Qatar at Asian Cup: ‘No need to mix politics with football’

Qatar’s national team is hoping to keep the ongoing diplomatic dispute with some of its Gulf neighbours separate from the football field as they kick off their campaign at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

A 25-player Qatari squad, coaches and officials landed in the Emirati city of Al Ain in a private jet after travelling via Kuwait for the monthlong event on Saturday.

The tournament comes amid the Gulf crisis, now into its 20th month, which has seen Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain impose a land, air and sea blockade on Doha after accusing it of “supporting terrorism”. Qatar has repeatedly and vehemently denied all the allegations.

Despite the political tensions off the field, the players are eager to start the competition with their first match against Lebanon on Wednesday, Ali al-Salat, Qatar Football Association’s (QFA) media officer, told Al Jazeera.

“They are athletes, they are going to play football,” he said in a telephonic interview.” (There’s) no need to mix political issues with sports.”

“In the end, sport has a message of peace,” Salat added.

“So, this is what we are going to do and we hope that we represent our country in a good way during the competition.”

Qatar is placed in Group E alongside regional rival Saudi Arabia, North Korea, and Lebanon.

The highly-anticipated Qatari-Saudi match is scheduled to take place on January 17 at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Sports City Stadium.

In nine previous attempts, Qatar have never made it past the quarter-finals stage.

Barred from entry

The Gulf crisis has already overshadowed the monthlong sporting event after Saoud al-Mohannadi, vice president of QFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), was denied entry into the UAE on Thursday, before eventually arriving on Friday.

“The airline mentioned that he was not allowed to get on the plane because he doesn’t have permission from the Emirati authorities,” Salat told Al Jazeera.

There were also reports of some Qatar-based journalists not being allowed to enter the Emirati nation to cover the event, after allegedly waiting at Dubai airport for 13 hours before returning to Doha.

“We have journalists from Al Kass and BeIN sports, but the reporters from the local newspapers didn’t come,” said Salat. 

Qatar-based BeIN was temporarily blocked in the UAE in June 2017 after the diplomatic crisis started before its channels were restored.

BeIN is the exclusive broadcaster of the Asian Cup tournament which will run until February 1.

Qatar arrive in UAE for the #AsianCup2019! pic.twitter.com/dsNu7acTJt

— #AsianCup2023 (@afcasiancup) January 5, 2019

Meanwhile, on the field, Salat said the 24-nation Asian Cup offers Qatar a good opportunity to prepare as it looks forward to hosting its first World Cup in 2022 and competing in it.

“We have a young generation – the average age of our team is 24 years,” he said. “So this Asian Cup is good for them to gain experience and to prepare themselves for the World Cup.”

Qatar beat rivals Australia, Japan, South Korea and the United States in 2010 to claim hosting rights for the World Cup, becoming the first Arab country to do so.

Preparations are currently under way in Qatar, but FIFA is considering expanding the 2022 event from 32 to 48 teams with the possibility of Doha sharing the tournament with some other Gulf nations.

Football’s governing body is currently studying the feasibility of the expansion, with a final decision expected at the FIFA Council meeting in Miami in March.

Emirati official Aref al-Awani, who is the tournament director for the 17th edition of the Asian Cup, has said his country “would be willing to provide any help needed”.

Follow Saba Aziz on Twitter: @saba_aziz