DOHA: Qatar University (QU) took top honors in the University League 2016-17 when they beat Qatar Aeronautical College (QAC) 5-0 in a thrilling final at Qatar Foundation’s Recreation Center Pitch 1 this weekend. Additionally, Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) beat Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) in the league’s third place playoff, with a final score of 2-0. An award ceremony was held to honor the first, second, and third place teams, along with the Qatar Football Association (QFA) referees. Three special prizes worth QAR 5,000 each were presented, including Best Goalkeeper (Omar Al Ansari from NU-Q), Top Scorer (Eslam Yassin Elsherif from QAC), and Best Player (Abdullah Al Majed from QU). QU received a cash prize of QAR 40,000, while QAC and NU-Q received QAR 30,000 and QAR 20,000 respectively. The ceremony was attended by Hilal Al Mohannadi, Chairman of the School and University League Committee in QFA; Mohammed Al Soud, Head of Recreation Services at QF, and Ali Al Mahmoud, Acting Community Engagement Manager from the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy. Hilal Al Mohannadi commented: “Congratulations to Qatar University for winning the title of the University League for the fourth time. We look forward to collaborating with Qatar Foundation next year for the fifth edition of this exciting tournament. I would like to thank the sponsors for their continued support to help develop the league.” He added: “The University League is an example of QFA’s commitment to nurturing a football culture among the youth, and encouraging young people to adopt healthy lifestyles through playing football.” The fourth University League brought together eight colleges and universities from across Qatar to compete for the championship title. Group A included Qatar University, Texas A&M University at Qatar, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, and Qatar Aeronautical College; while Group B included Northwestern University in Qatar, University of Calgary in Qatar, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar, and College of the North Atlantic – Qatar. Sponsored by the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy as the Strategic Partner, the University League is a joint collaboration between the Qatar Football Association (QFA) and Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) and was launched in 2013.