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Football in Qatar

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Football in Qatar
Al Janoub Stadium hosted the 2020 AFC Champions League final. Part of Qatar's plan to demonstrate its ability to host international football matches.
CountryQatar
Governing bodyQatar Football Association (QFA)
National team(s)Qatar
First played1948; 76 years ago (1948)
Clubs20
National competitions
Club competitions
International competitions

Football is the most popular sport in Qatar.[1][2][3][4] Football in Qatar is organized by the Qatar Football Association (QFA).[5]

Qatar hosted the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, 2021 FIFA Arab Cup,[6] 2022 FIFA World Cup,[7] 2023 AFC Asian Cup, and the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup.[8][9]

History

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Football was introduced to the country in 1948 when oil workers organized a match among themselves.[10] The first football club was established in 1950 under the name 'Al-Najah', which went on to form Al Ahli. This was followed by the organization of the first football tournament in 1951 called 'Izz al-Din Championship' by the Qatar Oil Company. In the late 1950s, the name was changed to 'Pukett Cup'.[11]

The QFA was formed in 1960 and the first league season was launched in 1963–64. League matches were played in Doha Sports Stadium, which accommodated the first grass football pitch in the region.[11]

Spectatorship

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Attendance at QSL matches ranges between 2,000 and 10,000, depending on the popularity of the teams.[12] In a 2014 survey conducted by Qatari government ministries and departments, 65% of the 1,079 respondents indicated that they did not attend a football match in the previous league season.[13] Lack of time, unsuitable atmospheres for females and the presence of paid fans were all major factors for not attending. The highest deterrent was climate, which was cited by seventy-three percent respondents as impacting their decision to attend a football match.[14]

As an initiative to gauge public opinion and increase local participation in sports with an emphasis on football, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) launched the Jeeran program in April 2015.[15] The program involves seeking the opinion and advice of people in majlises, as well as encouraging large-scale community involvement, particularly by women.[16]

Most successful teams

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Team Total number of trophies Qatar Stars League winners Emir Cup winners Qatar Cup winners Sheikh Jassem Cup winners Qatari Stars Cup winners Qatar FA Cup winners
Al-Sadd 59 16 (1972, 1974, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1987, 1988, 1989, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2013, 2019, 2021, 2022) 18 (1975, 1977, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2021) 8 (1998, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2017, 2020, 2021) 15 (1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2006, 2014, 2017, 2019) 2 (2010, 2020)
Qatar SC 24 8 (1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1977, 2003) 8 (1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1976) 3 (2002, 2004, 2009) 4 (1983, 1984, 1987, 1995) 1 (2014)
Al-Rayyan 23 8 (1976, 1978, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1990, 1995, 2016) 6 (1999, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2013) 4 (1995, 1996, 2001, 2012) 5 (1992, 2000, 2012, 2013, 2018)
Al-Arabi 24 7 (1983, 1985, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997) 9 (1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1990, 1993, 2023) 1 (1997) 6 (1980, 1982, 1994, 2008, 2010, 2011) 1 (2022)
Al-Gharafa 22 7 (1992, 1998, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010) 7 (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2009, 2012) 3 (2000, 2010, 2011) 2 (2005, 2007) 3 (2009, 2018, 2019)
Al-Duhail 19 8 (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2023) 4 (2016, 2018, 2019, 2022) 4 (2013, 2015, 2018, 2023) 2 (2015, 2016) 1 (2023)
Al-Wakrah 8 2 (1999, 2001) 1 (1999) 4 (1989, 1991, 1998, 2004) 1 (2012)
Al-Ahli (Doha) 4 4 (1973, 1981, 1987, 1992)
Al-Maref 3 3 (1964, 1965, 1966)
El-Jaish 3 2 (2014, 2016) 1 (2013)
Al-Khor 2 1 (2005) 1 (2002)
Umm-Salal 2 1 (2008) 1 (2009)
Al-Sailiya 2 1 (2021) 1 (2021)
Al-Muaither 1 1 (2003)
Al-Shamal 1 1 (1996)

National team

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Qatar national football team in 2011.
Main article: Qatar national football team

The Qatar national team has had limited international success and has often been accused of abusing naturalisation laws to acquire players.[17][18][19] However, they did win the Arabian Gulf Cup three times and won back-to-back AFC Asian Cup titles in 2019 and 2023.[20] The side also participated in the 2022 FIFA World Cup as hosts.[21]

Women's national team

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Main article: Qatar women's national football team

FIFA World Cup

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In 2010, Qatar won the bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, becoming the first Arab country to host the tournament.[22][23] Following a controversy over bidding, a report by FIFA cleared Qatar’s name from all allegations.[24]

In June 2019, the FIFA Council announced Qatar as the host of 2019 FIFA Club World Cup and 2020 FIFA Club World Cup.[25]

In March 2022, FIFA president Gianni Infantino claimed in an interview that the gulf nation is being progressive in terms of its labor rights & migrant rights issues that prevailed in the nation previously by adding "I am pleased to see the strong commitment from the Qatari authorities to ensure the reforms are fully implemented across the labour market, leaving a lasting legacy of the FIFA World Cup long after the event, and benefiting migrant workers in the host country in the long term."[26][27][28]

On 11 August 2022, FIFA officially moved up the opening match of the World Cup by one day to 20 November, in an unusual change for hosts Qatar to appear in the gala game.[29][30]

At the final 2022 tournament, Qatar exited in the first round, losing all three of their matches.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Atkinson, Simon (11 January 2013). "Qatar turns to football for fame and fans". BBC News. Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  2. ^ "Qatar hopes to inspire more youngsters to play football". GulfNews. Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  3. ^ "How Qatar became a player in world soccer". ESPN. 23 December 2010. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  4. ^ Blickenstaff, Brian (14 September 2011). "Qatar Football Dreams: Is it a humanitarian project or a scheme to buy Africa's best players?". Slate. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  5. ^ Glenn Moore (22 March 2013). "Qatar targets historic feats on the pitch too – World Cup 2014 – Football". The Independent. Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  6. ^ "2021 FIFA Arab Cup: Participating teams, fixtures and all you need to know". 18 December 2021. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  7. ^ "FIFA Executive Committee confirms November/December event period for Qatar 2022". 19 March 2015. Archived from the original on 2019-06-19. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  8. ^ "Qatar to host 2023 Aisan Cup – Asian Football Confederation". Reuters. 17 October 2022. Archived from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  9. ^ "Qatar To Host 2023 Asian Cup Football: AFC". 17 October 2022. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  10. ^ "Football". Archived from the original on 2015-02-06. Retrieved 2021-09-24.
  11. ^ a b "History of football in Qatar". sc.qa. Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  12. ^ "Qatar Stars League attendances hit record high". Qatar Stars League. 23 Feb 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  13. ^ "The audience are reluctant to attend football matches at stadiums". qatarisbooming.com. 25 January 2014. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  14. ^ Amna Nasralla (11 February 2015). "Why People Do Not Attend Football Matches in Qatar". Qatar Sports Tanmiya. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  15. ^ "SC promotes engagement plan at stadium launch". Gulf Times. 23 April 2015. Archived from the original on 3 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  16. ^ Sara Al-Thani (11 February 2015). "Breaking Barriers". Qatar Sports Tanmiya. Archived from the original on 1 September 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  17. ^ "Qatar naturalisation plans annoy Blatter". ESPN FC. 8 March 2004. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  18. ^ "Qatar enjoy fruits of imported foreign talent". Asia One. 21 January 2011. Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  19. ^ "The football 'invaders from Brazil'". CNN. 19 January 2009. Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  20. ^ "Qatar clinch historic title". Asian Football Confederation. 1 February 2019. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  21. ^ "Here are the 32 teams in the 2022 FIFA World Cup". 14 June 2022. Archived from the original on 20 December 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  22. ^ "FIFA Executive Committee confirms November/December event period for Qatar 2022". FIFA. Archived from the original on June 19, 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  23. ^ "The Qatar World Cup is about to shatter colonial myths". Archived from the original on 2023-03-30. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
  24. ^ "World Cup inquiry clears Qatar but criticises English FA". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  25. ^ "FIFA Council appoints Qatar as host of the FIFA Club World Cup in 2019 and 2020". FIFA. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  26. ^ "FIFA President 'pleased' with progress in Qatar's labour reforms". 2022-03-17. Archived from the original on 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
  27. ^ "FIFA President and Qatar Minister of Labour meet to discuss progress of labour rights". 2022-03-15. Archived from the original on 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
  28. ^ "Infantino: Qatar 'not paradise' but World Cup seeing changes". Associated Press. 2022-03-29. Archived from the original on 2023-01-18. Retrieved 2022-09-16.
  29. ^ "FIFA advances World Cup by a day for Qatar". AFP. 12 August 2022. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022 – via Express Tribune.
  30. ^ "Qatar v. Ecuador to kick off FIFA World Cup 2022™ on 20 November". 11 August 2022. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
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