DOHA: Al Duhail on Monday were drawn to play Al Ahli in their opening Amir Cup match.

The two teams are part of the 16-team tournament set to begin later this month.

The Amir Cup ceremony was conducted by Qatar Football Association (QFA) at Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Monday.

In other fixtures, Qatar SC will take on Al Shamal, Al Wakrah will play Al Kharaitiyat and Al Rayyan will face off against Al Markhiya.

Al Gharafa will take on Al Shahaniya, Al Sadd will play Muaither, Al Sailiya have a date with Al Khor while Al Arabi will go head-to-head with Umm Salal.

The draw was held in the presence of Khaled Mubarak Al-Kuwari, Director of Marketing and Communications, QFA, Ali Hassan Al-Salat, Head of Communication Department, Ali Hammoud Al-Nuaimi, Head of the Competitions Department, and Hamad Al-Hajri, a member of the Competitions Committee, who conducted the draw ceremony with the participation of club officials.

The draw for the 49th Amir Cup is based on the rankings in the QNB Stars League and the Second Division League of the 2019-2020 season.

Teams Al-Duhail, Al-Rayyan, Sadu, Al-Gharafa, Al-Sailiya, Al-Wakra, Al-Arabi and Qatar SC were placed in Group A as the top eight sides from the First Division.

Al-Ahli, Umm Salal, Al-Khor and Al-Shahaniya were slotted with top three teams from the Second Division Al-Kharaitiyat, Al-Markhiya and Al-Shamal teams in addition to Muaither.

The 2021 Amir Cup is beginning earlier than usual. The country’s most popular tournament will conclude with a final that will be announced later.

Last month, Al Sadd beat Al Arabi 2-1 at brand new 2022 World Cup venue Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium to win the 2020 Amir Cup title.