Qatar Football AssociationCSR
03.12.2017 7:10 in : &

Doha:  Qatar University (QU) won the University League 2017-18 for the fifth consecutive time after beating Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ) 1-0 in the last minute of an exciting final match at Qatar Foundation’s (QF’s) Recreation Center Pitch 1 this weekend. Scoring the only goal of the match in the 24th minute of the second half was by QU’s Abdullah Al Majed.

Additionally, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q) beat Qatar Aeronautical College (QAC) in the league’s third-place playoff which took place earlier in the night, with a final score of 4-3.

An award ceremony was held to honor the first, second, and third place teams, along with the Qatar Football Association (QFA) referees. QU received a cash prize of QAR 30,000, while TAMUQ and CMU-Q received QAR 20,000 and QAR 15,000 respectively.

The ceremony was attended by Hilal Al Mohannadi, Chairman of the Sub-Leagues Committee, QFA; Dr. Khalid Al Khanji, Vice President for Student Affairs at Qatar University; Mohammed Fakhroo, Director of Community Outreach and Community Development at Qatar Foundation; Ali Al Salat, Head of Media and Communications at the Qatar Football Association; and Fahad Al Darwish, Recreation Service Supervisor at Qatar Foundation.

The University League is a joint collaboration between the QFA and QF and supports both organizations’ desire to encourage young people to play more organized football and lead a more active lifestyle.

The University League this year kicked-off on 19 October and matches were played on Thursdays and Saturdays, with the semi-finals and final match played on Thursdays. A total of 29 matches were played throughout the league and matches were played in two 25-minute halves with a 10-minute half-time.
Hilal Al Mohannadi, Chairman of the Sub-Leagues Committee at QFA, commented: “I would like to congratulate Qatar University for winning the title of the 2017-18 University League for the fifth time in a row, as well as Texas A&M University at Qatar and Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar for earning the second and third place team honors respectively. It was truly a thrilling final match and both teams played their best until the last minute of the match.

“We look forward to launching the sixth edition of the University League with Qatar Foundation and hope more colleges and universities come on board to be part of this exciting tournament. The University League is an example of QFA’s commitment to nurturing a football culture among the youth, and providing a platform for the youth to be able to play organized football.”

He added: “I would like to thank our partners for the invaluable support they provide the league and for actively being involved in adding a benefit to community football.”

Mohammed Fakhroo, Director of Community Outreach at QF, commented: “We are delighted once again to support this fantastic sporting event here in Education City. We send our most sincere congratulations to the winning Qatar University team, and to all of teams and individuals who took part. The University League is an important event in our calendar, as it promotes our objective of encouraging healthy lifestyles among the wider community and provides an excellent platform for students to develop as athletes and to network with each other.”

The fifth University League brought nine colleges and universities from across Qatar to compete in the one-month competition. The universities were divided into two groups in the draw which took place in October, with five teams in Group A and four teams in Group B. Defending champions QU were in group B with College of North Atlantic – Qatar, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, and QAC, while group A featured TAMUQ, Georgetown University in Qatar, Academic Bridge Program, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, and CMU-Q.

QU has won the most titles out of all the teams since the league’s launch in 2013, having won five consecutive titles.
The league is sponsored by the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy as the official strategic partner, Ooredoo as the official telecommunication partner, Qatar National Bank as the exclusive financial partner, Nike as the official supplier, and Al Kass Sports Channels as the official broadcaster.