By Paulo Fugen
The Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) football league saw major regulation changes as it kicked off earlier this month for its third season.
The changes include the move of all league matches to the Awsaj Academy football pitch and the implementation of the eleven-a-side match format, which allows teams to field eleven players on the field for the first time. In past tournaments, teams were only allowed to field eight players.
In addition, the league rulebook has been brought up to the international FIFA standard, which means that rules like the offside rule can now be introduced, according to Mohammad Zahid, a supervisor at the HBKU Sports and Recreation department and one of the tournament’s organizers. “Every major rule in the FIFA rulebook has been implemented”, said Zahid.
The league organizers also hired a new officiating team to enforce the new rules. The team, which consists of a referee and two linesmen, was brought over from the Qatar Football Association (QFA), according to Zahid.
“So far, the officiating has been very professional”, said Jeffrey Sulik, assistant coach of the Texas A&M University in Qatar men’s football team. “We’re glad to see the bigger pitch, [eleven-a-side football is] something we always wanted to do since we’ve had the football league here.”
“I’m really happy about the new referees, they are much better than the last ones”, said Omar Al Ansari, the goalkeeper of the HBKU men’s football team, “I love eleven-a-side football, it’s what I grew up playing, even though the goals are bigger, which makes it harder for me, but still, that’s my passion.”
Paul Wood, the head coach of the HBKU men’s football team, said that the changes were agreed upon in a meeting held by the teams’ coaches back in December last year.
“All the coaches agreed that it was a good introduction for the students [to proper football competition],” said Wood.
Wood also stated that it was good for the Qatar Football Association to be involved with what he called “grassroots football” and that it showed that the QFA had a genuine interest in growing the local football scene.
The league has six teams participating this season, with TAMU-Q, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Georgetown School of Foreign Service in Qatar, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar and the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies all fielding teams. A sixth team, the HBKU team, is comprised of Northwestern University in Qatar, TAMU-Q, GU-SFSQ and Academic Bridge Program players.
The combined team is a result of the league requiring 20-man rosters on all teams as a result of the eleven-a-side format. That combined team was necessary because of the low number of male students in some campuses.
The league, which will play out over 30 matches, is expected to last until March. Currently, the HBKU team has the highest standing in the league with 8 points.
