Jeddah ready for West Asian football tournament

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is ready to host the third West Asian Football Federation U-23 Championship from Nov. 3-15 at Jeddah’s Al-Sala Stadium in King Abdullah Sports City.

The six teams participating in the tournament — Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Lebanon, Syria, Bahrain and Oman— have been divided into two groups: Group B made up of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Syria, while Group A comprises Oman, Qatar and Lebanon. 

Teams in each group will play a single round-robin as part of the tournament system, with the top teams from each side qualifying for the semifinals. The winners from this round will move to the final.

Second-placed teams from the semifinals will then play for the third and fourth places, while the two third-placed teams from the group stage will play for the fifth and sixth places.

The Saudi national team, the host and runner-up in the second tournament held in 2021, are among the favorites as they seek to make up for their loss against Jordan in last year’s final.

The Qatari team was absent from the 2021 tournament and will be hoping to make a strong comeback at this year’s competition.

The Syrian team have similar ambitions after losing to Jordan in the 2021 semifinals.

The Lebanon, Bahrain and Oman teams failed to survive the group stage last year, and will be looking for improved performances.