The success of Qatar’s players in the Asian Football Confederation Under-19 Championship has triggered off a massive buzz of excitement in the country, with many believing the team has the nucleus around which Qatar’s squad for the FIFA World Cup in 2022 could be built.

Qatar have never played in the FIFA World Cup finals, but being hosts in 2022 they won’t be required to go through the daunting qualifying process. It’s a win-win situation for the hosts, which they should aim to exploit.

Most of the players who played in the recent Asian event in Myanmar are between the ages of 16 and 19, which means they will be at the peak of their talents and ready for the big occasion in 2022.

Of course, anything could happen in eight years: some players could simply fade away after showing great initial promise, while some could get injured and bow out of the game prematurely. Indeed, stories about youngsters failing to cope with expectations or having their careers cut short because of injuries are not uncommon in sport.

It’s here that sports authorities in Qatar have to be careful. They should support the team with proper guidance without burdening them with expectations. With proper trainers and coaches they could turn out to be an extremely competitive side at the world level. It would be also of great help if a team of sports psychologists – or mind coaches – are hired to keep them mentally fit.

The role of the Aspire Academy in the team’s success at the Asian Competition also deserves special mention. Many of the players are products of Qatar’s prestigious facility which came into existence 10 years ago. Its efforts are bearing fruit and many more promising players can be expected to join the line-up.

Qatar’s football players have often shown great promise in the past but have failed to realise their full potential. Hopefully, this bunch of youngsters can all the way.

A needless death

South Africa is in shock after its national football captain was killed by armed intruders during a robbery on Sunday night.

Senzo Meyiwa, 27, was shot dead by burglars who broke into the house of his pop-star girlfriend Kelly Khumalo, thus cutting short the promising career of a player who had gained fame with a string of brilliant performances as a goalkeeper recently.

South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma led the nation in voicing outrage at the attack and promised to leave no stone unturned in bringing the culprits to book.

 “Words cannot express the nation’s shock at this loss,” he said.

There are reports suggesting that Meyiwa was targeted by the match-fixing mafia who were unhappy with his excellent performances in the goal during the African Cup qualifiers. It’s something that cannot be ruled out.

Violent crime in South Africa is not a rarity – indeed 17,000 people were murdered last year, but it will be long before the nation forgets this tragedy.

Meyiwa was a hero to many and his violent death has no doubt shattered his family, friends and fans. Our thoughts go out to them in their hour of grief.