Football stars participate in SOP competitions
Doha, February 27 , 2019 – On Tuesday the Aspire Academy indoor stadium hosted the quarterfinal matches of the SOP football competitions for primary schools, level two.
Tuesday’s football competitions have seen considerable attention and distinctive attendance from some senior sport officials, including Qatar Olympic Committee Secretary-General, HE Jassim Al-Buenain and HE Rabia Al Kaabi, the President of Qatar School Sports Association (QSSA), Ali Al-Hitmi, QSSA Secretary-General and President of the SOP Organizing Committee, Saeed al-Marri, Director of Football Affairs, Aspire Academy as well as Captain Fahd Thani al-Zarra, Chairman of the Football Development Committee of the Qatar Football Federation.
Alongside the SOP football competitions for primary schools (boys), Tuesday’s program has also witnessed friendly game between Qatar former and veteran footballers which ended with 1-1 draw.
A large number of former football stars, who have made achievements in various championships, participated in the match. Among them were: Mubarak Mustafa, Ahmed Khalil, Ibrahim Al-Ghanim, Abdullah Jassim, Hussein Al-Rumaihi, Abdul Aziz Hassan, Zamil Al Kuwari, Khaled Saleh, Ibrahim Al-Rumaihi, Wissam Rizk, Mohammed Ghulam, Mishal Mubarak and Bilal Abdulrahman as well as HE Jassim Al Buainain, QOC Secretary-General.
Having been the Gulf Cup two-time champions, football veterans demostrated technical skills of a high level what have impressed the younder generation football players.
National team veterans were divided into two teams. White clad team had Ahmed Khalil as the goalkeeper, Mubarak Mubaraki, Abdullah Jassim, Ibrahim Al-Rumaihi, Jassim Al-Buainain, Zamil Al-Kuwari and Khalid Saleh. The second team, dressed in «Al-Annabi» color, was presented by Hussein Al-Rumaihi as the goalkeeper, and Wissam Rizk, Muhammed Ghulam, Mishal Mubarak, Ibrahim Al-Ghanim, Bilal Abdul Rahman and Abdul Aziz Hassan.
After the festival, national team veterans fans attentively watched matches of a younger generation in order to select the best ones and give them an easier access to national clubs in Qatar. All the sport officials who attanded these matches marked out a great technical level and considerable talents of young football players.
In order to promote a healthy lifestyle and encourage student to practice sport activities all the SOP competitions are attended and controlled by referees accredited by Qatar Football Association who spare no effort to spot young talented players and give them an opportunity to compete on behalf of Qatar national teams internationally in the future.
Jassim Rashid Al-Buainain, QOC Secretary-General said: «Everyone was moved by the love and passion for sport demonstrated by school students. Alsowe are delighted to work in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and the Aspire Academy.»
QOC Secretary-General also commented: «In this year’s edition there are twelve sport activities including team and individual ones; we are really pleased to see a higher number of partricipating schools.»
HE Jassim Al-Buainain stated: «The highest aim of the Schools Olympic Program is to create a healthy environment for all the participants.»
Speaking about the participation of Qatar national team veterans, QOC Secretary-General added: «I thank them for their kind presence and performance they showed to all of us. We have noticed how enthusiastic the students were while watching the matches and taking pictures with football stars and I expect this will motivate more children to practice sport.»
In his remarks on Al-Annabi triumph in the Asian Cup, HE Jassim Al Buainain stated: «This is a kind of consolidation of our previous successes. This victory has helped a lot in attracting large numbers of people, both children and elder generations to do sports what was clearly illustrated during the National Sport Day celebration.»
In conclusion, HE Jassim Al- Buainain praised the role and the immense support provided by HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in developing sports in the state of Qatar.
The SOP is held annually as a collaborative effort of Qatar School Sports Federation (QSSF) and Ministry of Education and Higher Education, with hundreds of student athletes competing from all over Qatar.
The SOP committee aims to spread a culture of sports throughout Qatar’s schools and to engage the entire community in active and healthy lifestyles while retaining local values and traditions.