Day: September 6, 2023

Qatar’s national team striker Al Moez Ali stated that the upcoming events hold a great deal for the Qatari team, most notably the AFC Asian Cup hosted by Doha in January, where the team will try to hold onto their winning title.

The Qatari team will face its Kenyan counterpart in a friendly match on Thursday at Al Janoub Stadium.

Speaking to Qatar News Agency , Al Moez Ali said that preparations are going well and playing the friendly matches only increases the level of experience of all players and is an important pitstop before the 18th AFC Asian Cup.

Al Moez Ali, who played in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, said that the Qatari team is aiming to play in various friendly matches in tournaments such as the Gold Cup or the European qualifiers.

Playing against the Kenyan team and then the Russian team will enable the players in the Qatari team to familiarize themselves with the coach and play better as a team.

He added that Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz has a clear impact on the team and the team continues to develop with each match. Queiroz has a great reputation on the level of the Asian continent and experience in many tournaments such as training camps and the Gold Cup.

He furthermore expressed his excitement for the next stage which includes the qualifiers of the 2026 World Cup as well as the AFC Asian Cup in which Qatar won the title in 2019.

The Qatari striker concluded his statements to QNA affirming that the team will play with a high fighting spirit and deliver the required performance level to benefit from these two friendly matches, and he hopes that the fans support them in the stands.

Source: Qatar News Agency

The Qatari Olympic football team defeated South Korea 2-0, in the match that took place today as part of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers Group B matches, held in South Korea, 6-12 September.

The Qatari team participated as an automatically-qualified team, due to Qatar being the host of next year’s tournament.

Source: Qatar News Agency

The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) announced on Wednesday that 180 athletes will be representing the Team in the 19th edition of the Asian Games, which will run from Sep. 23 to Oct. 8, 2023, in the Chinese city of Hangzhou.

Most notably, Team Qatar stars will be competing in 27 sports disciplines, including shooting, athletics, basketball, boxing, chess, cycling, esports, equestrian, football, fencing, gymnastics, golf, handball, Juji Karate, sailing, squash, swimming, tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, table tennis, volleyball, 3×3 basketball, beach volleyball, weightlifting, and Archery.

Qatar beach volleyball team will kick off their campaign in the games on Tuesday, Sep. 19, four days away from the event’s opening ceremony – while Qatar football and volleyball teams will begin fighting for top honors on Wednesday, Sep. 20.

By taking a rapid look at the game schedule, the Qatar U23 football team were drawn in Group A alongside Japan and Palestine, while the Qatar Volleyball team will play in Group E alongside Thailand and Hong Kong.

Defending champions, the Qatar handball team will begin participation on Sunday, Sep. 24, in Group B with South Korea, and Hong Kong.

Team Qatar claimed the men’s handball gold medal at Incheon 2014 Asian Games after a 24-21 victory over hosts South Korea in the final match and they defended the title at Jakarta-Palembang 2018 Asian Games after beating Bahrain 32-27 in the final match.

With the outpouring of hard work, team Qatar is looking to open a new chapter of achievements in the Hangzhou Asian Games and take Qatar’s incredible sports record to a greater level – backed by big support from the wise leadership.

HE Secretary-General of the Qatar Olympic Committee, Jassim bin Rashid Al Buainain, met today with the secretaries of the Qatari sports federations participating in the Asian Games.

He praised the efforts made by the federations in preparing and equipping the Qatari athletes for the games, wishing success to all the federations and hoping to achieve results that reflect the development of Qatari sports and its prominent presence at the continental level.

The Qatari administrative delegation for the games also presented a presentation during the meeting on the ongoing preparations and the latest developments related to Qatar’s participation in the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

On his behalf, HE QOC Secretary-General Jassim bin Rashid Al Buainain appreciated Team Qatar’s participation in these games. He said together we can make these games memorable and successful.

His Excellency continued, saying: that Qatar will have a significant presence in the upcoming edition of the Asian Games, represented by 180 athletes who aspire to deliver impressive performances and reach the podium. We wish all our athletes the best of luck and hope to continue the successes achieved in previous editions, showcasing a positive image of Qatari sports in this major Asian event.

Al Buainain pointed out the participation of a significant number of young and promising Qatari athletes as part of the strategy to prepare the teams for the Asian Games – Doha 2030, launched by the Qatar Olympic Committee to support and develop national sports federations and athletes to enhance performance and excellence in the Doha 2030 Asian Games.

The Secretary-General of the Qatar Olympic Committee expressed his confidence in the success of the nineteenth edition of the Asian Games and said in this context: “We are confident that our friends in the People’s Republic of China are capable of organizing a remarkable edition of the Games, given the extensive preparations for the event and the organizational expertise gained from hosting several major sports events, including the 24th Winter Olympic Games in Beijing last year.” Rashid Saeed Adiba, the Chef de mission, stated that preparations for the Qatari delegation’s participation in the Asian Games – Hangzhou 2022 have reached their final stages. “We will spare no effort in supporting all our federations and participating athletes, and we will work to overcome any challenges they may face to enable them to deliver impressive performances befitting Qatar and its sporting status.” In the 18th edition, Team Qatar signed off the Jakarta-Palembang 2018 Asian Games with a remarkable tally of 13 medals, including six gold, four silver, and three bronze medals.

In athletics competitions, Abdelelah Haroon, may he rest in peace, took the gold medal in the 400m event, Ashraf El-Seify won the gold medal in Hammer throw event and Abdulrahman Samba clinched the gold medal in the 400m hurdles event.

Team Qatar took the gold medal in the men’s 4x400m event, Tosi Ogunode claimed the silver medal in the 100m event, while Yasser Bagharab won the silver medal in the 3000m steeplechase event, and Abubaker Haydar kept the winning streak to clinch the bronze medal of 800m event.

Qatar’s beach volleyball team and handball team stole the spotlights by claiming the men’s gold medals.

Faris Ibrahim claimed the silver medal in the men’s 94kg weightlifting event, while Sheikh Ali Al-Thani clinched the silver medal in the equestrian’s individual jumping event. On the same track of glory, Hamad Ali Al Marri claimed the bronze medal in the Men’s double trap event.

Source: Qatar News Agency

An independent study on the future of Brazilian football, conducted by Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA), represented by SIGA Latin America, in cooperation with the National Congress of Brazil’s Sports Committee, was launched on Wednesday.

This study will address the urgent challenges facing Brazilian football and propose the necessary reforms, within the framework of SIGA Latin America’s strategy to modernize the most popular game in Brazil and in line with the institutional expansion that the organization is witnessing in Latin America at a time when the need to enhance the highest standards of integrity is increasing and governance in sports in this region.

On this occasion, a cooperation agreement was signed between SIGA Latin America and the National Congress of Brazil’s Sports Committee to develop integrity in Brazilian football, which will enhance Brazils efforts in the areas of combating corruption, especially after it announced assumption of G20 rotating presidency and hosting of G20 Summit 2024 in Rio de Janeiro.

SIGA Vice-President Mohammed bin Hanzab, who is also founder and chairman of the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS), said the new partnership with the National Congress of Brazil will help protect the Brazilian league and open new horizons of cooperation with Latin American countries in the field of protecting sport from corruption.

Hanzab hailed the study as a continuation of the efforts of ICSS and its affiliated organizations, such as SIGA, in developing mechanisms aimed at combating corruption in sports, amid partnerships with the most important international organizations and prestigious academic institutions around the world such as France’s Universite Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne, Harvard University, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, UNESCO, World Health Organization, the G20, and the EU.

This partnership produced BITEFIX project in April, which aims to exchange information and protect data to combat match-fixing and illegal betting in sports.

Global CEO of SIGA Emanuel de Medeiros stressed the importance of cooperating with the Brazilian authorities to achieve the necessary reforms in Brazilian football and to ensure adherence to the standards of integrity, transparency and governance.

HE Congressman and Head of Parliamentary Front for the Modernization of Football, Eduardo Bandeira de Mello said the new cooperation with SIGA aims to establish mechanisms to develop football in Brazil, taking into account compliance with the rules of financial fair play and environmental and social governance standards. (MORE)

Source: Qatar News Agency

On the other hand, the activities of the Integrity in Sport Week, organized by the International Sports Integrity Organization (SIGA) and currently held for the first time in 35 cities worldwide, witnessed a web-based discussion seminar on online abuse in sports, hosted by SIGNIFY, a company specializing in ethical data science using machine learning and big data analysis.

The seminar discussed various topics, such as abuse during the FIFA World Cup, and emphasized that the majority of cases of abuse came from South America (36 percent) and Europe (38 percent).

Participants reviewed case studies in the English Premier League and the Major League Soccer, where it was primarily found that 26 percent of the abuse cases targeting players had a racial element.

A threat matrix designed by Signify for athletes and their families was unveiled with the aim of providing proactive support and protection for reporting violations.

It was announced that Sao Paulo Football Club in Brazil has joined SIGA, becoming the first professional football club to join SIGA.

This membership reflects the organizational expansion of SIGA in Latin America at a time when there is an increasing need to enhance the highest standards of integrity and governance in sports in this vital region of the world. This expansion is part of SIGA’s continuous reform efforts to restore the reputation of sports and enhance its credibility, which has become an urgent need in the face of current challenges.

On the sidelines of the fourth day of the Integrity in Sport Week, more than 40 athletes from the Brazilian Snow Sports Federation, led by Pedro Cavazzoni, the federation’s president, signed an integrity pledge, reaffirming the federation’s commitment to protecting the core principles of integrity, accountability, and fair play in winter sports.

A youth forum was also organized, highlighting the importance of integrity in sports among young people. It featured diverse sessions, including gender equality, cultural diversity, and social inclusion and uniting efforts to protect integrity in sports. Additionally, the forum presented the results of a survey on youth awareness of integrity in sports.

Furthermore, a web-based discussion session on the Importance of Sports in the Social Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities and a session titled “Amateur Football and Match Fixing” were held. During the latter, Chair of SIGA’s Ethics Committee Fernando Gomez conducted a training session for players, coaches, and board members of GDS Cascais, a Portuguese football club.

Source: Qatar News Agency