(L-R) Carl Windley, Co-Founder – Legacy Sports & Events and official spokesperson for the F5WC Qatar Qualifiers, Hamad al-Amari, Managing Partner - Legacy Sports & Events/Duplays Doha, Khalid al-Kuwari, Director of Marketing and Communications of QFA and Fawad Rana, Managing Director, Qatar Lubricants.

By Sports Reporter/Doha


Qatar Lubricants Company (QALCO) officially announced the launch of the qualifying rounds for the Football Five’s World Championship (F5WC) in Qatar during a press briefing held at the Radisson Blu Hotel yesterday.
F5WC is a global initiative to select talented amateur football players through regional 5-a-side qualifying rounds to then compete in the Dubai 2014 finals. The qualifying rounds for the amateur football championship, sponsored by QALCO, aims to discover aspiring male footballers above 16 years who are not professionally registered with any football club in Qatar. The tournament is being managed by Legacy Sports & Events/Duplays Doha.
Qatar Football Association (QFA) is the official venue provider and it will also provide referees for the tournament. QFA’s support for this tournament demonstrates its social responsibility vision to spread the game of football amongst the community along with the positive values it brings to the people. QFA constantly focuses and targets different age groups in the community by introducing and supporting different football-related initiatives and tournaments, thus, creating a football-loving nation.
Present at the press conference were Fawad Rana, Managing Director - Qatar Lubricants, Khalid al-Kuwari, Director of Marketing and Communications - QFA, Hamad al-Amari, Managing Partner - Legacy Sports & Events/Duplays Doha and Carl Windley, Co-Founder – Legacy Sports & Events and official spokesperson for the F5WC Qatar Qualifiers. The ceremony was also attended by other senior officials from the QFA, QALCO and Legacy Sports & Events.
Chairman Qatar Lubricants Co, HE Sheikh Sultan bin Jassim al-Thani expressed his commitment to the development of sports in Qatar. “QALCO has always been steadfast in its support for the National Vision 2030 and innovative sports ideas. Our initiative is in line with the milestone that we hope to achieve for Qatar in the world of sports by the year 2030,” he said.
Speaking at the launch ceremony, Rana said, “QALCO identified football as one of the key platforms for communicating its core brand message. Beyond this, we also recognise that football acts as a common thread for people in Qatar irrespective of nationality, culture or language, given it has now become a source of national pride and joy in the country.”
Al-Kuwari was keen for football’s popularity to increase in Qatar. “The F5WC is designed to provide a structured platform for aspiring football players and gives an opportunity to tap into a vast pool of budding football talent that is found in this country. As the Qatari football’s governing body, one of our main objectives is to have a direct positive impact on the popularity and development of the game in the country and allow it to continue to grow through our contribution and support to various amateur and community leagues,” he said.
“As QFA is the football governing body in Qatar, it focuses heavily on grassroots development of football talent through supporting initiatives as such,” he added.
Al-Amari said it was proud moment that his firm had got the rights to manage the event. “We are very proud to have been awarded the rights to manage the inaugural F5WC Qatar Qualifiers. We believe this tournament is very important for the development of football in the country for everyone - be it players, supporters or organisers in the run up to the 2022 World Cup. From youngsters showcasing their skills to some of the top scouts in the world, to older players who just want to be part of a world championship, the F5WC concept brings together players of all ages, cultures, nationalities and standards. With the prodigious sponsorship of QALCO and the backing of the QFA, we aim to make this tournament exciting, competitive and fun with the aim of bringing the World Finals to Qatar in the coming years,” he said.
Local qualifying rounds in Qatar will be held on Fridays & Saturdays in April and May 2014. There will be group stage tournaments, in which the winning teams will proceed from the pre-qualifying stage to the Qatar Finals. A total of 32 teams will be competing on the Finals Day that will be held on Friday, 23rd May 2014. The victorious team will win an all-expenses paid trip to Dubai including three nights stay at the Marriott Hotel from the 12 - 14 of June 2014, while competing against 31 other countries at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
Registrations are now open for the much anticipated football championship. Visit www.F5WC.com or call 4493 2268 to find out more.