| AFC | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Short name | QFA |
| Founded | 1960 |
| Headquarters | Doha,Qatar |
| FIFA affiliation | 1963 |
| AFC affiliation | 1967[1] |
| President | Jassim Rashid Al Buenain |
| Website | www |
TheQatar Football Association (Arabic:الاتحاد القطري لكرة القدم,romanized: al-Ittiḥād al-Qaṭariyy li-Kurat al-Qadam) is the governing body offootball in Qatar. The QFA was founded in 1960 and is based inDoha,Qatar. It became a member ofFIFA in 1963 and ofAFC in 1967. The Qatar Football Association organizes the main leagues of theQatar football league system:Qatar Stars League,Qatari Second Division, including domestic cups:Qatar Cup,Emir of Qatar Cup,Sheikh Jassim Cup,Qatari Stars Cup andQatar FA Cup. The association is also responsible for themen's,U-17,U-20,U-23,women's national teams and the local women's, youth andfutsal football leagues.
Jassim Rashid Al Buenain is currently the president of the Association.[2] He was elected on June 2, 2023, and succeeded SheikhHamad Bin Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al-Thani who held the position since 2005.[3][4]
The advent of football at Qatar dates back to the year of 1948, accompanied by the arrival of oil companies.[5] The new game's popularity expanded immediately, which led to the establishment ofAl Najah as the country's first football club in 1950.[6] Interest in football developed rapidly in the 1950s. Under the supervision ofQatar Oil Company (todayQatarEnergy), the first football tournament ever in Qatar was held at the city ofDukhan. Despite the participation of severalDoha teams – including Al Najah – host team Dukhan managed to win the 1951 Izzadeen tournament.[7] Qatar Oil Company replaced the old competition with a new one, Pukett Cup kicked off during the 1957 season, Al Najah went on to win the cup for the first time in their history.[7] The Qatar Football Association (QFA) was founded in 1960 to govern football in Qatar and became a member ofFIFA in 1963. In 1967, it became a member of theAsian Football Confederation (AFC).[1][8] The Association organized the first Qatar League in 1972–73.[9]
Whether locally or regionally, rules and regulations were not very restrictive about players moving from one club to another, just a resignation letter and 10 Indian rupees were required of the player who wished to move. This undemanding system was in effect until the year 1962. The first venue with a grass pitch in the Gulf region was the Doha Stadium, which was inaugurated in 1962.[10] Qatar built theKhalifa International Stadium in the 1970s to serve as the country's iconic sports stadium. From 2003 to 2017, the stadium was refurbished and expanded. TheEmir Cup final was held there in 2017. In 2022 it will hostWorld Cup matches.[11]
In 1981, Qatar's national youth team took part in the FIFA Junior World Cup inAustralia, surprisingly beating Brazil 4–3 in the quarterfinals andEngland 2–1 in the semifinals. The final was lost 0–4 againstWest Germany.[12]
Qatar's football team participated in the1984 Summer Olympics inLos Angeles.[13]
In 1988 and 2011, Qatar hosted theAFC Asian Cup, which is the biggest football event on the continent.[14][15]
Qatar hosted theGulf Cup tournament in1976,1992 and2004, winning the biggest tournament for national teams in the region in 1992 and 2004. In 2014, Qatar lifted the trophy for the third time after beating hostSaudi Arabia in the final.[16]
From 13 to 28 April 1995, the10th FIFA World Youth Championship was held inDoha, which was won byArgentina.[17]
In 2019 and 2020, Qatar hosted theFIFA Club World Cup.[18]
From 30 November to 18 December 2021, Qatar hosted the2021 FIFA Arab Cup. Sixteen Arab teams competed in stadiums of the2022 FIFA World Cup.[19][20] In the semifinals, Qatar lost to eventual champion Algeria but defeated Egypt 5-4 on penalties in the 3rd place playoff to secure the third place in the Arab Cup.[21]
Qatar also hosted the2022 FIFA World Cup. The tournament was held from 20 November to 18 December 2022.[22][23] However they lost all 3 group stage matches (against Ecuador, Senegal and the Netherlands, respectively) and became the first team to be eliminated from the World Cup.
The2023 AFC Asian Cup was held in Qatar.[24][25]
In September 2023, the Qatar Football Association (QFA) andAspire Academy signed a cooperation agreement to further develop the coaching education system and enhance their joint expertise.[26][27]
Aspire Zone - The Aspire Zone in Doha, Qatar, is a popular training camp for European football clubs, where teams such asBayern Munich,PSV Eindhoven,FC Red Bull Salzburg,AFC Ajax andFC Zenit prepare for the upcoming matches in their leagues.[39]
Aspire Academy - Located in the Aspire Zone, the sports academy was founded in 2004 and supports local athletes.[40]
Training grounds for the2022 FIFA World Cup - As 41 training grounds are created, each national team had its own facility with FIFA-standard lightning systems and two natural grass pitches identical to the grass pitches at each of the eight World Cup stadiums.[41]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| President |  Jassim Rashid Al Buenain |
| Vice President | Mohammed Khalifa Al Suwaidi |
| General Secretary | Mansoor Al Ansari |
| Treasurer | Ahmed Al-Buainain |
| Technical Director |  Tim Cahill |
| Team Coach (Men's) |  Julen Lopetegui |
| Team Coach (Women's) | Fedha Al-Abdullah |
| Media/Communications Manager | Ali Al Salat |
| Futsal Coordinator | Hamad Al Mannai |
| Referee Coordinator | Hany Taleb Al Raeesi |
| Summer Olympic Sports |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympic Sports |
| |
| Other IOC Recognised Sports |
| |
| Paralympics and Disabled Sports | ||
| Others Sports |
| |
| National teams | |
|---|---|
| World Cup hosting | |
| League competitions | |
| Domestic cup competitions | |
| International cup competitions | |
| Rivalries and derbies | |
| Lists and categories | |
Internationalassociation football | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World |
|  | |||||||||||||||||
| Africa |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Asia |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Europe |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| North, Central America & the Caribbean |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Oceania |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| South America |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Intercontinental |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Non-FIFA |
| ||||||||||||||||||