Qatar Football AssociationNews
01.11.2017 6:37 in : &

Doha:  The Qatar Football Association (QFA) has signed a five-year cooperation agreement with its Iraqi counterpart at the Al Bidda Tower in Doha, Qatar.

The agreement stipulates the exchange of expertise and knowledge between the two associations in different areas including marketing, technical development, youth teams, national teams, women football, grassroots and sports medicine.

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, President of the QFA and Abdulkhaleq Masoud, President of the IFA signed the agreement on Tuesday 31st October.

The signing ceremony for renewal of agreement was attended by Saoud Al Mohannadi, Vice President of the QFA, and Ali Dawood, Executive Director of the QFA President office.

Following the signing ceremony, a meeting was held between Saoud Al Mohannadi, Vice President of the QFA and the IFA delegation to endorse the terms of the agreement cooperation between the two FAs and discuss the existing bilateral relations between the two countries and matters of mutual interest.

The upcoming period will witness the establishment of a joint working group which will study the legal frameworks in detail in order to activate the agreement. A plan of action will also be prepared, which will include a report on the most important achievements, schedule of activities and events that will bring together the two associations in the coming period. The agreement is also set to establish a framework to strengthen cooperation between both associations and to enhance football growth and development in the two countries.

The purpose of this agreement will see both associations invest in the brotherly and bilateral relations between the two countries and further explore areas of mutual interest.

The agreement includes many aspects related to football development and ways to enhance it to serve the game in both countries. Both organisations discussed the importance of this cooperation which seeks to have a direct positive impact on the development of the game at all levels in the coming period.

Abdul Khaleq Masoud, President of the IFA expressed his happiness with the signing of the cooperation agreement with the QFA and emphasized on the great role played by the QFA at the Asian, Gulf, Arab and international level and its strong relationship with various federations. He also thanked the QFA President and QFA Vice President for their great support which culminated in the signing of this agreement.
He said: “The renewal of this agreement is just a formality as our deep rooted relationship with the QFA has been in place for many years. IFA and QFA signed a cooperation agreement back in 2015 and today’s five-year renewal demonstrates our distinguished relations with QFA. This fruitful cooperation will flourish in the coming period which will result in long-term projects in different fields. The agreement includes many important items and the most important element of the cooperation is the emphasis on the exchange of experience and the establishment of training camps and friendly matches for the first team, olympic and age group teams. There will also be training courses for referees and camps for coaches.”

He added: “Our relations with Qatar have been in place for many years. Qatar is our home, which we (national teams) play continuously in. All of our national teams and age group teams’ matches are being hosted in Qatar and we thank them for their continued support and hospitality towards the Iraqi football teams and officials.”