Category: Sports

Doha: The Qatar Stars League (QSL) announced on Wednesday the preparations for the Qatar Cup 2024.

This came during a press conference held at QSL’s headquarters in Al Bidda Tower in the presence of Executive Director of Sales, Marketing and Communication at QSL Hassan Rabiah Al Kuwari, and Director of Competitions Department at QSL Ahmed Salman Al Adsani, in addition to representatives of media outlets.

Al Kuwari said: “The QSL attaches great importance to this prestigious tournament through arrangements in cooperation with all parties concerned, partners and competing clubs, in order to organize it in a distinctive manner at the technical and organizational levels.” He stated that the semifinals would be held at the Khalifa International Stadium and Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on May 1, and the final would be at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium of Al Duhail Club on May 4.

The semi-final teams and other details will be decided later, after the end of the league championship. He pointed out that all partners wer
e working hand in hand despite the time constraints and were ready for all scenarios.

“We’ve begun the promotion, marketing and publicity campaigns for the tournament in addition to the Trophy Tour stops at the headquarters of sponsoring companies as per specific schedule. The tour will include visits to the clubs competing in the tournament and a number of different locations”, Al Kuwari said.

Regarding match tickets, he confirmed that tickets for the semi-finals would be up for sale immediately after the end of the final round of the league championship and there would be complete coordination with the clubs in view of the expected large crowd turnout.

The match program also includes the organization of a number of different events, and this is also a new opportunity for the fans to come to the stadiums and support their teams, in addition to winning valuable prizes on the sidelines of the final match, the details of which will be announced later.

Executive Director of Sales, Marketing and Communication
at QSL concluded his statements by saying “I hope that well succeed in presenting a distinguished tournament at all technical and organizational levels. I also extend my thanks and appreciation to the sponsors, partners, supporters and media outlets.” On his part, Al Adsani said: “We emphasize that our preparations are continuing at all levels in order for the tournament to emerge in a distinguished manner and there is coordination with the clubs and all parties concerned.” He pointed out that the competitions will be held at three stadiums and inspection tours of the stadiums have been held.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Yokohama F. Marinos of Japan advanced to the AFC Champions League final for the first time after beating Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai FC 5-4 on penalties in the second leg of the semi-final on Wednesday following a 3-3 draw on aggregate.

A pulsating first half at Yokohama International Stadium saw Asahi Uenaka’s double and a goal from Anderson Lopes put the Japanese side 3-1 up on aggregate, the AFC website reported.

However, a Matheus Sales header and a penalty from Darijan Bojanic brought the aggregate scoreline level at the interval as the hosts were also reduced to 10 men after Takumi Kamijima was dismissed.

With no further goals in the second half or extra time, the tie went to penalties where Eduardo struck the winning spot-kick after Yokohama goalkeeper William Popp had saved from Kim Min-woo as Yokohama booked a date with the United Arab Emirates’ Al Ain FC in next month’s final.

Yokohama made three changes from the side that started the 1-0 defeat in Korea last week, with the big news being the return f
rom injury of Brazilian winger Elber, while Matheus Sales for Ko Seung-beom was the only change made by Ulsan head coach Hong Myung-bo.

The game kicked off in heavy rain with the hosts on the front foot from the start as Yan Matheus cut inside from the right and curled wide of the far post inside five minutes.

And the pressure told when the opening goal arrived in the 13th minute. Nam Tae-hee miscontrolled a Yan Matheus pass from the right but, after a mix up in the Ulsan defence, Uenaka pounced onto the loose ball before coolly finishing into the bottom right corner.

Harry Kewell’s side kept pushing forward and Lopes called Jo Hyeon-woo into action when his fizzing shot from distance forced the Ulsan goalkeeper to get down low to his left and push wide.

The second goal arrived in the 21st minute following more good work from Yan Matheus, who threaded the ball to Lopes on the edge of the area and the Brazilian took one touch with his right foot before firing low and hard into the bottom left corner to dou
ble his side’s advantage.

Incredibly, the hosts went three up in the 30th minute when Ulsan lost possession in their own half, allowing Nam to find Uenaka who spun away from his marker and planted a delightful effort from 20 yards into the top-left corner.

But just as it appeared like the J1 League side were going to cruise into the final, Ulsan gave themselves hope in the 35th minute when Matheus Sales headed Lee Dong-gyeong’s inswinging corner from the right into the back of the net.

The visitors then drew level on aggregate three minutes before the interval when Um Won-sang raced into the area and when he attempted to cut inside Kamijima, the ball struck the sliding defender’s arm and the referee pointed to the spot before showing the Marinos man red.

Substitute Bojanic, who was introduced just before the first goal, made no mistake from the spot, sending goalkeeper Popp the wrong way to make it 3-2 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate.

In an action-packed opening 45 minutes, there was still time for Lee
to rattle the crossbar before half-time with the tide having completely turned and Ulsan dominating.

Bojanic thought he had added a second soon after the restart only for the goal to be ruled out following a VAR review as Gustav Ludwigson, in an offside position, was adjudged to have obstructed the view of Popp.

A lovely give-and-go between Lee and Bojanic then set the former free in the box, but Popp was up to the challenge to push wide for a corner.

Yokohama were next to have a goal ruled out when Yan Matheus was flagged offside after heading Katsuya Nagato’s chipped cross into the back of the net shortly after the hour.

Ludwigson should have netted Ulsan’s third with six minutes remaining but headed wide from just a few yards out after being teed up by substitute Martin Adam, before Adam fired wide from distance soon after as the visitors sought to avoid an additional 30 minutes.

Bojanic was inches away from scoring with three minutes remaining as he connected with Ludwigson’s centre only to see his e
ffort rebound back off the post as Yokohama continued to survive.

With the game into the second period of extra time, Yokohama substitute Kota Mizunuma called Jo into action with a low drive which the Korean custodian did well to push wide.

Ulsan’s Kim then had another goal ruled out for offside with five minutes remaining as the game went to penalties.

After both sides scored their first four spot-kicks, Popp saved from Kim allowing Eduardo to step up and score the winning penalty as Yokohama advanced to their first final following an AFC Champions League classic.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: April 23 – Uzbekistan defeated Vietnam 3-0 in the last game of Group D of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024, at the Khalifa International Stadium on Tuesday.

With this win, the 2018 champions will play Saudi Arabia in the quarter-finals on Friday while Vietnam, who also advanced despite the defeat, will meet Iraq.

The top three finishers directly qualify to the Summer Olympic Games (Paris 2024), while the fourth-placed side will play an AFC-CAF play-off match against Guinea, on May 9.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Marrakech – Chairwoman of Special Olympics Morocco (SOM), Lalla Soumaya El Ouazzani, on Monday chaired the opening ceremony of the 11th National Games (SOM), held until April 26 in Marrakech, under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.

This ceremony, attended by Wali of the Marrakech-Safi region, governor of the Marrakech prefecture, Farid Chourak, President of MENA Special Olympics, Egyptian Aymane Abdelouahab, representatives of various partner government departments, sponsors and partners, as well as sports personalities, notably former footballer Abdelaziz Bouderbala, former Olympic champion Nezha Bedouane, figures from local sports and civil and military personalities, was marked by a parade of participating teams representing associations and educational centers affiliated with SOM, in addition to the presentation of the different events and competitions.

This 11th edition, held every two years, brings together around 1,500 athletes (men and women) and coaches representing several assoc
iations active in the field of sport for athletes with mental disabilities.

On this occasion, Advisor to the Chairwoman of Special Olympics Morocco, Nezha Bedouane, underlined that since its creation by late Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Amina, SOM has experienced a significant evolution of its system, noting that it is a national institution that takes care of children with mental disabilities.

In a statement to MAP, she explained that these children have always shown a great sense of responsibility and awareness of the importance of the sporting activities that they practice both in Morocco or abroad.

For his part, Abdelouahab said, in a similar statement, that the Kingdom is experiencing significant development in all sporting fields, expressing his admiration for this exceptional opening ceremony, which started to the sound of the National Anthem and was marked by the presentation of participating associations, as well as musical and artistic shows offered by the famous group “Fnair” and volunteers
from different African countries.

National director of Special Olympics Morocco, Nassim Cherradi, noted that this edition brings together more than 44 associations from different regions of the Kingdom, who will compete in 12 events, in addition to the “Healthy Athletes” program and the school program aimed at promoting interaction and meetings between Special Olympics champions and students from educational institutions.

He added that in parallel with the competitions, the “Healthy Athletes” event will be held at the Charifa hospital in Marrakech. It will offer medical screenings in seven different specialties, such as ophthalmology, nutrition, ENT, psychiatry, dental health, general medicine and physiotherapy.

This edition will feature a “Health Messengers” conference aimed at sharing the experiences of sports leaders, in addition to the “Family Health” forum which will bring together members of athletes’ families to discuss their children’s journeys and the importance of sport in their education and dev
elopment, as well as the ‘Unified Champion Schools’ event aimed at promoting educational inclusion.

Source: Agence Marocaine De Presse

Doha: The Local Organizing Committee of AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 extensively collaborated with the relevant state authorities to produce high-quality services and an ultimate fan experience, said the Committee’s Director of Facilities and Technical Services Eng. Abdullah Ahmed Al Faihani.

Speaking to Qatar News Agency , Al Faihani said that the committees facilities management has gained extensive organizational experience through its participation in organizing many tournaments and sporting events hosted by Qatar over the past years, most notably the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which left a huge legacy for the state.

He pointed out that the specialized departments closely monitored the logistical matters related to the four tournament venues and the arrival of all teams and official delegations.

All the tournament stadiums are equipped with facilities within AFC standards, fan medical clinics and in-stadium mobile medical teams supported by ambulances, Al Faihani added.

He added that all arrangements
for the event including transportation and the access of fans, organizing committee and workforce were finalized before the kick-off of the tournament.

The selection of the four stadiums to host the sixth edition was done in cooperation and coordination between the local organizing committee and the Asian Football Confederation, where a number of inspection visits were organized to the stadiums before they were chosen to host the 16 teams participating in the tournament, he added.

He expected that fan turnout will double during the knockout rounds, stressing that the organizing committee continues coordination with all teams regarding the attendance of fans to prepare all logistical matters and provide technical services in the vicinity of the stadiums.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: The Aspetar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, an AFC Medical Centre of Excellence, announced its partnership with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to deliver comprehensive medical care for athletes competing in the prestigious AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024, in keeping with its pioneering role in delivering world-class medical services to athletes and major sports events.

Taking place in Doha from April 15 to May 3, the tournament features 16 teams vying for the continental title. As the exclusive medical provider, Aspetar will leverage its unparalleled expertise in sports medicine to ensure the well-being of all participating athletes throughout the competition.

Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon and Director of the Visiting Surgeons Program at Aspetar Dr. Khalid Al Khelaifi heads the tournament’s medical organizing committee. Through this committee, Aspetar will oversee all medical services at all tournament facilities, including stadiums and player accommodations.

Dr. Khalid Al Khelaifi sa
id, “We are committed to providing exceptional medical services that will ensure the success of the tournament, similar to previous major tournaments held in Qatar.” Aspetar will oversee a comprehensive range of medical services for the tournament, including stationing medical personnel at all four match stadiums.

The hospital will collaborate with local partners to provide emergency care, ambulance services, and paramedics for both competition and non-competition venues, in addition to offering expert guidance and exceptional medical care for acute sports injuries, musculoskeletal issues, and illnesses.

Furthermore, it will also dedicate a team of one physiotherapist and two massage therapists to support referees throughout the tournament.

Aspetar will also provide 24-hour medical support, with on-call doctor services available around the clock at all team hotels through the dedicated Medical Command Center (MCC).

Aspetar is a world-leading specialised orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital and the fir
st of its kind in the Middle East.

Source: Qatar News Agency