Al Sadd players and officials celebrate their win in the Sheikh Jassim Cup in this file picture. The tournament will kick off the new football season on September 9.
The Sheikh Jassim Cup one-off game will kick off the new football season, the Qatar Football Association (QFA) has announced.
Al Sadd will battle Lekhwiya in the Sheikh Jassim Cup on September 9 to officially launch the new football season.
Coached by Jesualdo Ferreira, Al Sadd won the Emir Cup and the Qatar Cup tournaments last season that ended in May.
Lekhwiya, coached by Djamel Belmadi, are the Qatar Stars League (QSL) champions.
The new season will also include the U-23 League, a new event. Other events listed in the QFA calendar include Asian Cup qualifiers in the U-23, U-19 and U-16 brackets to be held in July, September and November respectively.
Qatar national team will be seen in action much earlier for two 2018 FIFA World Cup matches on August 31 and September 5.
After the Sheikh Jassim Cup match, the regular football season will start with teams battling for honours in the QSL starting September 15. The second part of the QSL season will kick off in January next year.
Qatar Cup in April and the Emir Cup - to be held across five weeks - will wind up the regular football season in May next year.
