"Our hope in maintaining the title is still high" — Al Sadd Club Sports Director

Al Sadd Club Sports Director Mohammed Gholam confirmed that the QNB Stars League title winner of the last two editions, still has great hopes to compete for and defend the title despite falling in the ninth place in the standings with seven points, after having played seven matches in the competition, indicating that Al Sadd will fight hard until the last round.Gholam said in an exclusive interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA) that many points were lost in the past rounds due to a great shortage of players joining the national team. However, after the end of the World Cup competitions, some of the international players joined the ranks of the team, whilst the rest committed themselves to the squad participating in Gulf 25 and those are: Mishaal Barshim, Tarek Salman, Mustafa Mashaal, Mohammed Waad, Yusuf Abdurisag, Hashim Ali, Salem Al Hajri, and Ali Asad.Gholam added that the team will try in the upcoming matches to compensate, especially that Al Sadd will face the competing teams for the lead, which are Al Duhail and Al Arabi, in addition to facing Al Rayyan in the next round, which is a significant match, given that it is considered as the derby match, with Al Sadd's need to meet its targets in these confrontations to enhance its chances to return to competing for the title.Al Sadd Club Sports Director expressed his dissatisfaction with Al Sadd's position on the standings table, although he understands that the circumstances were not in the team's favor, having played those matches in the absence of 15 players due to their presence within the ranks of the national team.Gholam added that Al Sadd seeks to restore the team to its natural place in the standings, after the end of Gulf 25.