The Qatar U-18 National basketball team has departed for Yalova, Turkiye, to begin a training camp running from 6 to 15 July 2026. This camp marks the final stage of preparations for the Gulf U-18 Championship, which will be hosted in Doha from 17 to 22 July, serving as a qualifier for the FIBA Asia U-18 Championship.
Organized under the Qatar Basketball Federation’s development plan, the camp aims to enhance the players’ technical and physical readiness, while providing the coaching staff with an opportunity to finalize the best lineup ahead of official competition.
The program includes four friendly matches against Turkish clubs and the Turkiye U-18 national team, designed to give the players strong competitive exposure, improve team cohesion, and assess tactical readiness before returning to Doha.
The delegation is headed by Khalid Ahmed al-Mughni. The technical staff is led by Turkish coach Cengiz Karadağ, assisted by Abdo Al-Harji, Hashim Zaidan, and Mounir Ben Ghalla, with Kenan as fitness coach and Saif Al-Din Al-Hamandi as physiotherapist. The administrative staff includes Omar Ahmed and Ayoub Lotfi.
The squad features 11 players: Tamim Ashraf Abu Issa, Meshaal Khalid Al-Mughni, Moaz Omar Mousa, Azzam Mohammed Yaken, Ziyad Tamer Al-Johari, Mohammed Saeed Badri, Mahmoud Tamer Ibrahim, Amer Ibrahim Mousa, Owen Ikina, Youssef Walid Abdelqader, and Shahi Mohammed.
The Gulf U-18 Championship will be staged at Al-Gharafa Sports Hall, with five teams competing: Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Oman. The top three finishers will qualify directly for the FIBA Asia U-18 Championship, to be held in India in August 2026.
The continental championship carries significant importance as it serves as the qualifying stage for the FIBA U-19 Basketball World Cup, with the top four teams from Asia securing places in the global tournament, scheduled to take place in the Czech Republic.
