FOOTBALL fans can now buy tickets online for the forthcoming AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011.
The ticket sale for Asia’s flagship soccer event was initiated at the Fours Seasons Hotel by the Qatar Local Organising Committee (QLOC) Executive Board member Mohammed Mubarak al Mohannadi.
The continental football feast will be held in Doha from January 7-29, 2011 and will showcase the best 16 teams of Asia.
Speaking to Qatar Tribune on behalf of QLOC Chief Executive Officer Saoud al Mohannadi, Mubarak said: “We are proud to launch the website for the online ticket sale of our tournament, a most convenient purchasing method which is now used in most international sports championships.” Al Mohannadi said in a message for the launch: “In coordination with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), this will be the first time that a major sporting event in Qatar has been able to provide its own official online ticket sales service.” AFC President Mohamed bin Hammam also urged fans to book their seats early in the five stadiums for their favourite teams.
“The AFC is pleased to launch the online ticket sales of the Asian Cup Qatar 2011.You can now start buying your tickets to watch the top 16 teams in action in Doha”, said bin Hammam.
Dr Athanasios Batsilas, the Chief Operating Officer, said the system developed by the organising committee and the AFC is dynamic, effective and userfriendly.
‘The organisers spared no effort in producing a website that is user-friendly right from the time of purchase to witnessing the matches.” Fans buying tickets will receive an immediate confirmation email listing his or her details as well as all details of the purchase.
The customer can go with his or her confirmation to any ticket outlet to collect the tickets.
The counter ticket sales will be launched later in the year.
At that stage, tickets will be available on a first-come-first-served basis at select tickets outlets in Doha.
“We have worked closely with the AFC to provide this dynamic, user friendly service.
It will give thousands of fans across the Asian continent an opportunity to reserve their seats six months before the start of the tournament”, said al Mohannadi.
Different categories of the tickets have been reasonably priced to ensure that they are within the reach of all soccer fans, and the AFC will monitor closely with the ticketing service provider to ensure smooth sales of tickets and distribution, al Mohannadi added.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Nigeria community elects new executives
NIGERIANS in Diaspora Organisation, NIDO-Qatar, Nigerian community in Qatar previously known as DOHANAIJA elected new executive members at the Millennium hotel recently.
Around 100 Nigerian expatriates gathered to elect new office-bearers of the organisation which paved the way for the dissolution of DOHANIJA and adoption of a new constitution.
Formation of NIDO-Qatar is in line with the directives of the Federal Government of Nigeria which has just established a Diaspora Commission.
In view of that, amendments were made to the previous constitution as advised by the community to reflect the visions and missions of the new organisation.
The newly elected NIDOQatar officials are Olu Jimoh Millar(President), Raymond Bob-Ume (Vice- President), Godfrey Awinoron (Secretary- General), Sunday Aigbomian (Assistant Secretary-General), Ebele Ume (Treasurer), Olayemi Adams (Financial Secretary), Victor Okwusah (Social Secretary), Victor Ikoli (Public Relations Officer), Noimot Olayiwola, Taofeek Bello, Mary Dehinbo, Adeboye Dehinbo(Welfare Officers) and ex-officio Hafeez Muhamed.
The president, OJ Millar, who was also the immediate past president of DOHANAIJA, was elected unopposed to serve as the first President of Nigerians in Diaspora, NIDO-Qatar.
He thanked members of the community for their commitment to the development of the association, especially during its transformation period.
The new public relations officer assured members of the community of prompt information dissemination.
He also promised to ensure that the organisation is wellprojected both in Qatar and Nigeria.
A member of the community, Effion Ebong expressed his happiness that new faces were elected into the new executive committee.
He urged the executive to work on integration and orientation of Nigerians arriving in the country.
The Association operates as a charitable organisation.
It renders assistance to Nigerians in Qatar, in areas of welfare, legal, immigration support, education advisory, resolution of disputes with sponsors and employment assistance.
Around 100 Nigerian expatriates gathered to elect new office-bearers of the organisation which paved the way for the dissolution of DOHANIJA and adoption of a new constitution.
Formation of NIDO-Qatar is in line with the directives of the Federal Government of Nigeria which has just established a Diaspora Commission.
In view of that, amendments were made to the previous constitution as advised by the community to reflect the visions and missions of the new organisation.
The newly elected NIDOQatar officials are Olu Jimoh Millar(President), Raymond Bob-Ume (Vice- President), Godfrey Awinoron (Secretary- General), Sunday Aigbomian (Assistant Secretary-General), Ebele Ume (Treasurer), Olayemi Adams (Financial Secretary), Victor Okwusah (Social Secretary), Victor Ikoli (Public Relations Officer), Noimot Olayiwola, Taofeek Bello, Mary Dehinbo, Adeboye Dehinbo(Welfare Officers) and ex-officio Hafeez Muhamed.
The president, OJ Millar, who was also the immediate past president of DOHANAIJA, was elected unopposed to serve as the first President of Nigerians in Diaspora, NIDO-Qatar.
He thanked members of the community for their commitment to the development of the association, especially during its transformation period.
The new public relations officer assured members of the community of prompt information dissemination.
He also promised to ensure that the organisation is wellprojected both in Qatar and Nigeria.
A member of the community, Effion Ebong expressed his happiness that new faces were elected into the new executive committee.
He urged the executive to work on integration and orientation of Nigerians arriving in the country.
The Association operates as a charitable organisation.
It renders assistance to Nigerians in Qatar, in areas of welfare, legal, immigration support, education advisory, resolution of disputes with sponsors and employment assistance.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Eight out of eight for Paul the Octopus
Eight picks, eight correct, eight tentacles. Paul the Oracle Octopus is clearly the biggest winner of the World Cup after recording a perfect prognostication record whether he knows it or not (he probably doesn't).
The big question was whether Paul's predictive superpowers would translate to the final - the first match he was asked to predict that did not involve his native Germany. But such piddly concerns did not bother Paul. Mostly because he's an octopus. Just as he predicted, the European champions Spain became world champions for the first time with an Andres Iniesta goal in extra time. And as the Spanish celebrated, Paul floated in his tank, sure of his genius and probably craving a fresh clam.
Since Paul is an international celebrity of the highest order now, everyone wants a piece of him - both literally and figuratively. Italy is trying to claim that he was caught in Italian waters, Spanish businessmen are trying to buy him for €30,000 ($38,000), and Dutch priests tried to dismiss him.
But in Spain, Paul is an icon. The Spanish prime minister has already spoken of his desire to protect "Pulpo Paul" and the mock up of a new version of Spain's flag could be dangerously close to becoming real.
So what becomes of Paul now? Well, he'll probably continue to live out the remainder of his days at the Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany, no longer forced to pick his food out of flag-covered boxes while surrounded by an obscene number of media types. He will swim at his leisure and continue to be oblivious to the existence of sports. He will retire a winner and a global sensation - what every other octopus (and even a few pundits) wishes they could be.
All hail Paul.
The big question was whether Paul's predictive superpowers would translate to the final - the first match he was asked to predict that did not involve his native Germany. But such piddly concerns did not bother Paul. Mostly because he's an octopus. Just as he predicted, the European champions Spain became world champions for the first time with an Andres Iniesta goal in extra time. And as the Spanish celebrated, Paul floated in his tank, sure of his genius and probably craving a fresh clam.
Since Paul is an international celebrity of the highest order now, everyone wants a piece of him - both literally and figuratively. Italy is trying to claim that he was caught in Italian waters, Spanish businessmen are trying to buy him for €30,000 ($38,000), and Dutch priests tried to dismiss him.
But in Spain, Paul is an icon. The Spanish prime minister has already spoken of his desire to protect "Pulpo Paul" and the mock up of a new version of Spain's flag could be dangerously close to becoming real.
So what becomes of Paul now? Well, he'll probably continue to live out the remainder of his days at the Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany, no longer forced to pick his food out of flag-covered boxes while surrounded by an obscene number of media types. He will swim at his leisure and continue to be oblivious to the existence of sports. He will retire a winner and a global sensation - what every other octopus (and even a few pundits) wishes they could be.
All hail Paul.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Iniesta delivers first World Cup to Spain
For 116 minutes, the Netherlands and Spain had battled and bruised, fought and flopped and produced a game that became more pressure packed by the second. Each side was stopped on a breakaway. Each had headers fly high and clear shots curve wide.
And with the moments growing lonely and the air getting colder, with a penalty kick shootout looming, Spain’s Cesc Fabregas made a brilliant pass to set up Andres Iniesta on the right side of the goal.
Iniesta touched it once and blasted it past Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg and inside the far post. It was a kick for glory and a shot for history that set off a series of celebrations and heartbreaks across not just a jammed Soccer City here but across Western Europe.
In one corner of this stadium, Iniesta, the 26-year-old, son of bartender from the little village of Fuentealbilla, had ripped his shirt off in mid-run to expose a tribute to his friend and Spanish footballer Daniel Jarque, who recently died of a heart attack.
“We wanted to pay tribute to him and we thought this was the best opportunity to do so,” Iniesta said of Jarque.
Soon Iniesta was mobbed by his teammates in a hug for the ages. The Dutch players either sprawled out in exhausted depression or charged the referees demanding an offside call – when in fact Iniesta was fully onside.
Minutes later, after extra time with extra drama, Spain would capture the nation’s first World Cup and cap a dramatic month of soccer in Africa. The Dutch and their army of frantic, orange-clad fans were bridesmaids for a third difficult time.
It was a fitting conclusion if only because not everything at the 2010 World Cup was pretty or perfect. There were controversies and complaints and a dearth of goals (the second-lowest scoring tournament after Italy ’90).
What the event never lacked, though, was competition. And while it took nearly two hours for the scoreboard to move a bit, the fight on the field was fierce.
The game would conclude with 14 yellow cards, nine of them called on the Netherlands, who finished the game with just 10 players.
The Dutch had said for days that they weren’t going to be intimidated by Spain and its precise passing game that had delivered 30 wins in their last 32 international games and made it the favorite with everyone from bookmakers to octopi.
The men in orange proved it immediately by getting physical, knocking the Spaniards off their balance and their timing. They came out and kicked them in the shins and let them know they were there. Then the Netherlands withstood early Spanish pressure, found its timing and launched waves of attacks of its own.
Andres Iniesta celebrates with the World Cup trophy following Spain's victory over the Netherlands.
For a game with just one goal, there was no lack of opportunities.
The Netherlands’ Arjen Robben had one clear breakaway and another semi-breakaway only to be stoned by the acrobatic Iker Casillas. Not to be outdone, Stekelenburg made game-savers on Fabregas and David Villa.
Because this is an event that comes just every four years, the pressure to perform is impossible to quantify in American pro sports standards. It’s not that players don’t feel immense pressure in a Super Bowl or NBA Finals, but here, there is no next year.
Even elite players make just two or three World Cups and to get just one chance at a final can define a career.
Yet with the world watching, with their countrymen everywhere overcome with nerves, with each minute passing adding to the urgency, the play seemed to improve. The Netherlands would lose but leave every bit of its life on the field. The Spaniards would win, but they’d know they needed every bit of their own reserve to get it done.
At the end of this game, at the end of this month, it was just Andres Iniesta and the ball and the opportunity of a lifetime. He’d grown up in a 2,000-person village, his entire family working in the small tavern, Bar Lujan, which his grandfather owned.
Once, when Andres was 12, his father took him on the nearly five-hour drive to Barcelona to see the professional clubs play. The boy was hooked. He dreamed big. He practiced hard.
And in the most desperate minute in the history of his nation’s soccer fortunes, he never hesitated.
One hard-fought World Cup in the books, with the legends from this epic to only grow from here.
And with the moments growing lonely and the air getting colder, with a penalty kick shootout looming, Spain’s Cesc Fabregas made a brilliant pass to set up Andres Iniesta on the right side of the goal.
Iniesta touched it once and blasted it past Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg and inside the far post. It was a kick for glory and a shot for history that set off a series of celebrations and heartbreaks across not just a jammed Soccer City here but across Western Europe.
In one corner of this stadium, Iniesta, the 26-year-old, son of bartender from the little village of Fuentealbilla, had ripped his shirt off in mid-run to expose a tribute to his friend and Spanish footballer Daniel Jarque, who recently died of a heart attack.
“We wanted to pay tribute to him and we thought this was the best opportunity to do so,” Iniesta said of Jarque.
Soon Iniesta was mobbed by his teammates in a hug for the ages. The Dutch players either sprawled out in exhausted depression or charged the referees demanding an offside call – when in fact Iniesta was fully onside.
Minutes later, after extra time with extra drama, Spain would capture the nation’s first World Cup and cap a dramatic month of soccer in Africa. The Dutch and their army of frantic, orange-clad fans were bridesmaids for a third difficult time.
It was a fitting conclusion if only because not everything at the 2010 World Cup was pretty or perfect. There were controversies and complaints and a dearth of goals (the second-lowest scoring tournament after Italy ’90).
What the event never lacked, though, was competition. And while it took nearly two hours for the scoreboard to move a bit, the fight on the field was fierce.
The game would conclude with 14 yellow cards, nine of them called on the Netherlands, who finished the game with just 10 players.
The Dutch had said for days that they weren’t going to be intimidated by Spain and its precise passing game that had delivered 30 wins in their last 32 international games and made it the favorite with everyone from bookmakers to octopi.
The men in orange proved it immediately by getting physical, knocking the Spaniards off their balance and their timing. They came out and kicked them in the shins and let them know they were there. Then the Netherlands withstood early Spanish pressure, found its timing and launched waves of attacks of its own.
Andres Iniesta celebrates with the World Cup trophy following Spain's victory over the Netherlands.
For a game with just one goal, there was no lack of opportunities.
The Netherlands’ Arjen Robben had one clear breakaway and another semi-breakaway only to be stoned by the acrobatic Iker Casillas. Not to be outdone, Stekelenburg made game-savers on Fabregas and David Villa.
Because this is an event that comes just every four years, the pressure to perform is impossible to quantify in American pro sports standards. It’s not that players don’t feel immense pressure in a Super Bowl or NBA Finals, but here, there is no next year.
Even elite players make just two or three World Cups and to get just one chance at a final can define a career.
Yet with the world watching, with their countrymen everywhere overcome with nerves, with each minute passing adding to the urgency, the play seemed to improve. The Netherlands would lose but leave every bit of its life on the field. The Spaniards would win, but they’d know they needed every bit of their own reserve to get it done.
At the end of this game, at the end of this month, it was just Andres Iniesta and the ball and the opportunity of a lifetime. He’d grown up in a 2,000-person village, his entire family working in the small tavern, Bar Lujan, which his grandfather owned.
Once, when Andres was 12, his father took him on the nearly five-hour drive to Barcelona to see the professional clubs play. The boy was hooked. He dreamed big. He practiced hard.
And in the most desperate minute in the history of his nation’s soccer fortunes, he never hesitated.
One hard-fought World Cup in the books, with the legends from this epic to only grow from here.
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