El Jaish and Lekhwiya players in action during the last season’s QFA Senior league in this file photo.
The Qatar Handball Association (QHA) yesterday confirmed that the new season will kick off on October 2 with five games scheduled on the first day.
According to details released by QHA yesterday, Al Gharafa play Al Khor, Al Duhail take on Qatar SC, Al Ahli battle Al Wakra, Al Rayyan tackle Al Shamal while Al Sadd have a date with Al Arabi.
The first three matches will be held at Al Gharafa Indoor Hall while the last two clashes will be played at Al Duhail Indoor Hall, a QHA official said.
El Jaish were the champions last season when Al Qiyadah finished second while Al Rayyan secured the third-best spot.
Mohammed Jaber Al Mulla, Secretary General of QHA, said the youth league will also commence at the same time.
Al Mulla said the men’s league will continue until February 17, 2018, which will the ninth week of action in the 2017-18 season.
He said the national league will break from November 13 to February 5 as the Qatar squad will undergo training for the Asian qualifiers to held in Republic of Korea in January 2018.
“A total of 10 teams will appear in the league this season,” Al Mulla said.
“El Jaish and Lekhwiya have been merged to form Al Duhail,” he added.
“Al Duhail will have the best players from these two sides and we can expect tough competition for other sides. It will be very exciting,” he said.
“I think teams like Al Rayyan and Al Gharafa will be hard to beat.
“The Competitions Committee has finalized all preparations to stage the opening round of matches,” Al Mulla said.
He said the schedule has been finalized so that there are no clashes with QNB Stars League games at various venues across the country.
“All in all, QHA is ready for the new season and so are the players and the teams. The squads have already been announced. The quality sides have been preparing for the new season for a while,” Al Mulla said.
“Everything is ready for a good start and we hope clubs can work hard to develop the Qatari handball which has reached a global level,” Al Mulla said.
“We are ready to contribute to the teams’ efforts and help them remove all the obstacles they face in order to ensure the success of this season,” he added.
Qatar, who finished runners up at the World Handball Championship in 2015, reached the quarter-finals of the same event in this year’s edition held in Paris.
