The tickets for this Friday’s Amir Cup football final have been sold out, the organisers announced on Tuesday. The much-anticipated match of the season will pit 18-time champions Al Sadd against eight-time winners Al Arabi at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, which boasts a capacity of 45,000. The final will kick off at 7pm.
Sadd, who missed out on the QNB Stars League title to arch rivals Al Duhail, will be hoping to end the season on a high. Arabi ran Duhail close for the title but had to be content with second place. Sadd and Arabi faced off in the last league match on Monday, with the latter winning the encounter 2-1. Sadd had rested eight regulars for the clash with an eye on the Amir Cup final.
Today’s title clash will be a rematch of the 2020 edition final when Sadd emerged as champions with a 2-1 win at the World Cup Qatar 2022 venue’s debut match. The winning team today will receive QR20mn in prize money, while the runner-up will take home QR10mn.
“Tickets for the Amir Cup final have been sold out and the stadium will be ready to welcome a huge number of fans,” Qatar Football Association’s (QFA) Head of Communications Ali al-Salat said at a press conference held by Amir Cup final’s Local Organising Committee (LOC) at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium.
“As always the Amir Cup final has attracted a lot of interest from fans across the country. There will be many valuable prizes up for grabs for the fans turning out for the final through the draw of ticket numbers,” he added.
The press conference was also attended by LOC members including Facilities Management Director at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium Ahmed al-Qatami, Tournament Security Chief Major Mohamed Omar al-Shahwani, Head of the Traffic Unit Captain Nasser Khaled al-Hajri and Director of Transportation of the Facility Ali Hussein al-Masih.
Al-Qatami said all preparations were in place for the fans to attend the final. “We are ready to host the final in the best way by facilitating fans during their entry in the stadium. We advise fans to reach the venue at least three hours before the kick off to avoid inconvenience,” said al-Qatami.
Major al-Shahwani urged fans to reach the venue early and adhere to instructions by the security personnel. “The officials will be present all the time to assist fans. We are confident to host the match in a befitting manner but co-operation among all is required to host big matches like the Amir Cup final successfully,” he said.
Captain al-Hajri also expressed complete readiness of traffic arrangements, also stressing co-operation from the fans to make it a successful and memorable final. Al-Masih, meanwhile, said apart from using private vehicles, fans can also use public transportation, which will remain operational.
“Especially, Doha Metro can be used by the fans to reach the venue. The metro will continue to operate until 1am. Besides, parking space will also be available close to the stadium,” he said.