Doha: Right before the start of the new school year, Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence is hosting another high-profile youth tournament. The Qatari institution is welcoming the under-19 national teams of New Zealand, Morocco, Chile and Qatar who will compete on the academy’s pitches between September 2 and 9.
The tournament, that unites the four football federations OFC (New Zealand), CONCACAF (Chile), CAF (Morocco) and AFC (Qatar), will be especially be useful for the Qatari team that is currently preparing for the AFC-U19 Championship in October — where they will face Iraq, North Korea and Oman in the group stage. The competition in Myanmar is also important when it comes to the qualification for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, since the top 4 teams automatically secure a starting place in New Zealand.
“Playing teams from other continents is always a good chance to get to know different styles and football philosophies and it is going to be interesting to see how the Qatari players deal with the challenge,” Roberto Olabe, Football Director of Aspire Academy, said.
The games will take place on October 2, 4, 6 and 9. The kick-off time for every game is 8pm.
THE PENINSULA
