Category: Athletic

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has relocated the Qatar-Iran game in the third stage of the 2026 Asia World Cup qualifiers to Dubai, UAE.

The match will be held next Tuesday at 7:00 pm Doha time, the AFC said in a statement.

Qatar have been drawn in Group A that also includes Uzbekistan, the UAE, North Korea and Kyrgyzstan.

The top two teams in each of the three groups directly advance to the 2026 World Cup, while the third and fourth spots (six sides) will play a single-round league play-off, divided into two groups.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: October 10 – Qatar defeated Kyrgyzstan 3-1 on Thursday, their first win in the third stage of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Three goals from Almoez Ali, Kyrgyz defender Tamirlan Kozubaev (own goal), and Ibrahim Al Hassan, at Al Thumama Stadium took the Asian champions to the fourth spot of Group A with four points.

This win returns Akram Afif’s fellows to the right path on the road to the US, Canada and Mexico after a 3-1 home loss to the UAE in their group opener and a 2-2 away tie with North Korea.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), in collaboration with the Qatar Boxing Federation, will host the first edition of its community boxing championship on Friday.

The event will feature participants in three age categories: Juniors (ages 15-16), Youth (ages 17-18), and Seniors (ages 19-40). Alongside the boxing matches, there will be engaging competitions and prizes for the public, including activities for children.

In a pre-event statement, Salah Al Saadi, Assistant Director of the Sports Events Department at the Qatar Olympic Committee, noted that the championship aims to promote sports for all and foster connections between various segments of Qatari society and residents, in line with the committees vision: “To Become a Leading Nation in Bringing the World Together Through Sustainable Sports Development.” “Boxing is a vital sport for building self-confidence and self-discipline. It enhances muscle endurance, reduces stress, and offers numerous physical and health benefits,” Al Saadi added.

This to
urnament is part of the Qatar Olympic Committees 2024 community events program, designed to raise awareness of the importance of inclusive sports and to promote boxing as a valuable self-defense sport.

The QOC ‘s calendar features over seventy local and international events each sports season, reaffirming Doha’s status as a global sports capital.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: The Qatar Volleyball Association (QVA) released today the official schedule for the 2024-2025 Beach Volleyball season.

The new season will kick off with the first Open Tournament (Under 20 category), scheduled from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, 2024. This will be followed by the second Open Tournament (Under 16 category), taking place from Dec. 20 to 22, 2024. The third Open Tournament for Men will be held from Jan. 9 to 11, 2025.

The season will continue with various competitions across different categories, culminating in HH the Amir Cup from May 15 to 17, 2025.

In its statement, the QVA emphasized that the new season’s schedule is designed to allow national teams ample time for extended training periods during upcoming camps. Additionally, this seasons beach volleyball competitions will follow a combined tournament format, with two tournaments held for each category: men, Under 16, and Under 20.

The association also announced the introduction of Elite Tournaments, featuring national team players in the Unde
r 16/17 and Under 20/21 categories. These tournaments will consist of six rounds, starting on Nov. 15, 2024, and concluding on April 18, 2025.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Amman – Ma’an – The South Korean national football team defeated the Jordanian national football team 2-0 at the Amman International Stadium, in the third and decisive round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

South Korea took the lead in the 38th minute of the first half through Lee Jae-sung, and the Korean team increased the lead in the 68th minute of the second half through Oh Hyun-gyu.

The national team player, Musa Al-Taamari, was absent from the match due to injury.

With this result, the Korean team’s score became 7 points, and the national team’s score became 4 points.

It is noteworthy that the national team came in the second group of the qualifiers for the third and decisive round of the 2026 World Cup.

Source: Maan News Agency

Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Iraqi national team defeated our national team 1-0 in the third round of Group Two of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers on Thursday.

Iraq’s tally rose to seven points from three matches, with only goal difference behind the South Korean team, the group leader, while the Jordanian team’s tally froze at four points in third place. Oman rose to fourth place with three points, one point ahead of Kuwait and one point behind Jordan, while the Palestinian team is at the bottom of the group with one point.

Ayman Hussein scored the only goal of the match after he intercepted the ball from Palestinian defender Samer Jundi and shot the ball with his left foot into the narrow corner of the net to the left of goalkeeper Tawfiq Ali.

Source: Maan News Agency

Bethlehem Together – The Spaniard, who has won 22 Grand Slam titles, has decided that his participation in the Davis Cup next November in Malaga will be his last tournament on the yellow ball courts.

“I am here to tell you that I have decided to retire from tennis,” Nadal, 38, said in a video posted on his social media accounts on Thursday. “The truth is that I have gone through some difficult years, especially the last two, and I do not think that I am able to play without restrictions.”

He continued: “This is of course a difficult decision and it took me some time to make it, but in this life everything has a beginning and an end, and I think this is the right time to put an end to my career.”

He continued: “I feel excited that my last tournament will be the Davis Cup Finals and to represent my country. One of the happiest moments in my career was the Davis Cup Final in Seville in 2004.”

“I feel very lucky for everything I’ve been through. I want to thank the entire tennis industry and everyone involved
in the sport, from my teammates to my big rivals. I’ve spent many hours with them and had moments that I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” he said.

He continued: “For my team, it will be more difficult. They have been a very important part of my life and they are like friends to me. They have been by my side all the times I have needed them, whether good or bad. We have lived a lot together.”

He added: “Family means everything to me. My mother made all the sacrifices possible so that we could have everything. My wife has been with me for 19 years. Thank you for everything she has given me. She has been my best friend on the journey throughout the past years.”

‘Coming home and watching my son grow every day has been the strength that has kept me alive,’ he added. ‘I have a strong relationship with my sister, and my uncle is the reason I play tennis. Thanks to him, I have been able to overcome many difficult moments in my career. My father has been an inspiration to me, and I thank him very much.’

Sour
ce: Maan News Agency

Doha: The Qatari Billiards and Snooker team is participating in the Arab Championship organized by the Saudi Federation in cooperation with the Arab Billiards and Snooker Federation.

The competitions will start on Tuesday and continue until October 17.

The Qatari team will be represented in the billiards competitions by Bashar Hussein, Mishaal Al Ali, and Mansour Al Obaidli, while Ali Al Obaidli, Muhanna Al Obaidli, Khamis Al Obaidli, and Ahmed Saif will participate in the snooker competitions, in addition to Rashid Al Saadi, who will participate in the snooker junior competitions, while Khaled Al-Tamimi, Abdullah Al-Muslih, and Nasser Al-Saadi will participate in the billiard junior competitions.

Ali Al Obaidli, a player in the Qatari team, expressed his full readiness to participate in the Arab Billiards and Snooker Championships, pointing out the strength of the competitions that include a distinguished group of players who hold international achievements and medals.

Al Obaidli, the winner of the World
Snooker Championship for Individuals, added that he will participate in three competitions and will seek to win all of them.

He said that the team has prepared well for the Arab Championship, and that all players are in the best possible condition to compete in various competitions.

The championship will witness the participation of more than (200) male and female players representing (13) countries: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Yemen, Iraq, Sudan, Morocco, Jordan, Egypt, and Algeria.

The championship includes (17) competitions for men and women in the adult and junior categories in snooker “snooker 15 balls, 6 balls and teams”, and in billiards “10 balls and 9 balls for all categories and teams” in addition to French billiards.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: The National Sports Day Committee launched Monday the National Sports Day 2025 Award to honor agencies that promote sport culture among their staffers.

Advisor to the Minister of Sports and Youth, Abdulrahman bin Musallam Al Dosari rolled out the details of the award that targets state and private agencies in a Ministry of Sports and Youth press conference in Lusail Sports Hall.

Al Dosari, who is also the Chairperson of National Sports Day Committee, said the award boosts public health and sportsmanship in Qatari society and motivates agencies to offer their staff a healthy and energetic work environment.

The move comes in recognition of the efforts to organize year-round sports events in line with the National Sports Day vision, which envisions sports as a sustainable lifestyle, he told the press conference.

The competing agencies need to upload photos and videos of their activities on their social media via hashtags #In_Time and #Sports_Is_Life, and mention the National Sports Day account. They ar
e also required to fill in the event form on the Ministry of Sports and Youth website, including event details and the number of contestants.

Al Dosari urged all participants to stick to all security and safety requirements including the provision of medical teams.

The contesting agencies will score points according to four criteria – the number of events, event duration, number of participants, and the number of the agency staffers participating in the Sports for All calendar.

Meanwhile, Qatar Sports For All’s (QSFA) Director of Events and Activities Abdullah Al Dosari detailed the QSFA’s 750 free of charge sports events offered all the year round to individuals.

He hailed the public sports infrastructure that streamlined the practice of sports for all groups and in all weathers.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: The Qatari beach volleyball team will participate in the Elite 16-Joao Pessoa competitions that will be held in Brazil from October 16 to 20.

The draw placed the Qatari team, consisting of the duo Cherif Youness and Ahmed Tijan, in the first group along with the Brazilian and Argentine teams and a fourth team that will be determined through the preliminary stage qualifiers.

The Qatari team will start matches in the tournament by facing its Argentine counterpart, consisting of Nicolas Cabogrosso and Thomas Cabogrosso, on October 17.

The Qatari team’s participation in this tournament comes after its participation in the Arab Championship that was recently held in Tunisia, where it won third place, and before that its good participation in the beach volleyball competition at the Summer Olympics Paris 2024, where it came the fourth place, after giving a strong performance against the best ranked teams in the world.

Source: Qatar News Agency