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ArticleMainBodyHTML1: ​Doha, May 22 (QNA) - This weekend marks the culmination of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Developments Passport to Passion challenge. The event will take place at the Awsaj Academy pitch at Qatar Foundations main campus on Friday, 24 May and Saturday, 25 May, and will provide another opportunity for youngsters to demonstrate their footballing prowess.
The Passport to Passion series is part of the Passion Drives Us All initiative that is designed around Qatar Foundations partnership with FC Barcelona. Over the last few weeks, hundreds of players have participated in the weekend challenges and shared this special experience with family and friends. The sessions continue to demonstrate Qatar Foundations commitment to community development through the promotion of a healthy lifestyle.
The fifth and final challenge, which is being held from 4pm to 6pm each day, promises to be even more fast-paced and entertaining for youngsters and their families. Footballers aged between 5 and 15 will have the opportunity to perfect a number of essential footballing skills, including ball control, obstacles courses, passing accuracy, coordination, and heading ability.
They will then get the chance to express themselves in a five-a-side competition, designed to test every attendees endurance, agility and overall technical skills on the pitch. Professional trainers will once again be on hand to provide support to individual teams.
Participants will also be expected to work as part of a team and to demonstrate a spirit of sportsmanship during a testing sequence of relay races that will challenge their resilience and determination. Players will be required to dribble the ball, stop it with the sole of their foot, run and tag another team member, and race back to retrieve the ball before finally dribbling it back.
In keeping with the programmes primary objective of reaching out to young people, the Passport to Passion finale aims to unite young football enthusiasts. The series has been created to instill fundamental values of perseverance, dedication, teamwork, and a positive can-do attitude in youth.
Participants from all previous "Passport to Passion" events are encouraged to attend this weekend’s activities at which giveaways will be distributed at a fun-filled family event. (QNA)

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ArticleMainBodyHTML1: ​Doha, May 22 (QNA) - Qatars Lekhwiya held off a second-half fight back from Saudi Arabias Al Hilal to advance to the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League for the first time following a 2-2 draw in Wednesday’s second leg.
After fellow Qatar Stars League sides El Jaish and Al Gharafa were both eliminated in the Round of 16 on Tuesday, Senegalese striker Issiar Dia added to Lekhwiyas one-goal first leg advantage after just 14 minutes of the return fixture before defender Mohamed Musa netted his first goal of the campaign at the start of the second half.
Two-time Asian champions Al Hilal, though, hit back through Salman Al Faraj just after the hour mark before Mohammed Al Shalhoubs 78th minute penalty set-up a tense finale at Lekhwiya Club Stadium.
But Lekhwiya survived to take their place in Junes quarter-final draw to go some way to make up for seeing their two-year reign as Qatar champions ended this season having exited in the group stage of their maiden AFC Champions League campaign last season.
 
With a slender one-goal cushion following last week’s first leg in Riyadh, Lekhwiya needed just 14 minutes to double their advantage as Dia wrong-footed Al Hilal defender Majed Al Marshadi inside the area following a pass from first leg goalscorer Youssef Msakni before guiding the ball past Al Hilal goalkeeper Abdullah Al Sdairy into the bottom corner.
 And Nam Tee-hee was unfortunate not to double Lekhwiyas lead just six minutes later as the Korea Republic international rocked the Al Hilal crossbar with a first time effort from the edge of the area following Dias pull back.
 Nam again went close two minutes before the break as the midfielders half volley was beaten away by Al Hilal goalkeeper Al Sdairy following patient build up from the home side.
 With Al Hilal coach Zlatko Dalic introducing both midfielder Al Shalhoub and Korean striker Yoo Byung-soo at half-time in attempt to rescue Al Hilals campaign, the visitors finally tested Lekhwiya goalkeeper Amine Lecomte through Yasir Al Shahrani two minutes into the second half.
 But just four minutes later the home side doubled their lead on the night to take a seemingly commanding three-goal lead overall as Karim Boudiaf helped on Nams free-kick and Musa, who was making just his second start of the campaign, was on hand to head home at the far post.
Al Hilal, though, finally found a response four minutes after the hour mark as Al Faraj raced into the area unmarked to stylishly convert Salem Al Dawsaris cross with the outside of his foot.
 And with 12 minutes remaining Al Hilal drew level on the night as Lekhwiyas overall lead was further reduced as Musa was adjudged to have pulled back Yasser Al Qahtani inside the area and Al Shalhoub squeezed the resulting penalty past Lecomte.
 Lekhwiya then had Dame Traore to thank for beating Yoo to a loose ball inside the six-yard area with the Korean seemingly about to head his side into the quarter-finals.
 But Lekhwiya survived strong pressure in the closing stages to deny 1991 and 2000 Asian Club Championship winners Al Hilal a second consecutive appearance in the quarter-finals.(QNA)

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ArticleMainBodyHTML1: ​Doha, May 21 (QNA) - HE Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani, has expressed profound thanks and appreciation to HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and HH the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani who is also chairman of Qatar Olympic Committee (QNC) for the unlimited support to the Qatari people in general and to  Qatar's sports  in particular.
During the Sport Excellence Day held under his auspices at Katara culture village here on Tuesday, HE Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani, said that the celebration of the Sport Excellence Day is a result of honoring the athletes, administrators and the pioneering sports personalities who are contributed to the support and development of the Qatari sport process to realize all these sports achievements as well as the golden unions and the national companies that had been rendered their services to the sports and youth sector in the state of Qatar.
HE Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani said that Qatar has rewarded its distinguished sons who achieved tangible records in sports field at the regional, continental and international  levels.
HE Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani has also expressed thanks to HE Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, the Secretary General of (QOC) and to all those who organized the ceremony on Sport Excellence Day for their success in the organizing the event
HE further said,"  I take this opportunity to congratulate the winners and honorees in the ceremony of the Sport Excellence Day and those who are reflected a honorable image of the Qatari sport and raised up Qatar's flag at international arenas...The most prominent achievement was made by the Qatari heroes, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Moataz Barsham who won bronze medals in the archery and the athletics in the Olympic Games, which was held in London in addition to the many Qatari sport achievements and victories", HE Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani.
HE Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani hoped this honoring ceremony will be a big incentive for all Qatari sportsmen in different sports games in order to see new persons in the platforms of the honor next season. (QNA)

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ArticleMainBodyHTML1: ​Doha, May 20 (QNA) - Ooredoo and the Leo Messi Foundation announced today a trailblazing new initiative to support mobile health clinics around the world to provide medical aid for children in the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia.
 At a special ceremony in Doha, Qatar, Ooredoo Chairman HE Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Thani and football star Lionel "Leo" Messi announced the launch of the initiative, setting the target of reaching two million children by 2016 across Ooredoos markets.
 Ooredoo supports a wide range of health services throughout its footprint, as part of its commitment to promoting human growth and giving back to the community.
 For example, Indosat, part of Ooredoo, has provided more than 600,000 people in Indonesia with free healthcare services through its mobile clinics programme launched in 2008.
 Now, working in partnership with the Leo Messi Foundation, Ooredoo plans to roll out mobile clinics across its global footprint with a particular focus on childrens health, in addition to enhancing the range of services provided by the clinics in Indonesia.
 Ooredoo is also set to expand its range of mHealth services  health-based advisory and monitoring services that can be accessed via a mobile phone. For instance, customers in Kuwait, Palestine and Iraq can already access diabetes-related mobile information and alerts.
 Ooredoo Qatar is trialling a 24/7 mobile health advice service, and Indosat in Indonesia is developing a similar service enabling access to doctors and health related information via text, voice and rich content.
 HE Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al Thani, Chairman, Ooredoo, said: "We believe that young people should be given a full range of life chances, so that they have the opportunity to grow and reach their potential.
 Disease and lack of access to healthcare is a major barrier for young people in many parts of the developing world, and we see the mobile clinic initiative as a practical and impactful solution to this. Today's initiative will enable us to work with the Leo Messi Foundation and transform our Indonesian mobile clinic initiative into a global force for better health."
 Among health-related projects, The Leo Messi Foundation, founded by Messi in 2007, has helped fight Chagas disease, rehabilitate hospitals, and offer scholarships for training doctors. Working with Ooredoo will enable the Foundation to extend its work into the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia. 

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ArticleMainBodyHTML1: ​Cocoa Beach, Florida, May 20 (QNA) - Spirit of Qatar's Ali Al-Neama and Mohammed Al-Nasser finished a solid fifth overall in the Superboat class at the Space Coast Super Boat Grand Prix in Cocoa Beach, Florida, on Sunday.
 Racing for the first time at the helm of Spirit of Qatar 20  the ex Reliable Carriers MTI catamaran  the pair lined up alongside WHM Motorsports, Team CRC, Team Stihl, Warpaint and JD Byrider in the Superboat class.
 Blustery conditions and breaking waves were prevalent as the Superboats joined the Superboat Unlimited, Turbine and Superboat Extreme entrants for a combined set of races over 16 and 13 laps of the offshore course.
 WHM Motorsports' William Mauff and Jay Muller emerged as comfortable winners by the margin of 29 seconds in the Superboat class from Tony Marcantonio and Mark Kowalski at the helm of JD Byrider. The latter crew managed to pass Team Stihl in the closing stages after the pre-race Superboat category leaders had held second position through the early laps. Team CRC finished fourth and Spirit of Qatar moved up to fifth when Warpaint hit trouble late on. WHM Motorsports now leads the Superboat Championship after two races.  
 "It was important that Ali and Mohammed got as much seat time in the new boat as possible and finished the first race," said HE Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani, president of the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF), who hopes to begin his own Super Boat International campaign with throttleman Steve Curtis at the next round at the start of June.
 "The water was rough and they faced on of the toughest teams in that class, so they did what they had to do to reach the finish. Its a long season and the target is Key West. The next race is in two weeks and we hope that the water conditions will be better."
 WHM Motorsports held the advantage over Stihl, Team CRC, JD Byrider, Warpaint and Spirit of Qatar after the opening lap of the 16-lap Superboat race. The objective for the Spirit of Qatar crew was to get as much seat time as possible in the new boat and the Doha-based duo maintained sixth through lap two, as Warpaint overhauled Tim McDonald and Mike Defrees in Team CRC to move into fourth.
 Large waves made racing treacherous and WHM hung on to the Superboat lead from Stihl and JD Byrider. Al-Neama and Al-Nasser erred on the side of caution to preserve their boat and maintained sixth position in the brutal conditions.
 WHM Motorsports duly held on to reach the chequered flag as the wind began to drop and they sealed the Superboat class victory. Stihl and JD Byrider became embroiled in a gripping late tussle for second position with JD Byrider managing to squeeze through into the runner-up spot. Robert Vesper guided Warpaint into a thrilling late fight with Team CRC for fourth position, but he was forced into the in-field with technical problems after lap 12 and Team CRC reached the finish in fourth, with Spirit of Qatar finishing fifth, two laps behind.
 The next round of Super Boat International takes teams to Orange Beach in Florida on May 31-June 2. (QNA)

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ArticleMainBodyHTML1: ​Doha , May 18 (QNA) - HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani attended Saturday the final of HH the Emir Cup played  at Khalifa International stadium between Al Sadd and Al Rayyan. Al Rayyan won the title after defeating Al Sadd 2-1.
 HH the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and HH Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Personal Representative of HH the Emir, HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani,  the Private  Advisor to  HH  the Emir  and HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa all attended the match . The match was also attended by HE the  Speaker of the Advisory (Shura)  Council Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khulaifi  as well as a number of their excellencies  ministers and Sheikhs.
 HH the Emir handed the the trophy and golden medals to Al Rayyan players  and silver medals to Al Sadd players.
 It is the sixth time that Al Rayyan claims HH the Emir Cup. They won it previously on 1999, 2004, 2006, 2010 and 2011, the team has reached the final on 15th different occasions. Al Rayyan's win prevented Al Sadd from achieving the double this season. They had won the league earlier this season.
 Al Rayyan took the lead as early as the sixth minute through Nilmar Da Silva. Three minutes later, Fabio Cesar doubled Al Rayyan's lead courtesy of a penalty. Spanish and Real Madrid legend Raul Gonzalez pulled one back for Al Sadd at the 55th minute. Al Rayyan managed however to hold onto the win to seal the title. (QNA)

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ArticleMainBodyHTML1: ​ Doha, May 18 (QNA) - Qatar will participate in the 27th meeting for  GCC ministers of youth and sport, which starts tomorrow,  Sunday in  Manama ,Bahrain over two days, with HE the Minister of Culture, Arts  and Heritage Dr. Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari heading the Qatari  delegation.
   During the meeting , the GCC ministers of youth and sport will  discuss a number of issues on its agenda that aim to boost Gulf joint  work in the youth and sports field, including the follow-up report on  the implementation of the 26th meeting's decisions and following up  on the recommendations of the biannual consultative meeting for youth  and sport undersecretaries.   They will also review the recommendations adopted by the youth  technical committees and their plans for the years 2013 and 2014.
   GCC youth and sports undersecretaries are set to meet today to  prepare for the ministerial meeting on Sunday. (QNA)

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ArticleMainBodyHTML1: ​Doha, May 17 (QNA) - With Al Sadd and Al Rayyan locking horns in the final of HH the Emir Cup on Saturday, the stage is set for an 'incredible finish' to the football season in the country, Qatar Football Association (QFA) president said on Friday.
 HE Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani said: "There is no doubt that this has been a great season for many teams for many reasons. The two teams in the Emir Cup final give us the feeling that it would be a great finish to the season." "The football festival we've run in the last few weeks has been well received," Sheikh Hamad said.
 "I think the Emir Cup final presents a perfect scenario for what has been an interesting football season," he added. "We know that football fans in the country wait for the Emir Cup final and here it is," he said. "The response of the public for the final and to the tournament tells us how they feel about this event," the QFA chief explained.
 "We wish the finalists a great match," he said. "Al Sadd and Al Rayyan are two of the finest teams in Qatar. They have experienced players," he said. (QNA)

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ArticleMainBodyHTML1: ​Hong Kong, May 16 (QNA) - The Qatari beach handball team won the title of the Asian Beach Handball Championship, after defeating its Omani counterpart 2-0 in the final match played here on Thursday.
The Qatari team registered two consecutive victories in the tournament, and booked its slot in the world cup finals in Morocco.
The Champion played a big game in terms of tactics and performance to win the first half 18-16 and the second 14-12.
The Hong Kong Sports Ministry representative awarded gold medals to the Qatari players, silver medals to the runner up Oman's team, and the bronze medals to the Bahraini team that came in the placed third, then Handed the Championship Trophy to the Captain of the Qatari team Muhsen Al-Yafaie. (QNA)

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ArticleMainBodyHTML1: ​Doha, May 16 (QNA) - Qatar Football Association (QFA) President HE Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani met Thursday with El Salvador Football Association President Carlos Florez.
The meeting comes as a sign of deep ties between QFA and the international football family.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed football related issues of mutual concern. (QNA)

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ArticleMainBodyHTML1: ​Doha, May 15 (QNA) - Lokhoya soccer team beat its Saudi host Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia one love at a match held at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium in Riyadh this evening within the home match of the 16th phase of the Asian soccer champions tournament.
Tunisian player of Lokhoya Yousef Al-Masakni scored for the Qatari team in the 82nd minute.
The two teams will meet on Wednesday in Doha.  (QNA) 

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ArticleMainBodyHTML1: ​Cocoa Beach (Florida),  May 15 (QNA) - His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani has confirmed that Mohammed Al-Nasser and Ali Al-Neama will represent the Spirit of Qatar Team at this weekend’s fourth Space Coast Super Boat Grand Prix at Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral, in Florida.
Sheikh Hassan and Steve Curtis will use the next few days to finalise the preparation of their new turbine racer with a view to using the boat for the first time at the third round of Super Boat International (SBI) at the end of the month at Orange Beach, Florida.
"Mohammed and Ali will use our second boat in the 750 class this weekend," enthused Sheikh Hassan, who missed the opening round of the SBI series in Biloxi. "The goal is for them both to get as familiar as possible with each other and with the boat. We are racing in a new arena this year, so we need to see how things work and how everything pans out on the race course."
Meanwhile, Sheikh Hassan has pencilled in a two-hour test for Thursday morning (tomorrow) to enable the duo to prepare for the weekends action on water similar to that they will face on Sunday. "The idea is to look for top speed rather than just to become familiar with the equipment and the surroundings. The target is to ensure that Mohammed and Ali start well and finish the race."
The Spirit of Qatar Superboat 750 class boat is the ex-Tony Abrahams Reliable Carriers offshore race hull. The 42-foot Marine Technology catamaran is powered by twin 750hp Scorpion Racing engines.
Sheikh Hassan confirmed that he and throttleman Steve Curtis will now be looking to debut their exciting new turbine boat at Orange Beach on May 31-June 2. "We were waiting for some major parts to arrive and its just a matter of time putting them together and getting the boat ready to run."
The new Qatar turbine boat has been built in the USA in collaboration with Whispering Turbines, Five-Axis Industries and Mystic Powerboats. The new Mystic Spirit of Qatar Extreme turbine hull is powered by a pair of T53 turbine engines and is capable of propelling the boat to a top speed of 354km/h (200 mph) using Five-Axis technology.
Several other leading teams missed the opening round at Biloxi at the end of April and Ricks Collision 57 leads the Superboat Unlimited category and Lucas Oil Silverhook 77 has a 111-point advantage in Superboat Extreme. Stihl 13 leads by 51 points from WHL Motorsports 5 in the Superboat class.
Cocoa Beach registration and technical inspections get underway on Friday morning (May 17th) and teams will be permitted to carry out five hours of testing on the racecourse on Saturday.
The first of the races, sanctioned by Super Boat International Productions Inc and presented by Bright House Networks, takes place at noon (19.00hrs Doha time) on Sunday (May 19th) and the second Thunder on Cocoa Beach fires into life at 2pm (21.00hrs Doha time). The dry pits will be located at The Cove in Cape Canaveral. (QNA)

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