In a move to continue developing bilateral relations with various football federations, the Qatar Football Association (QFA) signed co-operation agreements with the Hungarian Football Federation (MLSZ) and Mongolian Football Federation (MFF) at Al Bidda Tower in Doha.
Yesterday, prior to the signing ceremony with the Hungarians, QFA president Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani received MLSZ president S?ndor Cs?nyi, vice-president S?ndor Berzi, general secretary M?rton V?gi and the MLSZ delegation in his office to discuss matters of mutual interest while stressing on the importance of building on the relationship between the two associations and developing it further in the future for the mutual benefit of both parties.
The agreement was signed by Sheikh Hamad and Cs?nyi, and was attended by QFA vice-president Saoud al-Mohannadi, general secretary Mansoor al-Ansari, QFA President’s Office executive director Ali Dawood, QFA’s Strategy and Institutional Development executive director Mushtaq al-Waeli, Berzi and V?gi, besides the rest of the Hungarian delegation.
On Sunday, Sheikh Hamad signed the agreement with MFF president Ganbaatar Amgalanbaatar in the presence of QFA officials, MFF general secretary Shijir Ulziikhuu and Mongolian national team manager Enkhjin Batsumber.
The QFA signed the agreements as part of its ongoing strategy to develop football in Qatar and enhance its relationship with its various Asian and European counterparts.
The agreements focus on co-operation in several key areas, mainly: technical and professional exchanges, national teams, exchange of expertise (including coach education and youth development), game development, player development and referee development. It will also focus on the successful and numerous experiences of Qatari football, including Aspire Academy and Aspetar Sports Medicine Hospital.
Berzi, president of the Hungarian federation, said, “I am happy to be here in Qatar, and amazed at the facilities and overall football management and administration in Qatar. The successful collaboration between the Hungarian Football Federation and Qatar Football Association has existed long before the signing of the agreement as there is a referee exchange programme in place between the two sides in which Hungarian referees officiate matches in Qatar and vice versa. The signing of the ceremony is just a formality for as our deep rooted relationship with the QFA has been in place for years now.”
He added: “We will make use of the facilities in Qatar especially since Qatar has great weather which allows us to do our training camps here in Qatar during the winter season, while Qatar teams will also make use of the weather in Hungary during the summer season.
“We will have a stronger collaboration that will be specifically tailored for the youth teams. We would like to invite the Qatar U-17 national team to play in the U-17 international cup which we organise in Hungary every year. It will be difficult to organise any matches for the senior national team as there is a new European championship which makes it hard for the team to participate in matches or tournaments outside of Europe, however, we will keep studying the opportunity to organise something for the senior national teams.”
Amgalanbaatar, president of the Mongolian federation, said, “I would like to thank Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani, President of the Qatar Football Association for the warm welcome. I am very happy for the signing of the co-operation agreement between the MFF and the QFA and look forward to long-lasting co-operation between the two counterparts in the coming period.”
He added: “There is no doubt that Qatar has become a major sports hub in Asia and we are proud to work with a leading federation in the region as such. The co-operation agreement covers all aspects related to football development, and we are very pleased with the content of the agreement, which will allow us to gain the knowledge and expertise developed by the QFA that focuses on topics such as football management, training and education, as well as the use of medical facilities of Aspetar for treatment of our players, and by bringing our talent to train in the Aspire Academy.”
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