Al Kass Cup kicks off on January 21

Doha: Al Kass International Cup returns to Qatar for the seventh consecutive year teeming with youthful talented players from 12 of the world’s best clubs ready to showcase their skill at Aspire Zone.
This year’s teams represent the world’s top talents from Real Madrid (Spain), Paris Saint-Germain (France), Benfica (Portugal), Fenerbahce (Turkey), Tottenham (England), Kashiwa Reysol (Japan), Espérance de Tunis (Tunisia), Wydad AC (Morocco), Guangzhou Evergrande (China), AC Milan (Italy) and Aspire Academy (Qatar), and Aspire Zone’s CSR-initiative Aspire Football Dreams.
Last year, Real Madrid defeated Aspire Academy’ in the final to win the title while Aspire Football Dreams (2016) and Paris St Germain (2015) finished on top in the previous two editions.
Action kicks off on Janaury 21 with the twelve (12) teams placed into four groups of three sides playing each other to determine the quarter finals places as well as the rest of the tournament ranking.  The opening match this year will feature defending champions Real Madrid against Fenerbahce. The second match of the day will see Guangzhou take on Benfica before the first day’s play rounds off with Esperance squaring up with Wydad AC.
The top two teams from each group will then face each other in a knockout round with the final match scheduled to take place on January 31.
Al Kass TV, the official sponsor of the tournament, will provide a live broadcast of all games, both online and on TV, with English and Arabic commentary.
Al Kass International Cup lines up among the A list of international sporting events Qatar is increasingly known and acknowledge to host. As the tournament draws near the luminaries within Qatar’s sports industry expressed their delight at this year’s upcoming competition.
Paris Saint-Germain’s Adrien Rabiot, Bayern Munich’s Kingsley Coman and AC Milan’s Patrick Cutrone are some of the players who shot into prominence in the earlier editions of the Doha tournament.
Mohammed Khalifa Al-Suwaidi, CEO of Aspire Zone Foundation, said, “With the 2022 World Cup rapidly approaching, we take immense pride in co-organizing and sponsoring this tournament. In addition, Al Kass International Cup continues to contribute towards the development of football skills among our youth at the Aspire Academy.”
The Al Kass International Cup has established itself as a key international football event that supports Qatar’s vision and contributes to building on the foundations of a proud footballing nation up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup and beyond.
“We are delighted to be part of the seventh edition of the Al Kass International Cup and to welcome some of the world’s most promising young players to Doha. The tournament is an important fixture in Qatar’s annual sporting calendar and allows us to highlight the country’s world-class sporting infrastructure and event organisation capabilities and showcase Qatar’s warm hospitality ahead of us hosting the historic FIFA World Cup in 2022,” Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, said.
“The competition is also key for Qatar’s youth player development and offers our players of the future, many of whom may play in 2022, experience of competing against giants such as Bayern München, Real Madrid and Paris Saint Germain. We look forward to welcoming many of the players participating in this year’s tournament back to Qatar in 2022 as senior national team players.”
Started in 2012, Al Kass International Cup is organized by Al Kass Sports Channels in collaboration with Aspire Zone Foundation (Aspire) and the Qatar Football Association (QFA).