The draw ceremony for the seventh University League – organised by the Qatar Football Association (QFA) and Qatar Foundation for Education (QF) – was held today at QF’s Multaqa (Education City Student Center).

The 2019-2020 league, which will see twelve colleges and universities from across Qatar compete, is to be divided into two groups of six teams, and will run from Thursday, 17^th October, to Saturday, 23^rd November, at QF’s pitch 4.

This year’s teams include QF member Hamad Bin Khalifa University; QF partner universities Georgetown University in Qatar, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, Northwestern University in Qatar, Texas A&M University at Qatar, Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar, and Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar; Academic Bridge Program – part of QF’s Pre-University Education; Qatar Aeronautical College; Ahmed Bin Mohammed Military College; Qatar University; and College of the North Atlantic – Qatar.

The results of the draw revealed that Group A teams include: Georgetown University in Qatar, Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar, Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, College of the North Atlantic – Qatar and Qatar University.

Group B teams include: Qatar Aeronautical College, Northwestern University in Qatar, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Ahmed Bin Mohammed Military College, Texas A&M University at Qatar and Academic Bridge Program.

Khalid Al Rumaihi, Member of the Subsidiary League Committee at QFA, expressed his delight at launching the upcoming University League through organising the draw ceremony for the new season.

Al Rumaihi confirmed that the league is known for its continued competitiveness throughout the season, and that the title is not identified until the last weeks of the league.

“The seventh University League shows the fruitful partnership that the QFA and QF have developed over the previous years in organising the tournament. The University League is an illustration of our ongoing commitment to spread the culture of the most popular sport in the world, specifically among young people at university level. We are looking forward to activating more of this successful partnership in the coming period, especially after achieving positive and tangible results at all levels during the previous seasons,” said Al Rumaihi.

“I want to especially thank all our sponsors and partners in ensuring the success of the league by providing tremendous support over the previous years and their continued commitment towards the development of football.”

Amy Johnson, Community Engagement Director, QF, said: “We are delighted to once again be partnering with the Qatar Football Association to host the University League. This league is providing university and college students across Qatar a high quality sports platform for them to continue to develop skills in football. We are looking forward to an exciting tournament, and seeing who will be crowned this year’s winner.”

The league will consist of 34 matches held over five weekends, allowing players to focus on study commitments. Games will be played on Thursdays and Saturdays. The semi-finals will be held on Thursday 21 November, while the 3^rd place decider match and the final will be played on Saturday 23 November.

The University League is an illustration of QFA and QF’s ongoing commitment to nurture a football culture in Qatar, specifically among young people.

Qatar University holds a unique record as it has won all previous six titles to date, making it the sole winner of the league since its commencement.

Established in 2013, the league is sponsored by Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy as the official strategic partner, Qatar National Bank as the exclusive financial partner, Nike as the official supplier, and Al Kass Sports Channels as the official broadcaster.

Source: Press release

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Binu Cherian

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