Officials during the draw ceremony of the 1st WAFF U23 Championship which was held in Doha yesterday. Picture: Najeer Feroke

By Sports Reporter/Doha

Qatar will host the inaugural under-23 West Asian Football Federation Championship (for Olympic teams) in Doha from September 30 to October 14.
Ten teams are taking part in the tournament after Iraq and Kuwait withdrew. The draw ceremony was held here yesterday to decide the groups.
The teams are divided into 3 groups and only group winners (total 3) and the best runner-up team (from all groups) will qualify from group stage.
Qatar has been slotted in Group A along with Jordan, Palestine and Yemen. Two other groups consisted of three teams each. In Group B, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were placed, while Group C is made up of Oman, Syria and UAE.
Suleiman Nawas, Executive director of WAFF and official of the Qatar Football Federation said  the inaugural WAFF championship will be used a warm up for the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship, which Qatar will be hosting in January.
“All the preparations are in place for the championship. A number of committees have been formed and meetings will be held in the next few days to giving finishing touches for the event,” Nawas said.
“This is an ideal opportunity for the teams to know their strengths and weakness ahead of the AFC U-23 Championship. All three groups are strong and we will be able to see high level of football,” he added
Nawas said the opening match between Qatar and Palestine has been scheduled at Al Ahli stadium on September 30. But if the under-renovation stadium is not ready by the time, then the fixture will be moved to either Al Gharafa or Lekhwiya stadium. The teams will practice at the Aspire Zone.
Hamad al-Mannai, tournament director said the championship will be held annually or biennially with the next host nation to be decided later. He confirmed that top three teams will awarded trophies and players would get individual medals. Best player, scorer and man of the match awards will also be on offer.

Groups
Group A: Qatar, Jordan, Palestine, Yemen
Group B: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain
Group C: Oman, Syria, UAE

Schedule
Sept. 30: Qatar vs Palestine; Jordan vs Yemen.
Oct. 1: Iran vs Bahrain; UAE vs Syria
Oct. 2: REST DAY
Oct. 3: Qatar vs Jordan;
Palestine vs Yemen
Oct. 4: Iran vs KSA; UAE vs Oman
Oct. 5: REST DAY
Oct. 6: Qatar vs Yemen;
            Jordan vs Palestine
Oct. 7: KSA vs Bahrain
           Oman vs Syria
Oct. 8 & 9: REST DAY
Oct. 10:
Semifinal 1: Winner group A vs Best runner-up overall
Semifinal 2: Winner Group B vs Winner Group C
Oct. 11, 12, & 13:  REST DAY
Oct. 14: Final and third-place play-off