The draw of the 2nd African Football Tournament for 2017-18 football season took place on Wednesday at the Algerian Embassy in Doha and saw the participation of 10 African community football teams.
As part of the Qatar Football Association’s (QFA) social responsibility strategy, the tournament is an example of community partnerships in which the QFA aims to provide a platform for the community to be able to play more football.
In a move aimed at strengthening the role of football within the local community and instilling a culture of practising more football by creating a suitable environment for the teams, the QFA will be providing its support through securing stadiums, referees, match balls, and tournament regulations. 
The draw was conducted in the presence of the Algerian ambassador Abdul Aziz Sabe, Hussein al-Sharshani, General Coordinator of the championship from QFA, Ahmad al-Rumaihi and Othman Blake, QFA officials, and the 10 team representatives. 
The tournament, which is being organised by the QFA, will see the participation of 10 teams representing the African communities in Qatar. The teams will be divided into two groups of five teams.
The draw, which was conducted by al-Rumaihi, saw Group A include South Africa, Algeria, Eretria, Mali, and Ethiopia while Group B include Tanzania, Kenya, Sudan, Senegal, and Burkina Faso.  
The teams will first play group stage matches followed by a semi-finals stage contested by the top two teams from each group.
The tournament will kick off on February 15 and the opening ceremony will be attended by the ambassadors of the countries being represented in the tournament. Matches will be played on the training field of Al Arabi Stadium, where each round will be played on Thursdays, Sundays and Mondays of each week. Two matches will be held each day, the first being at 8:30pm and second at 10pm.
The semi-finals will be played on March 12, where the first-placed team of Group A will play the second-placed team of Group B, and the first-place team of Group B will play second-placed team of Group A. 
The tournament will end with the third and fourth place match and final on March 17.
The first match will be Tanzania against Burkina Faso while the second will be South Africa against Ethiopia. 
The tournament is expected to receive great attention and attendance from the African communities in Qatar as it represents a real opportunity for them to pursue their hobby of playing more fun and competitive football.

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