The coaches of the ninth West Asian Junior Championships reveal their goals and aspirations
The Gulf and Asian teams participating in the ninth West Asian Junior Championship are preparing for the start of the ninth West Asian Junior Championship, hosted by the Jordan Football Association in Aqaba from June 21-30, 2022.
The coaches of the national teams of Jordan, Yemen, Kuwait, Oman, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Iraq revealed their aspirations during the press conference held today, Monday, at the Mena House Hotel in Aqaba, where the matches are held.
At the conference dedicated to the first group, Jordan coach Abdullah Al-Qatati said: The tournament is very important for us, and we have a new group of names, and although it is a preparatory station for the Asian qualifiers that will be hosted by Jordan, this does not mean that we will not give up the opportunity to achieve positive results.
On the other hand, Iraq coach Saad Abdul Hamid did not deny the difficulty of the competition’s calculations, but he confirmed the readiness of his players to appear in the best possible way, while Yemen coach Qais Saleh expressed his respect for all participating teams and indicated that his team will work hard to preserve the title that was crowned in the last edition in Saudi Arabia.
Oman national team coach David Pablo confirmed that his ultimate goal through this participation is to prepare for the Asian competition in order to qualify for the finals.
At the conference dedicated to the second group, Lebanon coach Mohamed Ibrahim noted the value of the tournament and the participating teams and stressed his keenness to get out of it with the highest possible benefit, while Palestine coach Louay Al-Saleh referred to the preparations of his team, which includes new elements, who worked in the recent period to enhance homogeneity between them.
In turn, Kuwait coach Muhammad Al-Azab revealed that the tournament will provide everyone with the opportunity to interact and gain experience, which will contribute to enhancing their readiness for the upcoming benefits.
Technical meeting
Before the press conference, a technical meeting was held in the same place, headed by the tournament’s observer, Tariq Haidar, from Lebanon, to explain the tournament’s instructions and review all administrative, media, security and medical matters.
Orouba Al Husseini, the general supervisor of the tournament, director of administrative affairs and unions in the West Asian Federation, welcomed all the delegations of the participating teams and wished them success and achieving their goals.
Nader Al-Zubaidi, the tournament director, returned to welcome the teams and their accompanying delegations, and confirmed the Jordanian Federation’s readiness to provide all organizational requirements to ensure the success of the event. He also praised the West Asian Federation’s active role at the regional level and its various activities.
In turn, the Saudi referee, Muhammad Al-Suwaiyel, the referee, presented all aspects related to the arbitration aspect, and reviewed the most prominent instructions in this regard, before finally confirming the lists of the participating teams, handing over the credentials of players and administrators, and determining the colors of the teams’ clothing in all matches.
Two games in the beginning
The tournament will open tomorrow, Tuesday, with two matches between Iraq and Yemen at six in the evening, then Jordan and Oman at nine in the evening.
On the day immediately following it, Palestine and Syria meet at the same time, Lebanon and Kuwait. Then, on June 23, Oman and Iraq, Yemen and Jordan will play.
The matches will continue on June 24 with two confrontations between Kuwait and Palestine, Syria and Lebanon. A day later, Yemen, Oman, Jordan and Iraq will play, and finally, at the conclusion of the group stage on June 26, Syria and Kuwait will meet, Lebanon and Palestine.
On June 28, the two semi-final matches will be held between the champions of the first group and the second group of the second, and between the champions of the second group and the first runner-up, so that the two winners qualify for the final match that will be held on June 30.
In addition, the eighth edition of the junior championship was held in Saudi Arabia at the end of 2021, when the Yemeni team won the title at the expense of the host.