The QNB Stars League will resume on July 24 at the newly-completed Education City Stadium with Qatar Sports Club taking on Al Rayyan in the Round 18 fixture.

Education City Stadium, one of the venues for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, will play host to remaining five rounds of QNB Stars League along with two other arenas – Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium and Al Janoub Stadium.

All three stadiums possess the cooling technology, which will help the players cope with the searing temperatures. The kick-off times for the matches would be 4:45pm and 7pm. The QNB Stars League was brought to a halt after 17 rounds due to the Covid-19 pandemic with Al Duhail at the top of the table, four points clear of Rayyan.

According to the schedule released yesterday, the remaining rounds are set to be completed by August 22 – with 30 matches to be played in just under a month’s time. Two other matches will be played on the first day of restart of the league. Al Gharafa will take on Al Arabi at the Al Janoub Stadium, while Al Sadd meet Al Khor at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, with both games kicking off at 7.00pm.

Duhail, meanwhile, will be in action on July 25. The league leaders resume their campaign with a match against Umm Salal at the Education City Stadium. Bottom-placed Al Shahaniya then take on Al Ahli at Al Janoub, while Al Wakrah clash with Al Sailiya at Jassim bin Hamad.

The marquee clash between Duhail and reigning champions Al Sadd is slated for August 8 at the latter’s home ground. Al Sadd’s chances of regaining the title are slim as Xavi Hernandez’s side are 10 points behind Duhail.

The first step towards the resumption of football will be held today and tomorrow, where players and officials from 12 teams will undergo Covid-19 tests under the supervision of Ministry of Public Health at the Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Stadium in Al Sadd.

The players and team officials who test negative will then check into a team hotel on Wednesday. The first phase of the training will be held from Wednesday, June 10-24, with teams taking precautionary measures and maintaining social distancing.

The second round of Covid-19 tests is scheduled for June 24 and 25, from when the teams will train in small groups until the restart of the league. The protocol developed by the QSL is to reduce and control the risk of virus spreading between team members and players, as they return to training and action. It follows all preventive and precautionary measures, and a workshop was organized for all technical staff involved to explain the procedures for training during the first phase.

Source : Gulf Times

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