Qatari clubs have launched their external preparatory camps in preparation for the start of the next season 2024-2025, which the clubs are entering with great hopes and ambitions on the local and continental levels.
The next season will witness a series of challenges before the start of the various competitions, starting with the first round of the Qatar Football League / Ooredoo Stars League / which will start on the ninth of next August.
The early start of the season requires clubs to complete the contracting files with coaches and players, whether they are local or foreign professionals, so that the technical teams can complete the preparation task in an ideal manner, and the clubs reap the fruits of the external camps, the returns and success of which will be reflected in future participations, whether local or continental.
After the Qatar Stars League announced the schedule of matches for the Qatari league, the teams learned about the dates of the matches and the stadiums, so the technical teams began to draw up a preparation map before entering the official matches in a long season full of challenges.
The Qatari clubs have chosen European destinations to hold the external camps, which will be held between the first week of July and will continue until the first week of August.
The Netherlands will be the preferred destination for four of the twelve teams to undergo the physical and technical preparation phase, with Al Rayyan, Al Ahli, Umm Salal and Al Shamal in the country, while Al Sadd, Qatar and Al Wakrah clubs chose Spain, while Austria will host Al Duhail and Al Arabi, Al Gharafa chose Slovakia, and Al Khor and Al Shahaniya, the two newcomers to the league, headed to Turkey.
This season’s external camps include Qatari clubs participating in friendly tests of varying levels with Arab and European teams from different league levels. The trial matches represent an opportunity for the technical staff to test the players’ readiness and introduce them to the atmosphere of the matches before the start of the season and the competitive confrontations.
The local championships in the new season will witness strong competition between the clubs after Al Sadd won the league and Emir Cup titles last season, while Al Wakrah won the Qatar Cup. Al Khor also advanced to the first division after winning the second division title, while Al Shahaniya returned to the league after winning the play-off against Al Markhiya.
Clubs participating in continental competitions, whether the AFC Champions League Elite, AFC Champions League 2, or the Gulf Clubs Championship, also take into consideration the importance of ideal preparation for external participation and trying to achieve the greatest gains from external camps so that they enter the continental and Gulf events with the best technical and physical readiness.
The upcoming season will witness important participation of clubs in external tournaments, as Al Sadd, the Qatari league champion last season, and Al Rayyan, the second-placed team, will participate with two direct seats in the AFC Champions League for the elite, while Al Gharafa, third in the ranking, is preparing to participate in the same tournament through the preliminary round, while Al Wakrah, fourth in the ranking, is preparing to appear in the AFC Champions League 2, and it has been decided that Al Arabi, fifth in the ranking in the league, will participate in the Gulf Champions League.
For its part, Al Gharafa will begin its journey in the preliminary round of the elite AFC Champions League from August 6 to 13 by facing the winner of the match between the Iranian representative and the UAE’s Shabab Al Ahli team.
The winning teams in the preliminary round will join the clubs that qualified directly for the league stage, where the competitions will be held between September 16, 2024 and February 19, 2025.
The benefits of ideal preparation in external camps are not limited to clubs only, but also extend to the Qatari national team, which awaits important events next season, most notably participation in the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, which will start in September 2024, after the draw placed Al-Adham in Group One alongside Iran, Uzbekistan, the Emirates, Kyrgyzstan, and North Korea.
The Qatari national team will play two matches in the World Cup qualifiers next September against the UAE and North Korea. It will also meet the Kyrgyz and Iranian national teams next October, and in November it will play two matches against Uzbekistan and // the UAE, which means there is a busy program of local and continental participation.
The Qatari national team will also participate in the Gulf Cup /Gulf 26/ scheduled in Kuwait from December 21, 2024 to January 3, 2025, which requires physical and technical readiness from the players, so the external preparatory camps remain the basis from which clubs and national teams launch to enter the anticipated new season.
