By Sports Reporter/Doha
The first round of the Aspire Zone Embassies Tournament, which is being held as part of the Ramadan Sports Festival in collaboration with Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, drew to a close on Wednesday night with fierce competition.
The second day of the tournament was attended by the Mexican Ambassador to Qatar, Francisco Niembro, who participated with his team and beat the French Embassy 9-2, taking Mexico through to the second round.
Niembro commented: “I arrived in Qatar a month ago, and I think the Embassies Tournament is a great idea. It’s really exciting. I’m impressed with the facilities at Aspire Zone – they’re fantastic – and I’m glad I’m able to celebrate Ramadan with such great activities. It’s important for people at the Embassies to interact with their colleagues like this. I’d like to thank Aspire Zone Foundation for organising the tournament, and I’m looking forward to the final match.”
The second match also saw strong competition between Morocco and Syria, with the Moroccan team emerging victorious with a 5-3 win and going through to the second round. The Syrian Coalition Ambassador to Qatar, Nizar al-Hiraki, also joined his team in the competition. He commented: “We’re happy to be participating in this tournament. This has been very well organised by Aspire Zone, and we’re glad to meet other fellow embassies in such competitions. This tournament represents Qatar’s continued efforts to bring people together and to spread peace and joy among them.” The third day of the tournament was ALSO full of excitement. Sudan played Ethiopia in the first match – hitting the back of the net 13 times – while the Ethiopian team was only able to put two goals past the goalkeeper.
In the last match of the day, the Qatari team beat the Tunisian team 7-4, sending Qatar through to the second round alongside Sudan, Morocco, Mexico, the UAE and India.
Twelve teams are participating in the inaugural Embassies Tournament, distributed into two groups of six teams.
The final stage of the tournament will see three teams play against each other on a points system, and the final will be held on June 30 at the Aspire indoor pitch.
Aspire Banks Tournament
As part of the Banks Tournament, Masraf Al Rayan beat Qatar International Bank 4-0, while Qatar National Bank beat Doha Bank 2-1.
Commenting on the match, Khalid al-Hail – Awael Zone Manager at Qatar National Bank – said: “We are truly excited to be participating in the Aspire Ramadan tournament. We are participating in other competitions, but we consider this to be one of the most important tournaments. I would like to thank the organisers from Aspire Zone Foundation for their great organisation and facilities. This is the first time we’ve played on a cooled, indoor pitch.”
A piece of action from the Ramadan Sports Festival at Aspire Zone
