DOHA: The 11th edition of the Al Kass International Football Championship will kick off today with eight international teams and academies competing at the Aspire Academy grounds until Jan. 29.
The teams have been drawn into two groups. Group A features Aspire Academy, Morocco’s Mohammed VI Academy, Scotland’s Rangers and Tunisia’s Etoile du Sahel. Group B comprises Spain’s Barcelona, France’s Paris Saint-Germain, Japan’s Kashiwa Reysol and Vietnam’s PVF Academy.
Hosts Aspire Academy will face Mohammed VI Academy in the opening match, followed by Rangers taking on Etoile du Sahel in the second Group A fixture.
The group stage will be played in a single round-robin format, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals. The semi-finals will be contested on a knockout basis, with the winners progressing to the final and the losers meeting in the third-place playoff.
The teams finishing third and fourth in each group will play classification matches to determine positions from fifth to eighth.
