Doha: Mesaimeer and Al Markhiya will clash in the preliminary round of the Amir Cup 2022, the 50th edition of the prestigious tournament, the Qatar Football Association (QFA) announced yesterday.
The two teams finished fourth and fifth respectively in the last season of the Second Division League in 2020-21.
The match will kick off at 5:45pm on Saturday, January 14, at Hamad Bin Khalifa Stadium.
The QFA also announced that the game will move to a penalty shootout if normal time ends in a draw.
The winner will enter the draw for the Round of 16 of the tournament according to the new format implemented by the QFA since the 48th edition in the 2019-20 season.
The Round of 16 draw will see the teams divided into two pools, the first of which will consist of the eight teams who finished first to eighth in the last season of the QNB Stars League in 2020-21.
As for the second pool, it will have the teams ranked ninth to 12th in the QNB Stars League last season, the top three ranked teams from last season’s Second Division League, and the preliminary round game-winner between Mesaimeer and Al Markhiya.
Al Sadd are the defending champions of the popular tournament.
The Wolves defeated Al Rayyan 5-4 in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw at Al Thumama Stadium in October this year.
Al Sadd have won the Amir Cup crown a record 18 times since the tournament's inception in 1972.
