The Qatar football team who won the Gulf Cup in Riyadh on Wednesday arrived to a hero’s welcome in Doha yesterday. Qatar defeated Saudi Arabia 2-1 in the final to win the tournament for the third time after their victories in 1992 and 2004. After a welcome ceremony at the Hamad International Airport, the players drove down the Corniche atop a bus draped in colours of the national flag. See also SPORT Page 1. PICTURE: Noushad Thekkayil


QNA/Doha

HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani has received a telephone call from Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, during which he congratulated HH the Emir and the people of Qatar on national football team’s victory in the final match and winning the 22nd Gulf Cup in Riyadh.
Earlier, HH the Emir received a telephone call from Saudi Deputy Crown Prince, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Adviser and Special Envoy of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz al-Saud congratulating HH the Emir on Qatari team’s victory.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy has extended its heartiest congratulations to the Qatar National Team and the Qatar Football Association for the outstanding performance the team has shown in winning the 22nd Gulf Cup.
The success of the Qatari team, as well as that of our youth team in winning the Asian U-19 title, shows that the country will be entering the forthcoming 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia well-prepared and with every chance of further fantastic performances on the pitch, the committee said in a statement.
“We are proud to see that Qatar’s hard work in developing a competitive football team has brought these results to the national team,” it added.
It said that “together with the entire football community in Qatar we are inspired by this victory to continue making progress as the country prepares to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.”



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