The Qatar Stars League (QSL) annual season launch took place today at the Iconic Sheraton Hotel in Dafna Hall.

This year’s event saw a slick white design, with a huge screen displaying the famous QSL logo. In front of the screen, on stage were 14 seats branded with each club’s logo where players from each team sat throughout the event.

The mid-morning event saw coaches, club officials, local and international media and other important guests as well as QSL’s senior management all attending and answering questions.

The host Mr Hamid Al Eid welcomed everybody to the launch ceremony and made special mention of the two newly promoted sides to the QSL - Al Rayyan and Mesaimeer.

The event kicked off with a special 3 minute video promo, highlighting the main moments the domestic league and the Qatar National Team.

Each player was then introduced individually as they arrived on stage.  The floor was then open to a range of journalists, all eager to ask questions to the players.

Al Kharaitiyat’s Anwar Diba “As you know I was absent for almost two years due to injury, but thank God I am back now and hopefully can be at the same level as before, the teams all look to have bought well and I can’t wait to get back into the swing of things.”
 
Al Arabi’s Rod Fanni “I found the overseas training camp very useful, I had to quickly adapt to the football style of Qatar. As a team we did very well with our new coach who has plenty of positive energy and understanding of the game.”
 
Al Wakrah’s Sabastian Saez “Last season we struggled, we changed some players and I think this year we have a lot of motivation to do well. We need to get a good start and stay disciplined.”
 
Lekhwiya’s Nam Tae-Hee “We know how to win, I want to win again, the team will give everything, that I can assure you.”
 
Al Sadd’s Xavi Hernandez “I think we will have a strong season, I think we will win many titles, I have won many things in Spain and Europe and I want to do the same here. I hope the fans will be happy with my performances and I look forward to learning a lot about Qatar during my time here. This is a good league with tough opponents.”
 
AL Rayyan’s Sergio Garcia “I am very happy to be competing and playing in the QSL, as my compatriot Xavi said, this is a strong league, I think Rayyan is a great team with a big history and I think we will win something for sure."
 
Mesaimeer‘s Rafael Amorim “Our aim is not to get relegated, we know that we cannot be expected to compete for the top positions but we will do our best to play to our full potential.”
 


Qatar Stars League CEO Mr Hani Ballan concluded the ceremony with a short speech. He spoke about many aspects of the league saying, “Firstly, I would like to welcome Rayyan and Mesaimeer to the league, I would like to welcome the foreign, local and regional players. I am sure they will enrich the season with some great moments. I would like to welcome the fans too. Very soon we will start, there will be some high quality matches, and I believe the 2015/16 season will be of the highest level.”
 
He added, “Last season, the QSL’s management really achieved a lot, for example the match operations, sales, communications, and football development department have exerted a lot of efforts to make sure that the league is of the highest calibre. We must ensure that we keep to this standard.”
 
“We want to give the clubs greater responsibility and freedom but also we must ensure that it is a smooth transition that won’t affect the technical level of matches or off-field responsibilities. We are working together to improve the technical level as well as other important aspects of running a club on a daily basis.”
 
He continued, “The third factor, is the media who are one of our most important partners we have, I would like to thank Al Kass who broadcast in a very distinctive fashion. The local papers too have played a massive role and continue to do a great job.”
 
He concluded by saying, “The proof of the success of any league and any match is the presence of fans, we will do all we can in order to attract them, we want fans to be excited and interact in a fun way in the stadiums. This will be a great season I am sure, I hope that we can all work together to make this a season that will be remembered for a long time.”
 
Mr Ballan then put the shield on the stage and brought all the players together to have a group photo with the players to end a glitzy and symbolic day in the Qatari football calendar.