Doha, April 29 (QNA) - The draw for the round of 16 for the 52nd edition of the Amir Cup, which was held today, revealed balanced matches along with other expected confrontations in the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
The draw ceremony took place in the presence of HE President of the Qatar Football Association (QFA) Jassim bin Rashid Al Buainain and a number of club presidents, representatives of the teams participating in the tournament, and the Federation's competitions management officials who managed the draw process.
The round of 16 competitions will be held from May 6 to 9, with the tournament actually kicking off last week through the preliminary round stage, which saw the qualifications of Al Khor, Al Bidaa, Al Waab and Al Sailiya.
Al Arabi, the defending champion and winner of eight titles, was drawn with Al Sailiya from the second division in the first round, which also includes a confrontation between Al Duhail with Al Shamal. The winner of the first match will meet that of the second match in the Quarter-finals.
The first track continues with Al Wakrah, which is looking for its first title in the tournament, facing Muaither. In the third match, Al Sadd, 18-time Amir Cup winners, will face Al Markhiya in the fourth match, with the winner of this match meeting the winner of the tournament's third match.
The two finalists from the quarter-finals in this path will face each other in the semi-finals to qualify for the final match.
The second track is balanced in terms of confrontations, with teams making their first appearance in the tournament. Al Waab, from the second division, will meet Qatar SC, 2-time Cup winners, in the fifth match.
Al Rayyan, the winners of the title on six occasions, will play with Al Khor, champions of the second division, with the winners of the two matches meeting in the quarter-finals.
Umm Salal, one-tine Amir Cup winners, will play a test against Al Bidaa from the second division.
Al Ahli will meet Al Gharafa, with the winners of the two matches meeting in the quarter-finals. In this path, one team qualifies for the final match.
Before the draw, the participating teams will be divided into two pools, the first of which consists of the eight teams who finished first to eighth in the last season of the Expo Stars League.
As for the second pool, it has the teams ranked ninth to 12th in the Expo Stars League, in addition to the four teams that won the preliminary round games. (QNA)