Qatargas and Qatar Football Association (QFA) yesterday signed a three-year sponsorship agreement to become the name partner of Q-League.

Announcing this deal, the QFA said, “This agreement changes the name of the league, previously known as the Q-League to Qatargas League.”

The sponsorship deal allows QFA to use the Qatargas logo in all its advertising and makes it the exclusive name partner for the League going forward. Eighteen reserve and Second Division teams from Qatar participate in this League.

QFA President Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani, Qatargas CEO Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa al-Thani, Qatargas Chief Operating Officer - Administration Ghanim al-Kuwari, QFA Director of Marketing and Communications Khalid al-Kuwari, and Qatargas Public Relations Manager Mansour Rashid al-Naimi attended the signing ceremony at the QFA Headquarters in Al Bidda Tower, Doha.

Commenting on the sponsorship deal, QFA President Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani said, “The QFA is pleased to welcome Qatargas as the name partner of one of the most important leagues in Qatar football. “We thank Qatargas for their support and look forward to continuing working with them for years to come. The Qatargas League will play a very significant role in developing the future of Qatari football and specifically the performance of our players.”

Qatargas CEO Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa al-Thani said, “We are delighted to be part of this exciting competition that brings together some of the most aspiring young footballers in Qatar.

“We are hopeful that Qatargas’ support for the competition will go a long way in taking Qatar’s football to new heights, especially as the country is getting ready to host the World Cup in 2022.

“I thank the QFA for providing us this opportunity to be part of the State of Qatar’s efforts to be one of the world’s leading sports destinations. We are hopeful that our co-operation with QFA will continue to grow in the years to come that will ultimately benefit football and our budding talents in this important game.

“As one of the leading energy companies of the world, our support to the game of football forms part of Qatargas’ corporate social responsibility programme in the field of sports. Over the past few weeks, we have announced our support to a number of other games that attract youngsters and are fast gaining popularity in Qatar thereby contributing to the human development pillar of Qatar’s National Vision 2030.”

The Qatargas League kick-starts December 21, 2013. Matches are played in nine different stadia - Al Sadd, Qatar SC, Al Gharrafa, Al Rayyan, Lekhwiya, Al Arabi, Al Wakrah, Al Khor, and Al Sailiya. The Qatargas League will be played according to a standard league format where two teams from the Second Division will ascend to Qatar Stars League (QSL) based on their ranking, whilst the 13th and 14th place teams in QSL will be relegated directly from QSL to Qatargas League, the QFA said.