A preliminary round clash between Mesaimeer and Al Markhiya will kick off the 50th edition of the Amir Cup tournament at Al Ahli Stadium, today.
The match kicks off at 5:45pm.Al Markhiya finished in fifth spot while Mesaimeer were placed sixth in last sea-son’s Second Division League. Today’s winner will join 16 other teams in the main draw which will see the par-ticipants divided into two pools.
The first pool will consist of the eight teams who finished first to eighth in last season’s QSL.
The second pool will include the teams ranked ninth to 12th in QSL last season, the top three ranked teams from last sea-son’s Second Division League, and the winner of today’s match.
Mubarak Al Balushi, Mesaimeer’s assistant coach, confirmed that his team is fully prepared to face Al Markhiya and will be targeting a ticket to the main draw.
"Our first target is to reach the main round and we are ready for the match against Al Markhiya," Al Balushi said."Our team is competing under special circumstances after our head coach and a number of players were tested positive for COVID-19, but the team’s preparations were on track ahead of this decisive clash," Al Balushi said.
Meanwhile, Bader Al Maimani, assistant coach of Al Markhiya, confirmed that they have studied their opponents well, espe-cially after having faced them in several league matches. However, Al Maimani revealed that today’s match has its own characteristics as both teams aspire to advance to next stage.
"We have faced Mesaimeer on a number of occasions and we are fully prepared against them. It will be a tough match as both the teams are eager to advance in the main round of this prestigious tournament," Al Maimani said.
Al Sadd are the defending cham-pions of the prestigious tournament following their 5-4 shootout win over Al Rayyan after a 1-1 draw at Al Thumama Stadium in October this year.
Al Sadd have won the Amir Cup crown a record 18 times since the tour-nament’s inception in 1972.dlh
