His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani attended the closing ceremony of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 at Lusail Stadium Saturday.
The ceremony was attended by His Highness the Personal Representative of the Amir Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al-Thani, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani, HE Sheikh Jassim bin Khalifa al-Thani, HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani, HE Speaker of the Shura Council Hassan bin Abdullah al-Ghanim, and a lineup of sheikhs and ministers.
Also present at the ceremony were President of the friendly Republic of Rwanda Paul Kagame, Crown Prince of the sisterly Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, President of the FIFA Gianni Infantino, President of the Asian Football Confederation Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa, and a number of senior officials from the fraternal and friendly countries along with heads of delegations, heads of Olympic committees and Arab and foreign football federations, heads of diplomatic missions accredited to the state, and a huge crowd of spectators.
Afterwards, His Highness the Amir crowned Qatar national football team with AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 trophy following their 3-1 victory over the brotherly team of Jordan as Akram Afif scored a hat-trick of penalties for Qatar.
His Highness the Amir, the FIFA President, Jordan Crown Prince and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president awarded the golden medals to the Qatar national team players and the silver medals to the national team players of Jordan, the runner-up.
It was a fitting final act to a month of football that began with 24 teams and witnessed a series of dramatic games and plenty of goals.
It will also help dispel the memories of Qatar's 2022 World Cup, when they lost all three games.
The 27-year-old Afif was the hero, holding his nerve once from the penalty spot in the first half and, after under dogs Jordan equalised, twice more in the second period.
He was named player of the tournament and finished top scorer with eight goals.
His team-mates threw him in the air at the final whistle.
"It is not about the technique or the angle," said Afif, asked how he was able to score three penalties under pressure in front of 86,492 spectators at Lusail Stadium.
"It's about the feeling that the team and people are behind me."
