Defending champions Al Gharafa will face Al Kharaitiyat, while last season’s runners-up Al Rayyan take on Al Khor in the Round of 16 of the 54th edition of the Amir Cup following the draw ceremony held Tuesday.
Sixteen teams were involved in the draw - 12 from the Qatar Stars League and four Second Division sides that progressed from the preliminary round, namely Al Sailiya, Al Waab, Al Markhiya and Al Kharaitiyat. The winners of Al Gharafa versus Al Kharaitiyat will meet the victors of the Al Ahli versus Umm Salal tie in the quarter-finals.
Elsewhere, Al Rayyan will play Al Khor, with the winners set to face Al Wakrah or Al Sailiya. Al Shamal was drawn against Qatar SC, while Al Sadd take on Al Markhiya, and Al Duhail face Al Waab with Al Arabi meeting Al Shahania in the remaining ties. Quarter-final pairings will follow a fixed bracket format leading to the semi-finals and final.
Following the draw, coaches highlighted the challenges of the knockout format. Al Gharafa coach Pedro Martins said: "There are no easy teams even the Second Division sides. They deserve our respect. In football, if you don't respect your opponents, you don't get success normally. In football any team can defeat the other team. So we need to respect and it will will not be an easy game. The tournament will be tough but we will work hard to repeat our success."
Al Rayyan coach Artur Jorge said: "In these kind of competitions, we don't have any easy game. It will be our first step towards the final which will be our goal as we did in the last season. We are happy with with the draw."
Al Sadd coach Roberto Mancini said: "It's a knockout tournament and anything can happen in one game. We are Al Sadd and we try to win every event we can."
The Qatar Football Association (QFA) confirmed that the Round of 16 matches will be played from February 12 to 15, with two games per day across Suhaim Bin Hamad, Hamad Bin Khalifa, Grand Hamad and Abdullah Bin Khalifa stadiums.
The draw ceremony began with a short documentary film highlighting the history of the Amir Cup, showcasing past champions and memorable moments. Following this, the draw mechanism was explained. The draw was performed by Qatari football stars and Al Gharafa and Al Sadd club legends, Adel Khamis and Abdulnasser al-Obaidli. The event was presented by Ali al-Sallat, Head of Media in the Marketing and Communications Department of the QFA.
Ali Hamoud al-Nuaimi, Head of Competitions at the QFA, confirmed that tied matches will be decided by penalties and announced a Man of the Match award for each game, sponsored by Qatar International Islamic Bank, with a total value of QR130,000.
This edition of the Amir Cup features an expanded format of 20 teams for the third consecutive time, a historic first for the competition. Previously limited to 17 clubs, the tournament now includes 12 from the Qatar Stars League and 8 from the Second Division, with the latter starting in a preliminary stage. Al Gharafa are the defending champions after defeating Al Rayyan 2-1 in last season’s final. Al Sadd remain the most successful club in the competition’s history with 19 titles.
