The GOALZ programme which is funded by the Qatar Stars League (QSL) and run by Euphoria Sports was held at six schools in September.

By Sports Reporter/Doha


Al Gharafa and El Jaish face each other this weekend with both teams having won their previous matches at the Qatar Stars League. The Cheetahs beat Al Arabi 1-0 to go level on points with the Reds, having played one game less.
Jaish also bagged an important win with Abderrazak Hamdallah scoring just after the hour mark for the Soldiers againgst Al Kharaitiyat. They now sit in an uncharacteristically low 6th place in the league table and will be keen not to make more mistakes after an underwhelming start to their season.
El Jaish have won two and lost one game in their last three games, while Gharafa’s form is so far impeccable with three wins and no goals conceded.
Hamdallah has been a sensation for Jaish since joining in the summer. The Moroccan has scored four goals in four matches and has settled well and created a good understanding with fellow attacking players Wagner Ribeiro and Romarinho.
For Gharafa, however, injury worries have struck them early in the season. New signing Yassine Chikhaoui may not feature and Dioko is still recovering from a hamstring tear. The Cheetahs will therefore hope that winger Moayad Hassan, new signing Masoud Shojaei and veteran midfielder Lawrence Quaye will rise to the occasion.
Head to head, in the last five clashes, El Jaish has come out on top, with three wins, and one draw. Gharafa have only won once in a tight 2-1 home win last October.
Both coaches know the importance of this game. For Gharafa, a good start will reinforce if they can nick a win over one of the best teams in the league, as they look to get back to their previously high standards of years gone by.
El Jaish are a team who are always there or thereabouts come the end of the season but have failed to break the stranglehold that Sadd and Lekhwiya have over the league. On Sunday therefore, with Gharafa’s injury list growing and Jaish possessing plenty of quality throughout the team, the Cheetahs will potentially struggle.

New season of football  fun with launch of QSL GOALZ programme in Schools
One of the most enjoyable children’s football initiatives is back. The GOALZ programme which is funded by the Qatar Stars League (QSL) and run by Euphoria Sports was held at six schools in September.
The QSL GOALZ programme provides an engaging platform in which children are motivated to participate in football and encouraged to increase their physical activity. GOALZ runs each year from September until June across the country in Independent and International schools.  All coaching is delivered by a professional team of football coaches.
Key components of the programme are: Pre-school and after-school clubs, football coaching as part of school curriculum, QSL player and club visits to schools and  Football festivals. The football fun was launched for the new season at the following schools: Birla Primary, Compass International School, Lebanese School, Newton British Academy, TNG Ain Khalid and TNG Nuaija
There were 853 children involved, comprising 502 boys and 351 girls from the ages of 6 up to 12 years old. 24 sessions were carried out at the various participating schools with over 17 hours of high quality, fun and dedicated coaching provided by the GOALZ Programme staff. This year 30 schools will participate in the QSL initiative, and it is expected that over 20,000 students will have participated by the end of the season. This will translate into an incredible six thousand hours training completely free of charge, courtesy of the Qatar Stars League.