Spirited Al Duhail Seek Winning Restart Against Sharjah
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Furious Neymar alleges racism in Marseille clash as five players sent off PAGE 14 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 Hosting AFC Champions League marks important milestone for return of continental football & 2022 ASSER Al Khater, CEO of FIFA for everyone involved. This includes Education City Stadium, which one accommodation throughout World Cup Qatar 2022, has putting in place a series of measures An ariel view of Khalifa International Stadium, Doha. hosted its first official game their stay in Qatar. This will reduce Ndiscussed the importance of the at every step of the user journey as part of the local QNB Stars travel time and increase training Qatar Football Association (QFA) from arrival at Hamad Internation- League earlier this month. time, leading to better football on stepping in to host the remain- al Airport to hotels, training sites Education City Stadium’s com- the pitch due to the reduced impact ing matches of the Asian Football and stadiums. pletion was announced digitally in of travel on player performance.” Confederation (AFC) Champions “The AFC Champions League is June due to the COVID-19 pandem- “Also, three FIFA World Cup League in the West region, which is a prestigious tournament that we ic. The digital launch of the stadium training sites will be used by the taking place in Qatar between Sep- are honoured to host. We are par- was dedicated to frontline workers competing clubs throughout the tember 14 and October 3 . ticularly thrilled to have been able battling COVID-19. tournament. These are key venues Top teams from across the AFC to step in and help the AFC at this “The AFC Champions League for the FIFA World Cup as they Western Zone are competing over late stage of the tournament and will be yet another substantial event will enable teams to stay and train 39 matches from the group stage play a role in facilitating the grad- that Qatar will host as one of nu- in the same FIFA standards venue through until the semi-final where ual, safe return of Asian football merous test events, to maximize throughout the tournament.” the winner will meet their coun- to stadiums – on behalf of football our preparedness well ahead of Al Khater concluded by rec- terpart from the Eastern Zone to lovers around the the FIFA World Cup™ in just over ognising the role different stake- lay claim to Asia’s most prestigious world,” he added. two years from now. Hosting the holders have played in planning club competition. The competition One of the AFC will be an important test to en- for a safe and successful return of was suspended in March of this necessary safety sure its readiness to host matches continental football in Qatar: “I re- year as part of a global response to measures has through to the quarterfinal stages of ally want to take this opportunity to limit the spread of COVID-19. been the re- the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™,” thank the great work that all parties As well as praising the return striction of said Al Khater. involved in planning and delivering of continental football, Al Khater fans enter- watch the matches, with gether – even if this means coming “We are particularly excited to the AFC Champions League are do- also discussed the stringent safety ing sta- venue capacities strictly lim- together digitally or through televi- showcase once again our innova- ing to ensure the safety of everyone measures put in place by organis- diums to ited throughout the tourna- sion screens.” tive cooling technology that will involved, but most importantly, the ers to ensure the tournament was ment due to COVID-19. Three of the four stadiums to be guarantee a temperature of 18 to 24 frontline staff who are working to safe and secure for players and Al Khater had a message used in the tournament are FIFA degrees Celsius at a time when we provide critical support to ensure officials involved. about this decision to the foot- World Cup 2022™ stadiums. Al still haven’t yet made it through the that all those have involved have all Commenting on the safety ball world: “While it is unfor- Janoub, Education City, and Khalifa summer’s heat. the support they need.” measures taken, Al Khater said: tunate that matches will International Stadiums will all host In addition to the stadiums that The remaining matches of Asian “From the very beginning, we have not be open to fans, matches during the tournament. will be used throughout the tourna- Football Confederation (AFC) worked with the Qatar Football As- we believe in the In particular, the 2020 AFC ment, Al Khater also discussed oth- Champions League in the West re- sociation, the Qatar Stars League power of foot- Champions League marks the er elements of the country’s hosting gion will bring together teams from and the Asian Football Confed- ball to bring first international sporting event capabilities that will be on display Iraq, the Islamic Republic of Iran, eration to ensure that all possible people to- to be held in the 40,000-seat as well: “The compact nature of the Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, the Unit- safety precautions are taken so that tournament means that all partici- ed Arab Emirates and hosts Qatar. the tournament is delivered safely Nasser Al Khater, CEO, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. pating clubs will be able to stay in (SC.QA) Spirited Al Duhail seek winning restart against Sharjah The Knights need With just one point from two matches, Persepolis FC hope to get their campaign up against Group C leaders Al Taawoun FC at the Education to start anew and City Stadium on Tuesday. stay focused, says Al Taawoun tie marks coach Regragui AFC start of ‘four finals’ DOHA AL Duhail SC and Sharjah FC are looking to turn a new run for Persepolis page as the Qatari and Emirati champions face-off on Match- AFC Al Duhail 2-0, but their domes- day Three of the 2020 AFC DOHA tic fortunes were grim. Coach Champions League Group C Abdullah Asiri’s men narrowly at the Education City Stadium Al Duhail coach Walid Regragui speaks to the media on Monday. Sharjah’s FC players during the team’s training. AFTER picking up just one managed to secure their stay on Tuesday. point from two matches, in the Saudi Pro League on the Two points separate the old coach believes his side ing spirit and I always tell that they are to stand a chance of in the AFC Champions League Persepolis FC hope to get their final day of the campaign after two sides with Al Duhail in will need to show different to my players. reaching the knockout stages are strong. We showed our campaign up and running as an abysmal post-restart form, second place on three points, qualities to go far in the AFC “We still have a lot of con- for the first time since 2004. inexperience in the first two they face Group C leaders Al but the Saudis are determined and Sharjah bottom of the Champions League. fidence as league champions “We did not start well as games as we had not played Taawoun FC on Matchday to put it behind them. group on one point, and the ri- “We had a lot of injuries and we will carry that through we had absences for key play- in the competition for a really Three of the 2020 AFC Cham- “There were many reasons val teams are eager to get their especially after the restart, into the AFC Champions ers including Igor Coronado, long time, but with the second pions League on Tuesday. for the drop in our level after continental restart underway but we won the league despite League. We have to forget the but now we have everyone game we started to gain some The Iran Pro League cham- the restart,” said Asiri. with a win. those injuries and I have faith last game and focus on Shar- on board. Our only problem confidence and we hope we are pions had a slow start to their “We had injuries, COV- Having joined Al Duhail in every member of the squad,” jah,” added Regragui. is the long stoppage, but we now in a place to show our- continental charge, losing to ID-19 cases and many chang- midway through the 2019- said Regragui. Sharjah have not played worked hard and are ready to selves in a different way.” Al Duhail SC 2-0 then settling es to our squad, but we man- 20 season, former Moroccan “To play every three days competitive football since the put in a performance befit- Sharjah have never faced for a 2-2 draw against Sharjah aged to survive. We are now international defender Walid and go all the way to the final, UAE Pro League grounded to ting the name of our club and Qatari opponents in the AFC back in February, putting them determined to show a posi- Regragui has already won you have to have that fighting a halt back in March due to the UAE football,” said the for- Champions League and are at risk of early elimination for tive image of Al Taawoun and his first honour at the club, spirit. I believe the winner this COVID-19 pandemic, but coach mer Sharjah playmaker. without a win in four matches, the second year running. Saudi football. clinching the Qatar Stars year will not be the best team, Abdulaziz Al Anbari knows his “The Group is difficult but having last defeated Al Hilal With back-to-back encoun- Having only appeared in League title, but the 44-year- but the one with the most fight- side have ground to make if so are other groups.