Starting at Al Bayt Stadium Is a Great Motivation for Us: Qatar Coach Sanchez
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Al Gharafa will ght till the end to nish higher, says Hector Moreno PAGE 10 FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2020 Starting at Al Bayt Stadium is a great motivation for us: Qatar coach Sanchez TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK World Cup at Al Bayt Stadi- DOHA um, one of the most impor- tant football facilities in the AL Annabi playing the first country, will be a milestone match of the 2022 FIFA for Qatari football. The date of the match and World Cup would be ‘a great He said with Qatar set to schedule is a reminder of motivation’ for the national play the traditional opening how near the competition is. squad, Felix Sanchez, Qatar’s game as the hosts of the 2022 It is another motivation for Asian Cup winning coach, FIFA World Cup, the opening us to be ready and to said on Thursday. match at the new venue will Al Bayt Stadium, a give an added value to the at- give a memorable 60,000-capacity arena that mosphere. performance. takes its name and shape from The World Cup, the first Qatar’s Asian Cup the traditional tents used by edition to be held in the nomadic people in the Gulf re- dium will be the setting for the a reminder of how near the Arab world, will make the winning coach gion, will be the stage for hosts play-off for third place on De- competition is. It is another occasion a historic one for Felix Sanchez Qatar to kick off the tourna- cember 17. The final will kick motivation for us to be ready the entire region, Al Kaabi ment on Monday, November off one day later at 6pm at the and to give a memorable per- said in his remarks. 21, 2022 at 1pm local time. Lusail Stadium in front of an formance,” Sanchez said in re- He added that the first The local kick-off times 80,000 crowd. action to the match schedule match for the Qatari squad in for group matches have been The Supreme Committee being announced. 2022 would be a culmination set for 1pm, 4pm, 7pm and for Delivery & Legacy (SC) on “It’s nice to see when we of a long journey that will also 10pm with the simultaneous Wednesday announced that start and where,” the Span- take a step into another chap- kick-offs for the last round Al Bayt Stadium will host the iard Sanchez added. ter of memorable matches. of group games and knock- first match of the 2022 FIFA Talal Al Kaabi, Execu- He added watching Qatar out-stage timings being 6pm World Cup. tive Director of the National play in front of home matches and 10pm. “Of course to see the date Football Teams said the would certainly inspire future Khalifa International Sta- of the match and schedule is opening of the 2022 FIFA generation of players. Qatar football Qatar to host AFC West league new BENZEMA STRIKES A BRACE AS REAL MADRID WIN LA LIGA TITLE season to start Champions League matches from Sept 3 AGENCIES the East Zone and July 17, 2020 KUALA LUMPUR to stage the AFC Cup matches. QNA Asia’s elite club competition DOHA THE Qatar Football Associa- was suspended in early March tion (QFA) has been confirmed because of the coronavirus pan- THE Qatar Football Asso- as the host Member Association demic, and will resume in Qatar ciation (QFA) announced the for the 2020 AFC Champions on Sept. 14. 2020/2021 football league sea- League matches in the West The AFC said last week that son will start on Sep. 3. region from the Group Stage group matches will be played QFA stressed the resump- to the Semi-finals, which will in full in a round-robin format tion of the 2019/2020 season take place from September 14 as originally planned while the at the date scheduled for it, to October 3, 2020, the Asian knockouts will be single match- without any postpone- Football Confederation (AFC) es rather than the usual two- ments according announced on Thursday. legged format. to precaution The AFC had ear- Playing matches in procedures and lier reiterated its the West Asia venue the adopted commitment to com- will be Qatar, UAE, protocol. plete the 2020 AFC Saudi Arabia, Iraq, In a statement, QFA said Club Competitions Iran and Uzbekistan. that the first three rounds of the in a centralised venue The centralised league competition games next with all matches in the venue for East Asia, season will be played on non- Group Stage for both where matches are air-conditioned stadiums, due the AFC Champions scheduled to resume to the request of the QFA to host League and AFC on Oct. 16, is yet to the AFC Champions League Cup to be played in full and the be announced. Playing in that matches, which requires the Real Madrid’s French forward Karim Benzema (exults inset) knock-out stages consisting of hub will be China, Thailand, stadiums to be equipped. single match ties. Australia, South Korea, Japan It added that the 2020/2021 after scoring the opening goal (right) during the Spanish League The deadline for bids to host and Malaysia. second-tier league competitions match against Villarreal CF at the Alfredo di Stefano stadium in the centralised AFC Champions The regional hubs in will start in mid-September and Valdebebas, on the outskirts of Madrid, on Thursday. Benzema League West region matches West and East Asia will host that the Qatar Gas League com- scored twice (29’, 77’pen) to star in his team’s 2-1 win over Villareal was July 13. matches until the semi-finals, petition will start in October. Member Associations have with the final pitting the best QFA affirmed that the com-- which ensured coach Zinedine Zidane’s team 34th La Liga title. (AFP) until July 24, 2020 to submit teams from each region to be petition for the first and second- their interest to host the AFC held on December 5 in the tier leagues will be completed Champions League matches in Western hub. even if there are infections among players, as the clubs and players have signed pledges to complete the two competitions. Mauritania’s man mountain eyeing new peaks Olympic chiefs he is just one link in a long chain. Taking the team from not even in top-200 “Our progress? It’s a series of to talk Tokyo things: the coach, the staff, the to 100th, Abdoul Ba dreams of Qatar 2022 players, the federation... we all LAUSANNE: Olympic chiefs will contribute. It takes a lot of work meet on Friday to discuss ways enjoy the role of the Big, strong and modest and a lot of time,” he confirms. of pushing ahead with plans for a little guy who wants “My size? I find more advan- “But it pays dividends.” “frugal” Tokyo Games next year, to beat the giant.” tages than disadvantages,” the After the AFCON 2019 in just as the Japanese capital is The words are those of 26-year-old central defender which Mauritania defeated rocked by a record number of Inational team coach Coren- tells FIFA.com. “Over the two former World Cup par- daily coronavirus infections. The tin Martins from a 2015 in- years, I’ve learned to make the ticipants – Tunisia and Ango- International Olympic Committee terview with FIFA.com. Back most of it. It’s especially handy la – the country is now aim- (IOC), holding a virtual Executive then his side were still look- for aerial balls! Overall, I don’t ing considerably higher. In Board meeting and 136th IOC ing for their maiden appear- think I’m doing too badly.” the second round of African Session, will call on their Tokyo ance at a major tournament. We are certainly not going qualifiers for Qatar 2022, Al- Olympics taskforce to provide Now, five years on, it to argue with the colossus of Murabitun will cross swords some answers as planning forges is clear that Al-Murabitun AJ Auxerre. In any case, what with continental heavy- ahead for the hosting of the multi- are good enough to com- is indisputable is that Ba’s in- weights Tunisia in Group B, billion-dollar event. pete with the region’s big clusion in the national team where Equatorial Guinea and The meeting falls just two days guns. The team finally took has coincided with its steady Zambia also lie in wait. before elections for Tokyo gover- their place at the conti- progress. Mauritania were not “Everything is achievable,” nor, with incumbent Koike widely nent’s top table by qualify- even in the world’s top-200 Ba announces before con- expected to win a second term. ing for the CAF Africa Cup the year before his first call-up. Mauriatania’s towering captain Abdoul Ba (2nd right). cluding: “We’ve seen enough Also on the agenda for the IOC of Nations 2019 and are in Eight years later, they now oc- surprises in football over the Session will be the approval of the running for a ticket to cupy 100th place in the FIFA/ managed to qualify for the AF- his side’s improved results. Yet tually born in Dakar Senegal. years, exceptional comebacks Sebastian Coe, the head of World the FIFA World Cup Qatar Coca-Cola World Ranking. CON,” says one of the team’s even after being made team in matches... Of course, we’ve Athletics, as an IOC member. Coe, 2022™. “(I’ve been called the) ‘Star most capped players, with 39 captain, he prefers to keep a Cooperation, optimism made progress, but Mauritania the two-time Olympic 1,500 me- In short, their growth has man’, ‘talisman’, ‘pillar of the appearances to his name.