In its fourth week, the ‘Aspire Banks Tournament’, organised by Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF) in collaboration with Qatar Central Bank (QCB), concluded with four thrilling matches between some of the tournament’s leading teams, including Qatar National Bank (QNB), QCB, Barwa Bank and Doha Bank.
Commenting on the outcomes, AZF’s manager of Events Abdullah al-Khater, said, “The tournament gets better and more exciting each week. This week was full of surprises, as Barwa Bank took the lead from Qatar Central Bank after the latter drew against Doha Bank, leaving it in second place after leading in the previous weeks.”
He added, “Such an impressive turnout from local banks tells us that Aspire Zone Foundation is heading in the right direction in terms of achieving its aim of promoting sporting culture among local members of the community and encouraging sports as a regular part of the daily routine.”
Group (A) matches saw Barwa Bank secure their third consecutive win, taking the lead with nine points after an exciting 3-1 win against Commercial Bank. On the other hand, QCB, who has been leading in the previous weeks, fell to second place after a 1-1 draw with opponents Doha Bank.
Meanwhile, top teams from group (B) secured big wins against their opponents, with Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) dominating the pitch and winning 7-1 against Ahli Bank, securing six points. QNB remained in top position following an easy 5-1 win against Masraf Al Rayyan.
Speaking before their big match against Doha Bank, QCB coach Mohamed Eissa and last year’s ‘Best Coach’ award winner, said, “The second edition of the tournament has seen remarkable change. The participation of all local banks in this tournament is an affirmation of its success. I would like to extend my gratitude to Aspire Zone Foundation for providing great support to players and participating teams throughout the tournament. That, in addition to Qatar Central Bank’s efforts, is contributing to this tournament’s huge success.”
The fifth week of the qualifying rounds is scheduled to see exciting matches with Qatar International Bank playing against Standard Chartered, Qatar International Islamic Bank set against Mashreq Bank, Commercial Bank playing against Doha Bank and Masraf Al Rayyan against QNB.