One club will be crowned the winner for this year’s championship on April 8th.

The much-awaited Amir Table Tennis Cup championship for the 2022-2023 season is set to kick off on Sunday 26 March, featuring nine clubs from across the nation.

Per the regulations, the clubs will be divided into two main groups. The first includes a total of four teams, with league champion Al-Sadd as lead. The rest will include Al-Khor, Al-Rayyan and Al-Wakrah clubs.

Meanwhile, the second group will consist of five teams, including Qatar Club, the runner-up in the league, as well as Al-Arabi, Al-Shamal, Al-Gharrafa and Al-Ahli.

Four matches will be held in the first round, which will see Al-Sadd against Al-Rayyan, Al-Khor against Al-Wakrah, Al-Arabi against Al-Ahli and Al-Shamal against Al-Gharrafa.

The first two winners in each group will then qualify for the semi-finals, set to be held on 4 April. The matches for the third and fourth places are scheduled to take place on 6th April.

Following all the qualifications, the grand final will take place on 8th April with only one team crowned as the winner.

Thani Al-Zarraa, Chairman of the National Teams Committee for Table Tennis and member of the Qatar Table Tennis Association, confirmed that the nine clubs are fully prepared for the start of the competition tomorrow. He added that all the teams aspire to compete and achieve positive results in the Amir Cup Table Tennis Championship.

“The participating clubs in the tournament requested a change in the competition system from the knockout system to the group stage system. This is evidence of the clubs’ interest in the Amir Cup and their desire to offer the best levels in this valuable tournament, which is considered the culmination of the Qatar Table Tennis Association’s championships,” he told Qatar News Agency.

Al-Sadd, who won the Table Tennis League in the previous season, aims to win the Amir Cup title and achieve a double.

Qatar Club is expected to be the main competitor to Al-Sadd for the title.

“It is difficult for Qatar Club to end the season without winning any major championship, especially since they managed to win the Union Cup,” Al-Zarraa said.

“However, the most important championships are the league and the Amir’s Cup, which have external representation, as the winner of the Amir’s Cup participates in the Arab Table Tennis Club Championship,” he said.