Qatar is set to host the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 for a record third time after successfully hosting it in 1988 and 2011. 

In recognition of International Volunteer Day, Qatar’s upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2023 is set to have 6,000 volunteers from 107 nationalities support the flagship football tournament. 

Having been recruited to support 20 functional areas, volunteers between the ages of 18 to 72 will sustain the tournament that kicks off on January 12, 2024.

While 5 percent of those recruited will be volunteering for the first time, other volunteers from previous sporting events in Qatar will make a comeback for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023. 

Tournament organisers received around 50,000 applications since registration began on October 5. 

More than 850 interview sessions were conducted at the dedicated Volunteer Centre in the Lusail Stadium, led by long-term volunteers, per Alkass Digital’s report. 

Qatar is set to host the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 for a record third time after successfully hosting it in 1988 and 2011. 

Twenty-four of the continent’s best teams will compete for the continent’s most prestigious football title. 

Fity-one matches will be played across nine stadiums that will end on February 10, 2024.

Official Mascots of AFC Asian Cup revealed

Earlier this month, a family of five animated desert jerboas was revealed at the Official Mascots inauguration ceremony of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023. 

Unveiled for the first time at the Barahat Msheireb, an open square in downtown Doha, the jerboas are led by Saboog, the blue-coloured son of the family, who is returning to the international stage after first appearing during the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011. 

He is followed by the pink-coloured Freha, the family’s eldest daughter named after the Freha area in northern Qatar.

Third is Tmbki, the yellow-coloured younger son named after the Timbic region in Qatar’s east. 

The parents are Zkriti and Traeneh, the green-coloured father and the purple-coloured mother. The pair are named after Zikrit in Qatar’s west and Tranaa to Qatar’s north.

In addition to the unveiling of the mascot’s designs, so was their song, which was shared on X after the unveiling along with a description: “Hello, it’s Saboog! Your old friend from 2011. And, this is my dad Zkriti, my mum Traeneh, my sister Freha, and my little brother Tmbki. We’re back as the Asian Cup 2023 Qatar 2023 Official Mascots.”

Qatari artist Ahmed Al Maadheed created the mascots’ designs as he was inspired to create a set of characters that resemble a traditional household in the country. 

“From the very beginning, we wanted to do something that inspired families and young people to be a part of the Asian Cup,” a statement by Al Maadheed to the AFC said. 

“We wanted to do [sic] dig deep into our rich ecological heritage and find an animal that could represent the best of what happens on the pitch and also in our daily lives, and that was the jerboa,” the statement by the Qatari artist added.