War torn Syria seek WAFF fillip in Doha

Date

9/29/2015 11:25:02 PM

(MENAFN- The Peninsula)

by Armstrong Vas

Doha: They have been fleeing death and destruction to chase their football teams overcoming huge obstacles. The safety concerns of their families are always at the back of their minds.

The Syrians players are here and will be seen in action in the Group C of the U23 WAFF championship at the Lekhwiya Stadium.

The war has crippled football in Syria and fragmented the country but football has weather many a storm. Young footballers have thrived. The league has continued in relatively safer surroundings of Damascus.

“We are happy to participate in the championship despite the hardships that we are facing. We are looking to win the Cup. Our team is a good team. Among the strong teams in the championships even though some players are absent because they are playing with the first team in the World Cup qualifiers. Hopefully we will give a good performance that reflects the good level of Syrian football” said Syrian coach Mohamed Alfakeer.

“Perhaps the situation in Syria are hard. Our preparations all took place in Damascus the capital without any camps abroad because we were unable to organise camps abroad” added Alfakeer who disclosed that players who made the trip for the championship are not just from the capital city but from all over the country.

“Any country that is facing hardships the people of that country will be looking forward to happiness smiles on their faces. These smiles that we will be able to give through football on the faces on the Syrian people that’s what we are looking towards. Of course. We cannot erase the pain but if we can get them to smile then we will be contributing a little bit towards our country” he added.

Since 2011 the country has sunk into a multi-layered and inexorably vicious civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands. More than seven million people have been internally displaced. A further four million have fled the country.

“The Syrian team has a lot of capacity and we will give our best performance to reach the final.

We know clearly that the first match with the UAE team is the key for qualifying for the semis and if we want our morale to remain high team spirit to remain high then we have to win this opening match. Our ambitions are high. Not only to reach the final but to prepare our team for the Asian Cup in January.

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.