(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
QNA
Doha: Qatari football clubs and national teams are gearing up for a busy schedule in the 2024-2025 season, which will feature both domestic and international engagements.
Kicking off on August 9, the new season will take off with the Ooredoo Stars League, followed by the Qatar Cup, and the Amir Cup.
The season's calendar will also include the preliminary rounds of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League in August, as well as the 3rd stage of the AFC Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Qatari clubs will face new challenges when it comes to AFC competitions, when Qatar's league champions, Al Sadd, and the runner-up, Al Rayyan, through two direct spots, make their entry into the AFC Champions League Elite, which will see 24 clubs compete, with each club playing against eight opponents within their region, in four home and four away matches.
The group stage will take place from September 16, 2024 to February 19, 2025. The Round of 16 will be held from March 3-12, with the final stage taking place from April 25 to May 4.
Ranking third domestically, Al Gharafa will take part in the preliminary round, facing the winner of the match between Iran's Sepahan FC and UAE's Shabab Al Ahli at Al Bayt Stadium on August 13. Winning teams in the preliminary round advance directly to the league stage, while losing teams move to the AFC Champions League 2 group stage.
Al Wakrah, ranked fourth in the QSL last season, hopes to achieve good results in their group stage journey in the AFC Champions League 2 tournament, which features thirty-two clubs competing in the group stage from September 16, 2024, to February 19, 2025.
Al Arabi will participate in the Gulf Cooperation Council Club Cup which is to be held from September 24 to April 25, 2025.
Meanwhile, Qatar will compete in the third round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, after the draw placed it in Group A, alongside the teams of Iran, Uzbekistan, the UAE, Kyrgyzstan, and North Korea.
The team will begin their matches by facing UAE in Doha on Sep. 5, after which they will face North Korea away on Sep. 10, before facing the Kyrgyzstan at home on Oct. 10, then heading to Tehran to face Iran away on Oct. 15. It will then host the Uzbek national team in Doha on Nov. 14 at the end of the first round.
Qatar team will begin the second round by facing the UAE away on Nov. 19, before hosting North Korea on March 20, 2025. Then the team will meet the Kyrgyz team on Nov. 25 and return to host Iran on June 5, 2025. The team will conclude the third round by facing the Uzbek national team away in Tashkent on June 10.
Next season, the Qatar team will also participate in the Gulf Cup (Gulf 26), scheduled in Kuwait from Dec 21, 2024, to Jan. 3, 2025.
Following the resounding success of organizing the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Doha will be on the verge of an important event in 2025, after FIFA decided to assign the organization of the next five editions of the U-17 World Cup to Qatar, with the participation of 48 teams for the first time. The tournament will be held annually until 2029.
Qatar will host the Group F qualifiers for the 2025 AFC U-17 Championship, which will be held between Oct. 19 - 27, 2024, where the draw was drawn for the Qatar junior national team alongside Japan, the defending champion and four times winner of the tournament, and both the Mongolia and Nepal national teams. The Qatar U-20 team will participate in the AFC U20 Asian Cup China 2025 in Group J alongside Jordan, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Doha will host the group qualifiers from Dec. 21-29, 2024.
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