Football’s importance in Qatar has increased in recent years due to multiple developments; Qatar's hosting the 2022 world cup, Qatar's winning the Asian Cup in 2019 and the participation of Qatar in Copa America 2019. All these achievements have risen the interest in the sport internationally and nationally. However, many may not be aware of the different leagues in Qatar that help qualify teams to championships. This article will introduce you to the four football leagues in Qatar.
Featuring 12 teams, QNB Stars League is the highest professional league in Qatar. The first season was played in 1963 unofficially until the official season started in 1972. All the teams are required to compete in football until the top four teams are selected. The top four enter the Qatar Cup which was formed in 1994. The winner gets the Qatar Cup and the team with the most wins so far is Al Sadd holding 13 titles.
Before teams get to the QNB Stars League they must take part in the Second Division League. This league follows a triple round-robin format. What this means is that six teams will participate in a 15-week long league to determine who gets promoted to the QNB Star League. The teams who do not win will have a play-off match in order to determine who the last team to enter the QNB Stars League will be.
This league was implemented at the start of the 2017/2018 sports season. It was inaugurated by the Qatar Football Association in order to help prepare young players to play across the country. It is a 12-team league which lasts for 22 weeks meaning that the young players will be in 132 matches.
Futsal is a form of football played indoors and on a hard court surface. The winners of this league are automatically qualified for the AFC Futsal Club Championship. Since its initiation in 2007, the team with the most titles is Al-Rayyan with three wins.
The U-19 league is the below 19 age-group football competition in Qatar. 18 football clubs play each other twice leading to a total of 34 matches a season. Yearly, this league holds a cup competition which is played in a round robin format. Eventually the top teams enter the final stages.
Tell us what are your thoughts on these leagues? and don’t forget to like and share this article it keeps us going!
Information gathered from Qatar Football Association
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