An official picks out Qatar during the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Championship draw at InterContinental City hotel in Doha yesterday. RIGHT: Fadi Zuraikat (left), General Secretary of WAFF and other officials look on during the draw ceremony. The 8th WAFF Championship will take place in Qatar from December 25 to January 7. EXTREME RIGHT: Saud Al Mohannadi, Secretary General of Qatar Football Association (QFA) gives a speech.
DOHA: Hosts Qatar were handed a tough draw when they were tagged along with regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia and unpredictable Palestine in Group A of the 8th Men’s WAFF Championship.
The event - to be contested by 10 teams - will be held in Doha from December 25 to January 7 (2014), Qatar Football Association (QFA) said.
In Group B, Oman were drawn with powerful Bahrain and Iraq, one of the toughest sides in the Arab world.
In the third pot, Group C, Jordan will deal with Kuwait, Lebanon and Yemen in what will be the eighth edition of the championship.
QFA Secretary General, Saud Al Mohannadi said during the draw ceremony: “Hosting this significant event showcases QFA’s vision to continuously host regional championships in aims to develop the local and regional football scene. QFA’s vision is to constantly strive to host different championships ahead of 2022 World Cup, and hosting the 8th WAFF Championship for Men is a great example to show that we are in line with our vision.”
Fadi Zuraikat, General Secretary of WAFF, said: “First I would like to thank Qatar Football Association (QFA) and the local organising committee for all the efforts undertaken in order to provide a unique championship on all levels, and for all the facilities they are providing to us in order to complete all the required arrangements to organise the best championship ever in the history of WAFF.”
Zuraikat said WAFF had made a major breakthrough to promote its flagship event.
“Before I finish I would like to point out that WAFF contracted recently with internationally known marketing company “IMG”, which has expertise in the marketing of many major worldwide championships. We aim through contracting with them not only the marketing of our championship, but we will also want to work together for the development of other events, and strengthen its position in all respects,” he said.
The WAFF General Secretary added: “This will be a key event for all the participating teams.”
Al Mohannadi echoed Zuraikat’s words when he said: “Young players from each benefit stand to benefit from such events as they get the much-needed exposure. Having said that, the event is equally important for the senior players as well.”
QFA and WAAF officials also discussed the criteria that will be used during the championship for identifying the best runner-up during the championship, as well as to inform the public about the preparations undertaken ahead of the championship.
Due to the varying number of teams per group, teams in different groups would have played a different number of matches. Therefore, in order to ensure equality when comparing the runner-up teams of all the groups, all teams will be compared across similar number of matches, QFA said in a statement.
In principle, the results of the matches between the runner-up team and the bottom placed team in the group will be considered null and void. All points, goal scored and goals conceded in this match will not be taken into account. THE PENINSULA
