DOHA, February 1, 2018-Paris Saint-Germain became the first three-time winners of the Al Kass International Cup as they eclipsed Kashiwa Reysol 2-1 on Wednesday.The French club also won in 2012 and 2015. Benfica took third place by beating Esperance de Tunis, 3-0.A super blue blood moon was on the rise in the sky above Aspire Zone as the players took the field, but this celestial spectacular was more than matched by the enthralling game that followed.Kashiwa wasted no time in the title match, opening up an early lead. In the fourth minute, Hayato Fujimoto launched a remarkable shot from the right side over the head of PSG keeper Trey Vimalin, a remarkable goal that set the tone for the rest of the game.With the lead, Kashiwa settled into its usual defensive posture, and PSG went on the attack. The French side equalized on 33 minutes, when Tanguy Coulibaly got on the end of a low cross and gave keeper Leo Kokubo no chance.The second half saw more retrenchment from Kashiwa and more siege from PSG. The pressure came to fruition in the 54th minute, when a Kashiwa defender was whistled for a handball in the area. Coulibaly snuck his penalty underneath Kokubo, and PSG had its lead. Kashiwa was forced to bring its attack forward and nearly equalised with 15 minutes remaining, but Vimalin was just able to tip Hosoya's shot wide. It was the last, best chance for Kashiwa, who could only watch as PSG raised the cup for the third time. PSG coach Laurent Huard said,"It was an extremely difficult match. Kashiwa had a strong defence, so we didn't have an opportunity to score more goals, but thankfully we managed to score the second goal and win the Al Kass International Tournament. I'm so proud of my team, the performed phenomenally."Mansoor al Ansari, General Secretary of Qatar Football Association, said,"To see the youth come up and play against great teams from all over the world is an amazing experience for them, and for us, across the board. And also on an organisational basis, to give all of the participating teams the opportunity to experience what Qatar has to offer, from the facilities to the nice weather, as well as the level of football, I think it will be a great memory for all of the players."The winners medals were presented by football legend Raul Gonzalez, Real Madrid's second all-time leading scorer who also played for Al Sadd in the QNB Stars League."I'm happy to be back at Aspire Academy to see old colleagues and friends. It is great to see the constant progress in football and how enthusiastic people are about the game," he said."The Al Kass tournament is one of the best examples of this. Al Kass provides one of the most valuable opportunities to see the best talents in football, and maybe we will see some of these young players come back to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup."Ahmed al Abbassi, Executive Director of Qatar National Teams, said,"We participate in several big tournaments, but the Al Kass International Cup is by far the strongest in terms of technical quality of the different teams that we play against. It's a catalyst for the players to gain experience against the best players in the world of their age."

Qatar team ready for GCC U-17 Basketball Championship

DOHA, February 2, 2018 - Qatar Youth team is intensifying training sessions in preparation for the prestigious GCC U-17 Basketball Championship will run from 5-10 February in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.The prestigious championship will bring together a big number of GCC teams who will compete from 5-10 February, 2018.Qatar team will open campaign against United Arab Emirates on Monday, February 5 , followed by a second encounter against KSA on 9 February and will meet hosts Oman on Saturday, 10 February.

Local player Mubaraka to debut in Qatar Total Open singles

DOHA, February 2, 2018 - Qatar Tennis Federation gave a wild card to Qatar's Mubarka al Nuaimi to participate in the qualifying rounds of 2018 Qatar Total Open. The seven-day fiesta of tennis will be held from February 12 to 18 at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex in Doha. This is the second appearance for the 17 years old Nuaimi in the tournament as she participated in the doubles event of the last year's edition alongside Oman's Fatima al Nabhani."I want to thank the Qatar Tennis Federation for giving me this opportunity to play in Qatar Total Open for the second time in a step that reflects the belief of the federation in the abilities of its players," Nuaimi said. For his part, Tournament Director Saad al Mohannadi said"Giving the wild card to our national team player Mubarka al Nuaimi comes in line of our strategy to invest in the Qatar players as they are the future of the Qatari tennis""The federation is keen to give the chance to its Qatari players to participate in this event, so we decided to give the wild card to Nuami wishing she can benefit from this great experience"Former world number one Maria Sharapova of Russia, the 2005 and 2008 champion, as well as 2012 and 2013 champion Victoria Azarenka of Belaraus have also been granted a wildcard entry to contest in the main draw of the tournament.Other wild card entrants for the main draw are Oman's Fatema al Nabhani and Cagla Buyukakcay of Turkey.The sensational field will feature World No 1 Caroline Wozniacki, who will come to Doha as the new WTA World No.1 after winning her first-ever Grand Slam in Australia defeating Simona Halep in an epic battle. Germany's Angelique Kerber and rising star Jelena Ostapenko among others will also participate in the Doha event.

Barshim provides golden start to Qatar in Tehran

TEHRAN, February 2, 2018- Qatar's star high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim launched his new season with the gold medal in the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Tehran, Iran on Thursday. The reigning world champion competed alone and went on to thrill the crowd, clearing 2.38m. The Qatari had a similar start to the last season when he won the Asian title in Saudi Arabia. Later, he finished unbeaten, winning the world gold medal and third Diamond League race in the process. The second place went to local athlete Ghanbarzadeh, who was tied with Hamdi al Amin, Qatar's rising jumper who has been the 2016 World Youth Championship bronze medallist. Both were tied at 2.15m but the Qatari had to settle for the bronze medal on the countback. In all, it was a good start for Qatar, who added a silver medal and a bronze medal to their kitty. Yasser Salem grabbed the second place in the 3,000 m race with a timing of 8:38.02.The other podium finisher for Qatar was Tosin Ogunode who won the bronze medal in the 60m, clocking 6.63.The championships started on Thursday and will end on Saturday. In all about 360 athletes from 22 Asian countries are taking part. Qatar have entered 13 athletes from Qatar in seven events high jump, 60m, 400m, 800m, 1000m, 3000m and 4X400 relay.This is the eighth edition of the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships and the third time the event is been held in Iran's capital.