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The victorious Qatar football team, the AFC U-19 champions, got a rousing, red-carpet welcome at the Hamad International Airport in Doha yesterday. |
This was the first time that Qatar had won the AFC U-19 title and the Qatar Football Association and Aspire Academy pulled out all the stops to provide a grand welcome to the kids as they landed back in Doha after an extremely successful trip to Myanmar.
The Qatar Airways flight carrying the AFC U19 victors was received at the Ministerial Lounge of the Hamad International Airport. In an elaborate event, the aircraft was given a two-water cannon salute and then it taxied to a halt where a red carpet ladder awaited them. The red carpet extended from the ladder to all the way back and all along there were people lined up – family and friends of the players and the support staff – including lots of cute kids holding Qatar’s flags and a huge contingent of the Qatar Army band which gave an energetic, musical welcome as the boys walked down the red carpet.
The boys were completely surprised by the huge reception that they were getting. In fact, as soon as the aircraft taxied to a stop, you could see the boys peeking out of windows to see the impressive arrangements. The excitement on their faces couldn’t be contained and they wore a constant look of amazement as they soaked in the attention.
The touching part was when one of the kids would spot someone from their family or their friends and then there would be some energetic waving from both sides. The best part was that the smiles didn’t stop at any point during the welcome ceremony – neither that of the players nor that of those present there. It was a huge achievement for Qatar and all of those present were feeling it.
The first to emerge, after the long red carpet walk, was captain Ahmed Moein and after he was done, voluntarily and reluctantly, posing for selfies with the eager fans, he spoke to the reporters about his experience in Myanmar. “This is a historic achievement. This is the beginning. There is a bright future for Qatar,” said Moein yesterday.
Moein was also adjudged the best player of the tournament and he was happy that a player from Qatar had won the award. “I am honoured to be adjudged the best player of the tournament and even more so because I won the award being a Qatari.”
The Qatari skipper said that the match against hosts Myanmar was the most difficult for the team but his team was able to pull off the win. He hoped that his team’s performance would boost the morale of the national team too. “We hope our win plays a huge role in motivating the national team to achieve similar results,” he said.
“I dedicate this trophy to HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, our coach Felix Sanchez Bas, the support staff, our family and friends and to everyone who have supported me and the other players. I hope to continue at this level,” Moein signed off before he and his team, and the entire coaching and support staff were led to the an open top bus, draped in the colours of the Qatar national flag, which would take them on a procession to Al Corniche. A fitting reception it was for these young boys who have made the world sit up and notice Qatar’s ability on the pitch.