Doha, July 25 (QNA) - Qatar Stars League (QSL) announced Wednesday the dates of the first phase of the 2018-19 QNB Stars League.

The first phase of the QNB Stars League will kick off on August 4 and ends in November this year. The QNB Stars League is starting ahead of schedule this year due to Qatar national team's busy international calendar. Qatar national team will feature in the 2019 Asian Cup to be held in the UAE from January 5 to February 1. Also, top QNB Stars League teams Al Duhail and Al Sadd are featuring in the quarterfinals stages of the 2018 AFC Champions League.

The AFC Champions League matches involving Al Duhail and Al Sadd matches will be played on August 27 and 28, September 18 and 19. If Al Duhail and Al Sadd advance in the AFC Champions League, their QNB Stars League matches will be rescheduled for dates that are suitable to the two sides.

The QSL met with all stakeholders - team managements, officials of the Qatar Football Association (QFA), representatives of the AFC Champions League, the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the Stadium Security Department and the QFA's Referees Committee - before finalizing the dates of the new football season.

The QSL also confirmed Al Sadd Stadium (Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium) and the Khalifa International Stadium will host the first four rounds of the QNB Stars League. This has been done to host the matches in venues with state-of-the-art cooling technology.

The kick-off times have been scheduled for 45 minutes before sunset. The matches from round 5 and beyond will be played at the regular football venues across the country on home and away basis.

It has been confirmed that Qatar SC will not be able to use its host venue - Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium - which will be closed for maintenance work in October. Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium will be the temporary 'home venue' for Qatar SC during this period.

Marketing and Communications Executive Director Hassan Rabea Al Kuwari stressed that the new season 2018/2019 will be exceptional, especially since the World Cup now gets ready to move to the Middle East in 2022. He added that QSL was working diligently with QFA and the Supreme Committee for Legacy and Delivery (SC) to ensure Qatar will host the most memorable World Cup edition in history. (QNA)