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Football in Qatar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Football is the most popular sport in Qatar.[1][2][3][4] Football in Qatar is organized by the Qatar Football Association (QFA).[5]
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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]
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History
Summarize
Perspective
Origins
Football was introduced to the country in 1948 when oil workers organized a match among themselves.[10] The first football club Al-Najah was established in 1950. 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]
Early years
With growing interest among youth and communities, eventually a league was formed. The league known as the "QSL" was formed in 1960 and the first league season was launched in 1963–64. League matches were played in Doha Stadium, But it wasn't until the 1972–73 season where the league officially started. The league titles in the 1960s were dominated by clubs like Al-Maref,Al-Oruba,Al Sadd, etc. The Doha Stadium held and accommodated the first grass football pitch in the gulf region.[11] Alongside several youth events which Qatari footballers like Badr Bilal, Ibrahim Khalfan, Khalid Salman, Mansour Muftah, Mubarak Faraj participated in. One of the most notable matches in the stadium was when Al Ahli played Santos in 1973 with the visitors winning 3-0, The santos side included the legendary Pelé alongside players such as Carlos Alberto, Edu, Clodoaldo. Due to the growing interest in Qatar for Football,
Emergence
The "QFA" also known as the "Qatar Football Association" was formed in 1960. And in 1963 The federation joined FIFA. Eventually also joining the AFC in 1967. The Qatar national football team was also formed and debuted in the 1970 Gulf Cup. Qatar's Youth Investment paid off in the 1981 FIFA World Youth Cup finishing as runners-up behind West Germany. With a catalogue of young players the team they soon participated in the 1984 Summer Olympics. Qatar then participated in the 1984 AFC Asian Cup and the 1986 Gulf Cup. They played in the 1988 AFC Asian Cup with a memorable win over Japan by 3 goals to nil.
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Spectatorship
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.[12] 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.[13]
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.[14] The program involves seeking the opinion and advice of people in majlises, as well as encouraging large-scale community involvement, particularly by women.[15]
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Most successful teams
National team
The Qatar national team has had limited international success and has often been accused of abusing naturalisation laws to acquire players.[16][17][18] However, they did win the Arabian Gulf Cup three times and won back-to-back AFC Asian Cup titles in 2019 and 2023.[19] The side also participated in the 2022 FIFA World Cup as hosts.[20]
Women's national team
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FIFA World Cup
In 2010, Qatar won the bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, becoming the first Arab country to host the tournament.[21][22] Following a controversy over bidding, a report by FIFA cleared Qatar’s name from all allegations.[23]
In June 2019, the FIFA Council announced Qatar as the host of 2019 FIFA Club World Cup and 2020 FIFA Club World Cup.[24]
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."[25][26][27]
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.[28][29]
At the final 2022 tournament, Qatar exited in the first round, losing all three of their matches.
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See also
References
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