The Aspire Embassies Futsal Tournament concluded Saturday following a final between the embassies of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan. The UAE secured the title with a 6-3 victory.
The match was attended by Aspire Zone Foundation president Hilal al-Kuwari, Jordan’s ambassador Zahi al-Smadi, Consul at the UAE Embassy Ham al-Raashedi, Protocol Department assistant director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Abdulaziz al-Neima, and other representatives of the participating embassies.
Jordan opened the scoring early on only for the UAE to equalise moments later. Jordan then took the lead a second time, but once again the UAE equalised. The UAE took the lead shortly after, with the first half ending 3-2.
The second half started strong and expectations began to build that Jordan might score, which they did to draw level at 3-3.
The enthusiastic crowd played a big part in driving the teams on, loudly cheering their support for the players throughout the game.
The fight for the title continued until the closing stages of the match, during which the UAE was able to edge ahead with another goal taking the game to 4-3.
The Jordanian team’s efforts to level were unsuccessful and the UAE managed to score two further goals in the dying minutes of the match to seal the title.
Al-Kuwari awarded the UAE with the title of the tournament, while al-Neima awarded Jordan with the runners-up title. AZF Events manager Abdullah al-Khater awarded Somalia with the third place title.
Commenting on the tournament, al-Khater said: “The aim of organising such a tournament is to enhance ties between members of the community working in different sectors of the economy. The Aspire Embassies Futsal Tournament and the Aspire Banks League are great examples of this.”
He added: “At Aspire Zone Foundation, we are keen to encourage all members of the community to adopt healthy lifestyles through the different programmes of activity we organise year-round. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the success of this tournament, especially the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the participating embassies and the Qatar Football Association”.
Al-Smadi expressed his delight with the organisation of such a tournament involving embassies in Qatar, saying: “We would like to thank Aspire Zone Foundation and the organisers for their efforts in making the tournament a success in every respect, maintaining our very high opinion of the Foundation’s activities. Such tournaments are important because they highlight the many positive benefits of taking part, not only related to sport, but also encompassing cultural and social aspects too. We look forward to taking part in the next edition.”
Al-Raashedi added: “This tournament is truly unique, as it represents an opportunity for a wide range of employees from embassies in Qatar to practice sport and connect with one another in an informal setting. We are proud of our win, and we would like to thank Aspire Zone Foundation for the great success of this event. We look forward to taking part in such events in the future.”
The Aspire Embassies Futsal Tournament kicked off last November featuring 18 embassies including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Jordan, Syria, France, Portugal, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Russia, Spain, Mexico, the United States, Algeria, Tunisia, India, Ethiopia and Kenya.