Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah: Al-Sadd was born as a giant

Al-Sadd founding father H.E. Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah spoke of his great delight after the football team won the Emir Cup for the 16th time on Thursday, with a 2-1 win over Al-Rayyan in the refurbished Khalifa International Stadium.

Speaking after the match, Al-Attiyah said: “Al-Sadd have proved that it truly is the leader of Qatari football. The team deserved to win the treble this season but it could only achieve a double after strangely missing out on hte league title. But this is football. We are now the league runners-up and champions of the Qatar Cup and the Emir Cup; this is a new achievement and a new title is going to adorn our trophy cabinet. This is a reaffirmation of Al-Sadd’s status as a giant. Al-Sadd was born as a giant and will remain so.”

He added: “I want to congratulate myself, the fans, club president H.H. Sheikh Mohammed, vice president Nasser Al-Ali and the management led by head of football Mohammed Ghanem Al-Ali. Special thanks go out to all the Al-Sadd fans who supported the club throughout the season and in all the matches, they were the prime pillar of support for the team. They were behind the team’s comeback in the final after trailing by a goal. The players, with the support of the fans, managed to get the equalizer and then the winning goal. They achieved the title and showed that Al-Sadd is always difficult to beat.”

As for the achievement of winning the first title at the first completed stadium of the 2022 World Cup, Al-Attiyah said: “History repeats itself because Al-Sadd were the team who won the first final at the Khalifa Stadium, defeating Al-Rayyan 1-0. This achievement today with the first title win at the new refurbished stadium shows that Al-Sadd is the past, present and future. Al-Sadd writes history. Winning the 67th title means that Al-Sadd are the leaders when it comes to records and statistics. I don’t think any other club can reach these numbers that Al-Sadd have achieved.”

H.E. Al-Attiyah also spoke about the Khalifa Stadium: “The match was great and shows the true picture of Qatar’s readiness to host the World Cup. This excellent organization of the final match is a message to the world, proving that Qatar is capable of hosting not just the World Cup in 2022, but any world event, be it the Olympics or anything else. Qatar has shown that it is the sporting capital of the Arab world.”