Qatar Football Association (QFA) president HE Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani stressed on Monday that the association will embark on a new journey filled with significant challenges awaiting the new Executive Board, most notably the World Cup 2022 in Qatar, the Asian Cup 2019 in the UAE, and the participation in Copa America 2019 in Brazil.
Sheikh Hamad was re-elected as the president of the association for the next four years at the QFA’s General Assembly at the Sheraton Hotel, with representatives of the 17 football clubs and Qatar Stars League attending. It also led to the election of Ibrahim Khalil al-Mohannadi, Sheikh Ahmed bin Ahmed al-Thani, Ahmed al-Buainain, Saoud al-Mohannadi, Abdulrahman al-Qahtani, and Hani Talib Ballan.
QFA president said that it was worth noting that the youth team also qualified for the World Cup, while Qatar clubs have performed well in the AFC Champions League. He expressed hope that they can go even further next year, and praised Asia’s best player Abdulkareem Hassan. He also said that he hopes the coming period will bring even more achievements as the national team gets set to participate in Copa America.
He said the team is currently being prepared well, highlighting that that Copa America will be an important criterion for measuring the level of the team before the World Cup.
As for refereeing, Sheikh Hamad said it was improving significantly. He highlighted that VAR will also be implemented in the next round of the QNB Stars League, adding that the technology was not used sooner for technical reasons.
He acknowledged that the only problem facing football in Qatar is the lack of fans, which he said must be addressed swiftly. He said that the technical level is somewhat high, but the lack of attendance makes the matches resemble friendly games, stressing that the next phase requires the solidarity of all to solve this problem.
He praised the presence of representatives of all clubs and their role in enriching the activities of the General Assembly meeting with their important questions and discussions aimed at developing the reality of football in Qatar.
After the president’s speech concluded, Qatar, Al Shahaniya and Al Ahli clubs were appointed to review the minutes of the meeting. Al Arabi, Al Khor and Al Mesaimeer were appointed as auditors of the votes. The minutes of the previous general assembly meeting held on December 13, 2017 were also ratified.
Head of the electoral committee Abdullah Hamad al-Mulla thanked members of the general assembly for their cooperation.
At the end of the General Assembly, Sheikh Hamad thanked the clubs for their support of the board. He also congratulated the two new members, Sheikh Ahmed bin Hamad al-Thani (Al Ahli Club) and Abdul Rahman al-Qahtani (Mesaimeer Club) and wished success to the former members of the Committee Khalifa Khamis al-Sulaiti and Ali al-Thawadi.
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