By Sports Reporter/Doha


Aspire Banks League concluded its third week with exciting competition between participating banks. Qatar International Islamic Bank crushed Commercial Bank 7-0, while Qatar Islamic Bank defeated the International Bank of Qatar 2-1.
On the same day, Qatar National Bank achieved a 3-2 win against Masraf Al Rayyan, while Al Ahli Bank closed the day with 3-1 win over Al Khaliji Bank.
Day two of the competitions witnessed another set of thrilling matches, when Doha Bank scored six goals against Qatar Development Bank, who was only able to return two. Barwa Bank won 4-2 against Standard Chartered, and week three concluded with a strong performance by Qatar Central Bank who scored a dozen goals in its meet against HSBC.
With the above results, Qatar National Bank maintains its position at the top of the rankings with nine points, followed by Qatar Islamic Bank and Barwa Bank. Commenting on the progression of the league, Abdullah al-Khater, Events Manager at Aspire Zone Foundation, said: “We are pleased with the level of participation in the Aspire Banks League, which has been marked by exciting and friendly competition between the teams. The idea behind the league is to offer banking employees the opportunity to interact and communicate out of the office environment, and this stems from our continued efforts to offer the community and various business sectors the space to exercise and be active.  Our objective is to be a destination for all athletes and sport enthusiasts, and encourage people to stay fit and healthy.”
Jassim al-Baker, Assistant Director of Administrative Affairs at Qatar Central Bank, said: “The Aspire Banks League is an ideal platform to strengthen the relationship between banking employees through sport, and help them unleash their talents and skills. We are always keen to encourage employees to seize every opportunity that contributes in fulfilling this goal. Additionally, the Aspire Banks League is an example of the fruitful cooperation between the public and private sector in spreading the culture of fitness amongst the community. I would like to extend our sincere appreciation to Aspire Zone Foundation for its ongoing efforts in organising and hosting such events, and we look forward to future activities.”
Running between October 2015 and February 2016, the league is being played out between 14 participating banks with a total of 91 matches due to be played. Games are held every Saturday and Sunday.