QFA completes arrangements for qualifying games

Qatar are the reigning Asian Cup champions, having won the tournament in the UAE in 2019.

The Qatar Football Association (QFA) has completed all the necessary arrangements to host the Group E matches in the joint Asian qualifiers for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in China, and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. All of the remaining games in the group will be played in Doha from 3-15 June 2021 at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, with the participation of five teams: Qatar, Oman, India, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. The internal committees and departments under the umbrella of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) continue to hold meetings to prepare for the start of the matches, discussing all organisational and logistical matters. Despite the exceptional circumstances caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the QFA has been able to generate a great footballing atmosphere through its hosting of many events, the last of which was the Total CAF Super Cup 2020, which was played on Friday. Likewise, amidst similar precautionary measures, Qatar hosted the last edition of the FIFA Club World Cup and also the AFC Champions League games for the West and East regions, all the way to its title decider, in addition to the 48th Amir Cup final. As for the precautionary and preventive measures, the health protocol prepared by the Ministry of Public Health will be implemented with the aim of preserving the health and safety of all participants in the qualifiers, including teams, organisers and media alike. This follows the successful application of the protocol in previous events such as the AFC Champions League, the Amir Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup, which attracted praise from everyone involved. The LOC will provide medical services 24 hours a day, with an exclusive and round-the-clock clinic and ambulance services in all the team hotels, while the stadiums too will have complete medical coverage. There will also be mobile teams to serve other people on the pitch, including referees and technical staff, in addition to the provision of doping lab services. The preventive health measures approved by the LOC include the application of the medical isolation system known as the “bio-bubble”, in which the movement of all participants, including players, officials and organisers, is restricted to places of residence, training grounds, and the venue that will host the qualifiers, the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Al Sadd Sports Club. All the remaining seven matches in Group E will be played at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Al Sadd Sports Club, which recently hosted the Total CAF Super Cup 2020. It is one of the most famous stadiums in Asia, having successfully played host to many tournaments and finals, such as the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, 2016 AFC U-23 Championship, the Italian Super Cup, the 2020 AFC Champions League, qualifying matches of our national team and other important official and international friendly matches. Arrangements for preparing the stadium for the joint Asian qualifiers have been completed, and the venue will be subject to supervision by the LOC and the AFC. The stadium has a capacity of 13,000 spectators, and it is one of the first to use the cooling technology system that was later applied in all stadiums hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The qualifiers will resume on June 3 with two matches on every day of the schedule except on Friday, June 11, which will witness only one match. All games will be held at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium at Al Sadd Sports Club, and the matches will kick off at one of two fixed timings, 5 PM or 8 PM. Match schedule Thursday, June 3 Afghanistan x Bangladesh 17:00 Qatar x India 20:00 Monday, 7 June India x Bangladesh 17:00 Qatar x Oman 20:00 Friday, June 11 Oman x Afghanistan 20:00 Tuesday, 15 June Afghanistan x India 17:00 Oman x Bangladesh 20:00