(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
DOHA: World's best U-17 teams from 12 countries are set to compete in the 2019 Al Kass International Cup, starting today at Doha's Aspire Academy.
The event, which will continue till February 15 on the pitches of Aspire Academy, gives fans a chance to the best talent in the world.
Yesterday, the technical meeting with officials from all 12 teams was held at The Torch Hotel, one of the two official accommodation hotels for the tournament with the other being Al Aziziya Boutique Hotel.
Qatar's Aspire Academy will add local flavour to the tournament, which was last year won by Paris St. Germain (France), who now hold the record of being the only team to win three titles.
Other participating teams include Real Madrid (Spain), Kashiwa Reysol (Japan), Rangers FC (Scotland), Raja Club Athletic (Morocco), AS Roma (Italy), FC Bayern München (Germany), Altinordu FK (Turkey), Étoile Sportive du Sahel (Tunisia), FC Spartak Moscow (Russia) and Suwon Samsung Bluewings (South Korea).
The 2019 edition of the tournament has a couple of new features.
For the first time the video assistant referee (VAR) is going to be used to review decisions made by the head referee with the use of video footage and a headset for communication.
For the first time, the tournament will star female referees from all over the world. They are sent by FIFA to prepare them for 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup that takes place from June 7 to July 7, 2019 in France.
Ward Abdallah, Member of the Organising Committee of the Al Kass International Cup, said: 'We are honoured to welcome some of the world's top youth teams to Qatar to compete in the eighth Al Kass International Cup a tournament that grants young players an opportunity to showcase and enhance their football skills.
The first day of the tournament already offers many highlights: After the opening ceremony, taking place on Pitch 5 of Aspire Academy, the competition starts with the game between last year's finalists Paris Saint-Germain and Kashiwa Reysol at 4:35pm.
In the second match of Day 1, Qatar's Aspire Academy is facing Raja Club Athletic from Morocco at 6:45pm.
Official tournament sponsor Al Kass TV will broadcast all the games live with both Arabic and English commentaries.
Live streaming of all the matches will available on http://internationalcup.alkass.net.
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