DOHA: The draw for the group rounds of the 24th Men’s Handball World Championship in Doha at the end of last month has demonstrated that Qatar is ready to host large-scale sporting events, according to international visitors who attended the event.
More than 300 people came to Qatar for the official draw, including representatives from the International Handball Federation (IHF) and all 24 participating teams, along with a host of international media and travel companies.
The 24th Men’s Handball World Championship will take place in Doha from January 15 to February 1 2015.
The guests received a warm welcome, with a programme of cultural activities accompanying the Official Draw ceremony, including tours of Souq Waqif, Iftar meals at some of Doha’s finest hotels, and a coach tour of the planned venues for the Championship, which will take place from 15 January to 1 February 2015.
On the evening of the Official Draw, the Qatar 2015 24th Men’s Handball World Championship Organising Committee held a gala dinner, under the patronage of H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Organising Committee.
Other VIP guests in attendance included H E Ali Sherif Al Emadi, Minister of Finance; H E. Salah Al Ali, Minister of Youth And Sports; Badr Thiyab, Vice President, Asian Federation; Ahmed Abu Llayl, CEO, Asian Federation; Ahmed Al Shaabi, President, Qatar Handball Association; and Issa Al Muhannadi, Chairman, Qatar Tourism Authority.
Dr Thani Abdulrahman Al Kuwari, Director General, Qatar 2015 Men’s Handball World Championship Organising Committee, said: “We wanted to showcase our professionalism in hosting major events, and also enable visitors to get a feel for the range of cultural attractions and facilities that Qatar has to offer. Because our guests joined us for the Official Draw during the Holy Month of Ramadan, it gave them a real insight into Qatari traditions and culture, which added to the experience.”
Feedback from all attendees was extremely positive, praising the quality of the organisation and the warm hospitality that the visiting teams received.
Manuel Cadenas, Coach of defending World Champions Spain, said: “Spain won the title two years ago and we have to prove ourselves in Qatar as well. I believe the 24th Men’s Handball World Championship will be really special.”
Newcomers to the Championships also praised Qatar’s level of organisation and preparedness for the event.
Dr Isa Ghnem Al Hajri, UAE Federation President, said: “This will be the UAE’s first participation at a World Championship and we feel very proud about that. Regarding the level of the organisation, I feel very proud of what I have seen, because I come from the same region and I hope Qatar will succeed not only in 2015 but also at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. We expect many people to come from UAE to watch the World Championship.”
Mirza Muzurovic, Director of the Bosnian Handball Federation, said: “We don’t know yet what results we can reach in this group, but we know that we will give all we can to show that we are a deserved participant of this World Championship. We are proud to be at a tournament like this for the first time, in a beautiful place with outstanding venues.”
During their time in Qatar, visitors were taken on a coach tour to see the progress of the four major venues that will host the Championship, and were extremely positive about the facilities that will be available.
Ismail Baker, Bahrain team manager and Board member, said: “From the first moment we arrived in Qatar, everything looked excellent. The Qataris have worked very hard and I am sure they will succeed. We had the chance to visit the venues and they are all excellent, the hotels are excellent as well, everything looks perfect. The Bahraini people will be extremely interested in seeing our national team.”
The Official Draw was broadcast around the world on a number of leading sports channels, including beIN Sports, and was live-streamed on Qatar 2015’s own website atwww.qatarhandball2015.com.
Among the attractions at the host hotel, The Ritz-Carlton, Doha, was a “Souq” next to the main hall, where visitors could enjoy Qatar’s traditional arts and crafts. QPost also supported the event, enabling visitors to send personalised postcards with their own stamp back home to celebrate the Official Draw, and there was a Social Media-driven booth where visitor could “Share their Ideas with the World.”
Reda Zegueli, Algerian National team Coach said: “The Draw was fantastic and I think that Qatar will do a great job for the World Championship and will definitely meet all expectations. I am sure that everyone in the Algerian community in Qatar will support us and hopefully we will do our best and represent Algerian and Arab handball.”
Qatar 2015 will be the first Men’s World Championship to take place in one city, Doha, reducing travelling time for players and officials, and enabling sports fans to attend multiple games.
Karel Nocar, team manager Czech Republic, said: “We are satisfied with the draw. France are the great favourite in our group, but we have the chance to make it to the eighth-finals. We have to gather information on Algeria and Egypt, as it was 2007 when we last played against these African teams.”
Mirza Muzurovic, Director Bosnian Handball Federation, said: “We don’t know yet which result we can reach in this group, but what we know is that we will give all we can to show that we are a deserved participant of this World Championship. We are proud to be at a tournament like this for the first time, in a beautiful place with outstanding venues.”
Jerzy Eliasz, Vice-President of the Polish Handball Federation, said: “We are in a very attractive and highly balanced group. We face a strong Asian team, the Pan-American champions and a really strong European trio. Maybe it is a historical sign that we face Germany again after we had beaten them in the World Championship play-offs. And it will be interesting to see how the Danish team develops under their new coach Gudmundur Gudmundsson. On paper, Denmark is the favourite, but we will see what our team can manage.”
Philippe Bana, Technical Director of the French Handball Federation, said: “I am expecting the best World Championship ever from a global level. The groups C, where we’ll play, and D are truly groups of death. We will have a re-match of the 2012 Olympic final with Sweden, so group D is composed of very strong teams. So no matter which team France will face in the eighth-finals, it will be a tough nut to crack.”
Valero Rivera, the Qatar saod, said: “This will be the strongest World Championship ever with four highly competitive groups. So it was a really hard decision, which group we should choose. It is our dream to proceed to the knock-out stage, and I believe that in this group we have the best opportunities to make it.”
Bernhard Bauer, President of the German Handball Federation, said: “We are very humble and we are pleased to be here. Of course the match against Poland will be something really special after those World Championship play-offs. Also we really look forward to the match with Denmark, as we will host the 2019 Men’s World Championship jointly with the Danes. Russia are always strong, but the German team wants to show the world that they deserve to be in Qatar.”
Sead Hasanefendic, Tunisian coach, said: “Our group is balanced, but of course Croatia are the big favourites. Though Bosnia are a debutant they are strong and the Macedonians have proven their abilities in the previous big tournament. It is our first goal to promote handball in Tunisia, to excite our fans and to bring us back into the spotlight. And we will try everything to make it to the knock-out stage.”
Gudmundur Gudmundsson, coach of the Denmark side, said: “One really good team of this group will have to play in the President’s Cup and miss the eighth-finals. Germany was the strongest we could get from pot 6 and Poland are the strongest from pot 2. And all European teams in this group need to be aware of Argentina, as they have really improved. So this draw was anything but luck for us.”
Staffan Olssson, the Swedish coach, said: “A draw for a World Championship is always like a lottery. No matter which teams you have to face, they are strong opponents. They will be very hard matches, but in the end we will have to see.”
Zhivko Mukaetov, President of the FYR Macedonian Handball Federation: “Our ambition is to make it to the quarter-finals. In our group Croatia is the favourite, on the other side we have five teams with certain qualities. Our ambition is to be in second or third place in the group. The draw event was really nice, interesting, well organised, unique and different.”
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