DOHA: The Qatar Football Association (QFA) President, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al Thani received the Qatar U-23 national team today 5 February to honour the players after they secured third place in the AFC U-23 Championship which was held in China from 9 to 27 January.

The ceremony was attended by Ivan Bravo, Director General of Aspire Academy, Saeed Al Misnad, Technical Advisor of the National Teams Department of QFA, Talal Al Kaabi, Project Manager of the European Project for Players at Aspire Academy, the technical staff led by Spanish coach Felix Sanchez, Ali Al Salat, QFA Head of Media, the stars of the Olympic team who achieved the great achievement of getting third place in Asia, and Almoez Ali, the 21-year-old Al Duhail striker who scored six goals in the championship and was named top scorer award at the AFC U-23 Championship China 2018.

At the beginning of the ceremony, QFA President welcomed all the stars of the Annabi Olympic team as well as the technical and administrative staff, and congratulated them for achieving the great achievement of winning Asian U-23 bronze.

Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al Thani, President of the Qatar Football Association (QFA) said: “We wanted to compete and win the title but our Olympic team did their best and worked hard and earned third place in the championship.

He added: “The bronze medal is the beginning of the road and not the end of it. There is a large number of players in the Olympic team, who we will depend on, along with the youth team players who will take part to the next AFC U-23 Championship, which will allow them to potentially qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, another significant milestone. I hope they will win the next championship and qualify for the Olympics. The achievement obtained in China for Qatari football has been the result of the hard work and effort of the technical and administrative staff as well as the players.”

Ivan Bravo, Director General of Aspire Academy thanked the President of QFA for honouring the Olympic team and said: “The support of the QFA under the leadership of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani is one of the reasons for this success and the reasons for achieving third place in Asia.”

He also demanded that the players of the Olympic team continue their diligence and commitment to their country, Qatar, and to make the country proud at the continental and international level.

Felix Sanchez, Head Coach said: “This team includes a large number of promising players who have a bright future, and that is what touched him through his work with them. The players showed great performance during the championships notably that after the tragedy against Vietnam in the semi-finals penalty shootout, they quickly regained their balance and stood on their feet again to win the third and fourth place match.”

Saeed Al Misnad also thanked the QFA President for his support for the team and his interest in this distinguished group of players.

He said: “The players of the Olympic team have made a great effort to achieve this achievement for their country, but at the same time they must showcase ongoing effort to continue the journey.”