Qatar through to the final four

Jan 29, 2015

Last night Qatar had an exhilarating match against Germany winning 26 -24. In doing so they became the first non-European team in the past decade (since 2005 hosts Tunisia) to qualify for the Semi-Final of the Men’s Handball World Championship.

The home team has done amazingly and we thought we would celebrate by commemorating their journey with 15 facts about Qatar Handball 2015.

The Qatar 2015 mascot is called Fahed and is based upon an actual Qatari child. Last February Virginia Commonwealth University (VCUQatar) student Roda Al-Thani came up with the winning design of Fahed as a representation of patriotism, fair play and team spirit.
Fahed proved popular with all of Qatar as the mascot toured the local schools, shopping malls and other public venues (such as Souq Waqif and Katara) in a bid to raise awareness about Handball and encouraging healthy lifestyles.
A mobile phone game was released called ‘Go Fahed’ – where Fahed and his international friends, Hamada, Michael, Luci, Nina, and Lucio take a journey to Qatar through the 24 countries taking part in the World Championship, including Spain, France, Brazil, Slovenia, Poland, Germany, and Croatia.
Matches have been taking place at one of three sport complexes: The Qatar Lusail Sports Arena, Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena and Duhail Handball Sports Hall. With the Lusail venue being the main venue for games. After the Championships the stadiums can be used to host other sports events including basketball, gymnastics and surprisingly ice hockey.
The ‘Cheer for Qatar’ campaign encouraged fans to upload videos of themselves performing the ‘Al Anabi Cheer’ celebrating the competition and Qatar’s hard work in bringing the tournament to the region.
All profits from ticket sales will go to the global ‘Educate A Child’ programme with the aim of increasing worldwide access to education - a cause close to the heart of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nas.
The successful budgeting and financial management of the event has been down to a team of 40 volunteers working with the Finance Committee for Qatar 2015 - all co-operating bodies have worked together to organise and support the Championships. They are hoping to provide a strong footprint for future sporting events in Qatar with excellent leaders in sporting events management and amazing local arenas and venues.
It is the first Handball Championship to have its own song. The official anthem ‘Live It’ was a special collaborative effort by singers and artists around the world, with the inspiring lyrics: ‘Hold your breath, seize the moment and live it, win it. Together we stand united, knowing that we belong’. It has had over 6.4 million views on the official 2015 Handball YouTube channel.
The ‘Handball Time’ set of videos on the official YouTube channel have also been well- received, with the humorous sketches starring different sporting ball characters - the ‘Emergency’ skit is very entertaining.
A new Trophy was unveiled at the Opening Ceremony. Influenced by Qatari heritage it was designed here in Qatar, and has a base of gold with precious stones. The old trophy will be placed in the International Handball Federation Museum which will open in 2015 in France.
Xavi Pascual, the world famous Head coach of FC Barcelona, has praised the Qatar’s home team as ‘one of the revelations of the championship…They worked very hard’. He was also very impressed by the facilities at the arenas and the transportation arrangements for the arenas.
The Final Four are playing matches on Friday night. Team matches will be as follows: Poland v Qatar, and Spain v France, with teams playing for 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th position
France has been sailing through the Championships and are firm favourites to win…but let’s give a shout-out for the under-dogs, our very own home team, Qatar – ‘Ole Ole!’
Four other teams will also play matches on the same evening at Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena, with teams fighting it out in order to make it to the Olympic Qualification Tournaments.
On Saturday and Sunday the Qualification tournaments will be held between teams to decide the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th rankings in the World Championships.