Doha: By sharing its expertise and experience on all levels, the Qatar Football Association (QFA) continues to strengthen its relations with fellow federations across the Asian continent. At the same time, it continues to carry out its responsibilities and duties towards these federations. In this context, the local organizing committee for the Joint Asian Qualifiers met with representatives of the ASEAN Federation to benefit from the considerable organizational expertise of the Qatar Football Association (QFA), particularly concerning the successful hosting of major tournaments during the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic by applying the "Covid-19 Training and Monitoring" program in cooperation with the Asian Football Confederation. The Federation deals with the pandemic in a highly professional manner, operating a unique preventive system called the "medical bubble" – employing the highest preventive measures in collaboration with all interested bodies, including the Ministry of Public Health. The hosting of the Indonesian and Philippine delegations comes within the framework of a cooperation agreement between the Qatar Football Association and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, "ASEAN", which consists of twelve (12) national federations: Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Timor Eastern, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, Laos. The ASEAN Federation organizes its tournament every two years with the participation of 10 teams, although the 2020 edition has been postponed until December 2021 due to COVID-19. It will be hosted by four countries, namely Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. The ASEAN Federation also sets its sights on benefiting from the experiences of the Qatar Football Association in preparing its file to bid to host the World Cup 2034, which is currently in research, and they will coordinate with the Qatar Football Association on this file before proceeding to governmental action. Fruitful cooperation and continuous participation This is not the first such collaboration; it was preceded by many fruitful partnerships between the parties, including two workshops in a series of "digital education" seminars organized by the Qatar Federation and the ASEAN Football Association, in collaboration with the Josoor Institute. These focused on developing football in the ASEAN region, and raising awareness of the need to combat fraud, match-fixing, betting and illegal threats – all of which may distort the integrity of the game. In addition, numerous other programs are organized with AFC, such as the secondment of football association employees from the football federations in Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines to attend last year's AFC Champions League matches hosted by Qatar – a program that proved highly successful. Excellent representation and great experiences The participation of the representatives of the ASEAN Federation during their stay in Doha was significant and highly pleasing – a reflection of their interest in benefiting from the Qatari experience. Seisha Marconi, Head of the National Teams Committee, and Souraiya Al-Haddar, Head of the International and Domestic Relations Department of the Indonesian Football Association, were present. Other participants including Coco Torre, Head of the Competitions Department, and Andrea Laurel, Head of Events, Projects and Club Licensing at the Philippine Football Federation. The representatives of both federations benefited from access to the organizational capabilities of the Qatar Football Association, through their presence at the residence of the local organizing committee at the "Al-Shula" hotel, per the medical bubble system. The program included: Attendance at qualifying matches.

• Field visits to Al Sadd Sports Club.
• Remote meetings with various teams and departments of the organizing committee.

Mansoor Al-Ansari: Qatar has become a global model in organizing tournaments during the Corona pandemic, and we value sharing our experiences On this occasion, Mr Mansoor Al-Ansari, the General Secretary of Qatar Football Association, stressed the importance of such participation, which enhances the exchange of experience between the Asian federations, within the framework of the cooperation agreement concluded with the ASEAN Football Association, which includes the pioneering Qatari experience in organizing tournaments during the pandemic period regarding how to contain Covid-19 during its global spread while organizing matches and enabling fans to return to stadiums. Mr Al-Ansari added: "The Qatar Football Association has good relations with all federations of the ASEAN region and constantly seeks to develop and strengthen the relationship with all friendly federations across the continent. Qatar Football Association has excellent experience in various aspects of the football system, not least as the association that will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. On the other hand, the ASEAN region has secured many achievements of its own from which the Qatar Federation can benefit, in addition to investing in friendship and distinguished relations to elevate football to higher horizons, which will bear fruit and enhance the continuous development of football in both Qatar and all bodies affiliated with the ASEAN Confederation. Great benefit and new compliments Equally, statements from the representatives of the Philippine and Indonesian Football Associations confirmed the significant role of the Qatar Football Association at all levels, appreciating the extent of interest from the local organizing committee, which provided the perfect facilities and environment for the sharing of expertise. And this was confirmed by Coco Torre, Head of the Competitions Department of the Philippine Football Association, saying: "The monitoring program organized by the Qatar Football Association and the AFC was so important and ideal for us, and we were very fortunate to witness and follow-up on match management processes and other related organizational issues in this unprecedented How The way in which the peer information and practical applications were presented was impressive, and we are very grateful to the Qatar Football Association for organizing this program, which we will undoubtedly benefit from – along with all ASEAN members." From his side, Andrea Laurel, Head of Events, Projects and Club Licensing at the Philippine Football Association, said: " We very much appreciate how effective and in extremely collaborative manner things were carried out, despite the movement restrictions and logistical challenges imposed by the bubble system. We were able to learn the precise and comprehensive strategies developed by the Qatar Football Association and the Supreme Committee, which I believe can be a blueprint, pillar and reference for the sports bubbles in the future. For this, we are very grateful and look forward to more rich participation and experience-sharing from the Qatar Football Association." On the Indonesian side, Souraiya Al-Haddar, Head of the International and Domestic Relations Committee of the Indonesian Football Association, said: "The experience was wonderful and very valuable, especially with regard to the implementation of the medical bubble system, this will all be helpful to us in the implementation of domestic and international competitions, especially when Indonesia hosts the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2023." From her side, Seisha Marcenti, the Head of the Indonesian Football Association National Teams Commdelightedd: "We are very happy and fortunate to have experienced real situations on the ground, witnessed how football competitions are conducted using the medical bubble system, and how this training program will provide us with the skills and knowledge necessary to safely manage the upcoming competitions in light of the spread of the Coronavirus, especially when Indonesia hosts the U-20 World Cup FIFA in 2023. We appreciate the great professionalism of the representatives of the Qatar Football Association and the Local Organizing Committee as they prepare to host a wonderful 2022 FIFA World Cup, and we look forward to continued fruitful and constructive cooperation in the future." Perfect hosting and global organization It is worth noting that the Local Organizing Committee for the Joint Asian Qualifiers allowed 30% attendance of the Group E matches of the Joint Asian qualifiers for the 2023 Asian Cup in China and the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. It was held with the participation of the teams (Qatar - Oman - India - Afghanistan - Bangladesh) through gatherings in Doha in the period from June 3 to 15, 2021, and hosted by Jassim bin Hamad Stadium at Al Sadd Sports Club, in line with the instructions of the Ministry of Public Health, according to the plan to gradually lift the restrictions recently imposed in the country in several stages, to limit the spread of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) – especially in the extent to which it relates to local and international sporting events where, mass attendance is permitted outdoors in limited numbers, provided that the vaccination has been obtained. The strict health protocol was applied in the qualifiers, using the medical bubble system to preserve the health and safety of all participants - from teams and organizers to media representatives - especially after the great success witnessed by the application of the health protocol on previous occasions, such as the Asian Champions League, the 48th edition of the Emir's Cup, and the Club World Cup in its last two editions – as well as the Total CAF Super Cup 2020, which was held recently. The health protocol included providing complete medical services to participants – whether in accommodation, training or stadiums – field services and ambulance services around the clock. Precautionary measures covered all activities and situations, both on and off the field of play.