As the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 gets underway, Qatar is on a mission to secure a spot at the Paris Olympics, marking its first appearance since 1992. With the tournament being held on home soil, the country’s most promising players are ready to showcase their skills on their way to yet another historic success for Qatari football.Most recently, Qatar’s senior national side claimed their second AFC Asian Cup, making it two consecutive titles for Al Enabbi. Jassim Gaber, an up-and-coming defender, played with the national team and is now looking forward to replicating that success during these Olympic qualifiers.“It was an honor to be part of the national team that won back-to-back Asian Cup championships. I hope that we can do something equally historic during this tournament and reach the Olympics after a long absence for Qatar,” said Gaber.The top three teams at the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 will secure an automatic spot at the upcoming Paris Olympics, while the fourth-place team will contest for a place against an African team. Sixteen of the continent’s most promising teams are competing in Qatar for the sixth edition of the tournament, with the competition being played on FIFA World Cup stadiums for the first time.For goalkeeper Yousef Abdulla, playing in front of a home crowd provides a huge impetus for the aspiring Olympians to reach the Paris games: “I know that as a goalkeeper, there is perhaps extra pressure on me when we are out on the pitch. But, with the support of our fans, I hope that we will be able to succeed in the tournament and qualify to the summer Olympics in Paris.”Qatar successfully kicked off their AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 campaign with a convincing 2-0 win against Indonesia. Next up for Al Ennabi is a much-anticipated matchup against Jordan on 18 April, 6:30pm, before rounding off the group stage against Australia on 21 April, 6:30pm. Both matches are set to take place at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.Mohamed Ayash, who plays his club football for Qatar Stars League side Al Rayyan SC, wants to be part of a historic side that will see the return of Qatari football to the Olympic Games: “It’s been a long time since Qatar took part in the Olympic games, and that is something that we really want to change this time around. We want to make history.”Qatar’s last appearance at the Summer Olympics football tournament was during the 1992 games held in Barcelona. The team was made up of players from a renowned generation of players that achieved tremendous success for Qatari football. At the heart of the squad was legendary player Mansour Muftah. Thirty-two years later, Muftah’s son Tameem is looking to follow in his father’s glory.“I hope that I can follow in my father’s footsteps and bring glory to Qatar, just like he did. With the home fans behind us, anything is possible, and I want to play a part in taking Qatar to the Olympics. I want to make all of Qatar proud,” said Tameem Mansour Muftah.Prices for group stage match tickets start at 15 QAR and can be purchased online through the Hayya to Qatar mobile app. Spectators from outside Qatar can also purchase tickets from the same platform. Disabled spectators can apply to purchase accessible tickets through [email protected] more information about the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024, follow @Qatar2023 on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok and X, formerly known as Twitter.

Nearly 100 days before the 2024 Paris Games open, the Olympic flame will be lit in ancient Olympia today for a torch relay stretching from the Acropolis to French Polynesia.For the first time since events for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2022 Beijing Winter Games had to be toned down due to the Covid-19 pandemic, spectators will be able to attend the torch relay events.Some 600 dignitaries are expected at the ceremony today, headed by Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.The ritual will see actresses in the role of ancient priestesses coaxing the Olympic flame into life with the help of a parabolic polished mirror in Olympia, southwestern Greece, where the Games were born in 776 BC.American mezzo soprano Joyce DiDonato is to deliver the Olympic anthem.The ceremony is conducted at the ruins of the 2,600-year-old Temple of Hera, and sets off the Olympic torch relay that marks the countdown for each Games.Cloudy skies are forecast for today, but the flame was successfully lit in a rehearsal on Monday, a backup that can be used if necessary during the official ceremony.The torch harks back to the ancient Olympics, when a sacred flame burned throughout the Games. The tradition was revived in 1936 for the Berlin Games.The first relay runner will be Greece’s 2020 Olympics rowing champion Stefanos Ntouskos.The Hellenic Olympic Committee confirmed on Monday that retired French swimmer Laure Manaudou, who won her first gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, will follow Ntouskos as France’s first torchbearer in Olympia. European Commission vice-president Margaritis Schinas will follow as the third torchbearer, the HOC said.During the 11-day relay on Greek soil, some 600 torchbearers will carry the flame over a distance of 5,000 kilometres (3,100 miles) through 41 municipalities.“We had prepared this programme for the Tokyo Olympics, but the pandemic did not allow us to carry it out,” Thanassis Vassiliadis, head of the Hellenic Olympic Committee’s torch relay committee, told Kathimerini daily last week.He added that security levels at the flame-lighting ceremony will be “the highest” possible with police “discreet but present everywhere.”