Qatar Stars League CEO Mr. Hani Ballan said that the current season is one of the best he has witnessed despite the intense international calendar which impacted the season with regional and continental competitions.

Hani Ballan said in an exclusive statement to the German News Agency: “We witnessed this season a gradual increase in the number of spectators attending the league matches; this is one of our main aims. With a higher level of quality and competition among the clubs, this I am sure will attract more spectators.”

In the hands of the spectators
Commenting on the QSL’s current position within the Gulf and Asia, the QSL CEO said: “Regionally only the Saudi League is superior and the main reason behind this superiority is the spectators, while as far as the Asian continent is concerned, we come behind the Japanese, Korean and Saudi leagues.”

In response to a question about when the Qatar Stars League will be the first in the Arab World, Mr. Hani Ballan said, “Now it is up to the spectators, when the number of fans increases, it would make the Qatar Stars League without a doubt the best Asian and Arab League.”

Return of Al-Rayyan
Hani Ballan spoke about the return of Al Rayyan Sports Club to the Qatar stars League and said: “There is no doubt that the return of Al-Rayyan Sports Club would be an added asset to the league fixtures next season.”

Commenting on the reasons for the improvement of the league and the increase of the competition between the teams, Mr. Ballan said: “The efforts of the technical staff and officials as well as the players, have come all together in one league and that has produced this amazing football that we all see.”

Lekhwiya has what it takes
Commenting on Lekhwiya Sports Club and their consecutive titles, Hani Ballan said, “Lekhwiya’s success in the Qatar Stars League is due to the simple implementation of the golden rule –working hard will bring good results. Lekhwiya made good efforts and seeks always to lead.”

Mr. Ballan stressed that all the clubs should aspire to compete for the league title next season, and added that everyone too felt the same way. The statements of the clubs’ stakeholders especially made that point clear.

Hani Ballan expressed his hope and desire for Qatar Stars League to achieve the excellence of the English Premier League or the Spanish La Liga and he said: “As I said earlier this needs the collaboration of all stakeholders.”
 
Studying the feasibility of three professional players on match days
With regards to the issue of diminishing national team performance due to too many foreign players Mr. Ballan said, “We are committed to the number set by the AFC which is three foreign players and one Asian player. This season we have tested the fielding of only three professional players out of the four, and we are going to study the efficiency of this experience with the clubs in order to take the final decision necessary.”

Hani Ballan spoke about the participation of Qatar Stars League teams in the AFC Champions League and his hope that one team can repeat Al Sadd’s success back in 2011, he said: “Our Qatari clubs always compete for the top spots in the AFC champions League but it is difficult to say how far they can go because a cup competition is difficult to predict.”

Nothing is impossible in Qatar
Answering a question about whether we might ever witness Ronaldo and Messi playing in the Qatar Stars League, Mr. Hani Ballan said: “The term impossible doesn’t exist in Qatar, anything is possible, clubs within the Qatar Stars League will always look to sign the best  players in the world to contribute to the development of Qatari football. So that is my answer.”

No negative effects from stadium renovations
Commenting on whether there is a negative effect on the Qatar Stars League from the renovation of some stadiums which are being prepared for 2022 FIFA World Cup to be held in Qatar, Mr. Ballan said, “After doing the scheduling objective for the local competitions I do not think that the construction process currently underway will impact negatively on the various local tournaments.”

Commenting on the various aspects, by means of which Qatar Stars League can support 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, he said: “The establishment of a strong Qatari league which is regionally and continentally superior and even internationally is considered a practical message for all football fans and followers from all over the world that Qatar is a loving country for football and capable of stage the world cup for the first time in the Middle East.

Answering a question about how our league could present a strong national team to compete in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, Hani Ballan said: “The increase in competition ratio leads to the improvement of the number of qualified players to represent the Maroons, and this needs to be completed to prepare the perfect triangle starting with the technical aspects and the administrative capabilities and finally the fans.

Seeking to become one of the big powers in Asia
Mr. Hani Ballan spoke about the degraded level of performance by Qatar National Team during the AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015, only few weeks after winning the title of the 22^nd GCC Cup in Riyadh, he said: “The Maroons won the title of the GCC Cup yet despite this success; the team was subsequently knocked out of the Asian Cup. The team lost all three matches in the group stage but the team was capable of at least achieving one win I think.” He stressed on the fact that Qatari football is on the rise in Asia and that it has the ability to match any big teams on the world’s biggest continent.” 

Commenting on when the Maroons will compete for the title of Asian Cup like the Qatar National Youth Team which won the Asian title and qualified to the FIFA World Cup in New Zealand, Mr. Ballan said, “The coming period will prove that the Maroons is mature enough to compete regionally and in pan-continental competitions.”

Commenting on his expectation for the Qatar National Youth team in the World Cup, Mr. Hani Ballan pointed out that he is convinced that the team will demonstrate a good performance as the Asian champions, assuring in the meantime that this team is the core of the team who will participate in the 2022 World Cup.”

Refereeing Project
Qatar Stars League CEO Mr. Ballan concluded the interview by speaking about who all the referees in the Qatar Cup were Qatari and said: “We granted the Qatari referees the opportunity to officiate all the matches in the Qatar Cup as part of a 10 year project launched by the QFA Referees Department.

With regards to Arabic referees officiating at the highest levels, Mr. Ballan said, “Diligence, perseverance and continuing to work every day, especially in light of the growing attention of all local, regional and the continental federations. The FIFA process of developing referees by shedding more light and advice on refereeing mistakes is vital and is a natural result of the monitoring programmes already in place.”

Hani Ballan stressed that some Arab countries are on the right path to professionalism, he said: “The only obstacle facing us to enter the true world of professionalism is merely time.”