Raul (left) and Khalfan: In contention for QFA award.

By Sports Reporter/Doha

Al Sadd’s Spanish star Raul has been nominated for the Player of the Year award, the Qatar Football Association (QFA) announced yesterday. The award ceremony is scheduled for May 19 at Aspire Dome.

Raul, who played a stellar role in Al Sadd winning the Qatar Stars League and also helped his team enter the final of the Emir Cup, will be competing with teammate Khalfan Ibrahim Khalfan and Al Khor’s Brazilian star Madison.

The contest for the Young Player of the Year is between Al Sadd’s Abdulkarim Hassan, Al Arabi’s Mohamed al-Kuwari and Al Kharaitiyat’s Abdulaziz al-Ansari.

Top scorer for the season has been decided, with Lekhwiya’s Sebastian Soria coming out on top with 19 goals.

There is also an award for the best club committee, which will be contested by Al Sadd, Al Gharafa and Al Rayyan.

The best management team is also up for grabs. Al Sadd have been nominated for the stability of the club, Lekhwiya for the dramatic and effective changes and Al Khor for the best use of limited resources.

The nominees for Coach of the Year are Al Sadd’s Hussein Amotta, Laszlo Boloni of Al Khor and Eric Gerets  of Lekhwiya.

There will also be a Fair Play Award announced on the night. This is special recognition of the clubs who have gone the extra mile doing to live up to the values of fair play and sporting integrity throughout the season.

The nominations were decided after 135 voting forms were sent to the media, club technical staff and managers.

The special ceremony, which will be held in the Aspire Dome, celebrates the best talent that has been on offer for the last nine months. The total prize pot for the winners is an incredible QR1.2mn.

As part of the process for deciding the winners, the QSL formed a special committee to decide on the winners of each award. Abdulrahman al-Dosari, QSL’s Chief of Commercial, overseas the committee as General Secretary.

Yesterday al- Dosari and Hassan al-Kuwari, Head of Events and Hospitality, hosted a press conference to reveal the nominees for this year’s awards.

Al-Dosari said:  “We would like to congratulate everyone at the end of this excellent sports season. There have been a lot of enjoyment and surprises.

“We would like to congratulate Al Sadd for winning the league and Lekhwiya for winning the Heir Apparent Cup. Come Sunday we will have more congratulations for Al Sadd and Al Rayyan as they contest the H H the Emir Cup on Saturday.

 “I would also like to congratulate the teams doing so well in the Champions League and GCC Cup. This has been an excellent season and now is the time to recognise it.

 “This ceremony is an opportunity to recognise the achievements of the people who play football in Qatar. It is a celebration to crown the winners.” Al-Dosari added: “We would like to thank everyone who participated in this evaluation.

“These awards are transparent and fair. It is not about giving awards to Qataris. If a player like Raul is voted we will give him the award, no-one else.

“The progression of the QSL this season means there are many Qatari stars. This is good for us and we are proud to see this. This is a new achievement for the league.”

In total, the prize pot for the winners stand at an incredible QR1.2mn.

The presentation will begin at 8pm with dinner served to the guests at 8.30pm.

Hassan al-Kuwari said: “Last year was a great success and we will try to make it better this year. The official presentation will be at 8pm and dinner will be 8.30pm. Then will be the crowning of the winners.

“There is another great idea planned for on the evening but this will remain a surprise. All I will say is you will see the history of the Qatar football.

“It will be the crowning of the supporters who have supported us and the people who have collaborated with us.

“Safety stadiums, civil defence, traffic organisation, Lekhwiya and every other group who support us will receive special thanks from Qatari Football.  “The star of the ceremony will also be announced, so we would like to invite all the players, managers and coaches to be there. The media and journalists will also be invited. We expect a huge presence.

“It will come the day after the Emir Cup Final between Al Sadd and Al Rayyan and will be a good closing ceremony for the season.”

Al-Dosari concluded: “At the QSL we are very lucky with the collaboration and support of everyone in Qatar. Our ambitions are very high and we will hopefully achieve the results together.

“We are all pushing towards the World Cup in 2022. We will be ready thanks to the plan put in place by the 2022 Supreme Committee.”

 

 

 

BELOW: Abdulrahman al-Dosari (L) and Hassan al-Kuwari at yesterday's press conference to announce the QFA nominations.