OMAN struck once in each half to down hosts Qatar 2-0 in the Gulf Olympic Teams (U-23) Cup soccer tournament in Doha yesterday. The scorers for Oman in the three-team Group ‘A’ match played at Aspire Academy Stadium were Yaqoob Abdil Karim in the 36th minute and Mansoor al Nuaimi in the 94th minute, the latter converting a penalty. Oman with three points meet the third team in the group, Bahrain, tomorrow. The teams in Group ‘B’ are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. The final of tournament in slated for August 7.

JOHANNESBURG Chairman of the Oman Football Association (OFA) Sayyid Khalid Bin Hamad Al Busaidi and his delegation arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa to attend the Fifa Congress and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) meeting, on the sidelines of the World Cup, starting from June 11.

Oman Club and Al Shabab drew 1-1 in an OmanMobile Football League match played at Seeb Sports Stadium on Friday. Oman Club was leading 1-0 at lemon time. After a number of failed attempts, Oman scored the first goal in the 16th minute of the match through a penalty kick by Khalil Al Hadhrami. Sultan Al Fulaity netted the equaliser for Al Shabab in the 50th minute of the match.

Al Nahda coach Mohsin Darwish stressed his side’s AFC Cup campaign starts now as they prepare for their crucial Group \'E\' encounter with Jordanians Al Wehdat at Seeb Stadium today. The Omani outfit are yet to pick a point after losing their previous three matches and defeat to Al Wehdat will end their chances of advancing to the knockout stage of the tournament. Al Nahda welcome back Nasser al Shamli from suspension but Baba Issaka sits out the game after he was sent off in the previous match, and Darwish has demanded his players show their fighting spirit today. “We are going to fight to give a better performance against Al Wehdat,” he said. “We need to get a good result because we are now in the last place in the group. “The next three matches will be very important for us as we must try our best to recover after the previous defeats in the competition. We need to try to get back on track. “There are nine points from the remaining three matches to collect and we must get all these points. The match against Al Wehdat will be our starting point. “Everything in the group is still open even though Al Riffa are the leaders. We want to get back into contention.”

Oman made a sensational start to their campaign in the second Arab Beach Soccer Championship with a thumping victory over Syria in the Saudi Arabian city of Dammam yesterday. According to information received here from Oman coach Talib Hilal, the Sultanate squad ripped the Syria apart to record a 13-5 victory in their Group \'A\' match.

Leaders Al Suwaiq suffered a jolt yesterday versus Al Arouba but still maintain their top position with 42 points after 18 matches in the Oman Football Association (OFA) Oman Mobile League. At Sohar Sports Complex yesterday, last-but-one placed Arouba brought Suwaiq down with 1-0 win, goal scored by Yaqoob Juma in the 75th minute. Bottom-placed Al Talee\'a also scored a solitary goal victory over Al Seeb at Sur Sports Complex, the winner came from the boots of Oasma Hadeed in the 43rd minute. Seeb are in the ninth spot with 21 points in the 12-team league. However, Al Nasr avoided an upset in the other match of the day at Al Saada Sports Complex in Salalah, beating Al Shabab 1-0 through Hassan Zakir\'s 87th minute strike. While Al Nasr have 23 points and in sixth place, Al Shabab are in eighth with 21 points after 18 matches.

Some of the local newspaper on Monday March 29, 2010 issued a news article in which they wrote about decisions taken by the Board of Directors of the OFA during their weekly meeting held on Sunday 28/3/2010, the Council held an emergency meeting late Monday evening 3-29-2010 in the light of the published information, and would like to express deep regret that some of the newspapers who published the news without authenticating the source as the reports were false and content of the articles were addressed to the person of The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federation, The council is deeply disappointed by the content of these reports and the conduct of some of the journalists and would like to clarify the information and denounce the articles and the information in them.

As mentioned earlier that beach soccer is not all that easy as it looks, it is much tougher than the normal game one gets to see. This was the opinion of the beach soccer expert when Times Sport caught up with him at the MABGOC office yesterday for an exclusive chat. Heading the Beach Soccer Development office in Dubai, Alex Soriano, a young bubbly yet composed man from Spain, visited Muscat to evaluate the progress of the 2nd Asian Beach Games to be held this December. “From my visit to Mussanah I must tell you that I am pretty much satisfied by the progress that has taken place and I am sure that this beach games is going to be one of the best if not the best that I have witnessed,” said Soriano.

The Referee Seminar and workshop organized by the OFA was opened today under the auspices of Nasser Said Ahmed Al Kindi Head of Communications and crisis management in Oman LNG. The Seminar & Workshop have been organized by the OFA with the help of FIFA and will be conducted from 27 -31 3/2010. The Seminar was started off by a speech from Issa Suleiman Manager of The Referee Office at the OFA. Mr Hassan Al Ajmi Board member and Deputy Chairman of the OFA Referee Committee also gave a speech in which he mentioned the importance of developing the skills of the Omani Referee and the important role that workshops of this kind play in the development of the level of refereeing in the game.

Saham coach Yaqoub Al Zaabi has challenged the Omani side to continue their AFC Cup revival against Jordan’s Shabab Al Ordon at Al Seeb Stadium today.

Football Association (OFA) has signed a one-year sponsorship deal with National Bank of Oman (NBO) for the much-talked Oman FA Academy in order to develop and nurture the younger players in the country who could one day fulfil their dream of becoming a professional player and one day play for the national side.

His Majesty\'s Cup winner Saham is facing major injury worries ahead of its Group A Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup match against Jordan\'s Al Shabab Ordon on Tuesday at Seeb Sports Stadium. The host is likely to be without its entire first team defence, which consists captain Mohammed Ismail, national team player Mohammed Mussalami, Khalfan Abdulsalam and Nasser al Ali. Saham\'s opposition, 2007 AFC Cup champion Al Shabab Ordon, has no such problems and can field a full-strength side.

The Oman Football Association (OFA) has devised a strategic programme to make the national football more result-oriented. Addressing media for the first time after Oman’s exit from the Asian Cup qualifier against Kuwait recently, OFA Chairman Sayyid Khalid Bin Hamad Al Busaidi put up a brave front and detailed the reasons behind the national football team’s failure to earn the Doha ticket.

HM\'s Cup champion Saham is set to take on Yemen\'s domestic league runner-up Ahli-Sana\'a in the second round Group A match of the AFC Cup, which will kick-off at the Seeb Sports Stadium on Tuesday at 7.30pm. Both teams are appearing in the championship for the first time and suffered defeats in their opening matches.

IT’S been three years since Sayyid Khalid Al Busaidi took charge as the first elected chairman of Oman Football Association (OFA). He was never short of experience. His links to the game dates back to 1986 with numerous history making milestones, both on national and regional levels as boss of Fanja Club, Sayyid Khalid had made his intentions very clear when he first stood for the OFA elections on August 2007. What we witnessed later was a tremendous transformation in the football scenario with Sultanate taking giant steps, first winning the elusive Gulf Cup and then bringing the five-time world champions Brazil home. He now looks to transform the domestic league to a professional status (in his own words ‘Premiere League Format’) in two years. Will he succeed? In an exclusive interview with Times Sport, the young and charismatic football chief talks about the aftermath of Oman’s match against Kuwait that stopped them from boarding a flight to the Asian Cup finals in Qatar and his dream plan to professionalise the game in the country.

MUSCAT Oman coach Claude Le Roy was the most disappointed man after the match. “This is the biggest disappointment of my career,” Le Roy said at the post-match press conference, while a thrilled Kuwaiti counterpart Goran Tufegdzic said: “we came here with a plan and our strategy worked.”

Among the host of speakers at the FIFA club management workshop, which began on Saturday, was Petr Fousek, a leading FIFA instructor and UEFA delegate. The former Czech Republic Football Association general secretary has been a long-time sports administrator and is visiting the sultanate for the first time.

With only six of the 12 Oman Mobile League clubs attending the opening session of the FIFA club management workshop, organised by the Oman Football Association (OFA), at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Saturday, the message was clear - it is a long journey for the OFA and the top clubs in the sultanate to adopt a professional approach and work together.

Terming Oman’s failure to qualify for the 2011 Asian Cup finals after a goalless draw against Kuwait as ‘a big blow’, Sayyid Khalid al Busaidy, Oman Football Association (OFA) chairman, said he is yet to meet national team coach Claude Le Roy to discuss the debacle. In his first comments after Wednesday night\'s disappointment, Busaidy told Muscat Daily, “There is no doubt that the result has hurt me. We tried our best to provide the best conditions and best possible atmosphere for the boys and coaching staff. They have let us down.” Not keen to pinpoint any specific reason for the team’s elimination, Busaidy said, “I personally would put the blame partly on the players and the coach. Frankly, I do not have any answer for their display. I will be speaking to the coach and we will definitely be seeking an explanation from him.” On talk doing the rounds that Le Roy may be sacked, Busaidy said, “He is with us and there is no reason to think along those lines. We have to look forward to the 2014 World Cup qualifiers and the Gulf Cup, where we need to defend the title.” Saleh al Farsi, OFA general secretary and CEO, said, “We lost a chance to qualify. It hurts us as the OFA chief and the association had left no stone unturned in providing the best facilities for the team.” Saleh was critical of Le Roy\'s tactics and said, “Though I am not a great footballer, I felt that he was overconfident. He did not have any back-up plans after the poor show in the first half. His substitutions of Qasim Said, Badr al Maimani and Hashim Saleh (late in the game) would have been better if he had employed those tactics at the start of the second session.” The OFA CEO, however, felt that Le Roy should stay with the national team and learn from the mistakes. “We will make sure that he realises the disappointment of the nation and the board and he needs to give us a reason for the shoddy display in the do-or-die match. I feel that Le Roy should respect the ideas and opinions of others. Maybe this is the best way to move ahead. I am not in favour of quick-fix remedies. We need to sit with him and analyse the debacle. Only if we learn from our mistakes can we improve.”

More than half a dozen missed goals and some heart breaking moments… But Oman miss the flight to Qatar after the crucial thrilling encounter against former Asian Champions Kuwait ended in a goalless draw.

Seventeen-year-old Wail al Jalandani was declared the champion in the recently concluded Red Bull Street Style Oman Championship, beating 32 contestants in the knockout rounds leading to the final. He is clearly elated to be representing the sultanate at the World Street Style championships to be held in South Africa next month.

The DVDs of the Red Wave, a documentary film on Oman’s famous Gulf Cup victory, was launched here yesterday. Speaking on the occasion, Sayyid Khalid al Busaidy, the chairman of the Oman Football Association, said: ‘‘We are pleased to launch this documentary especailly beacuse of the timing as Oman is scheduled to play their crucial Asian Cup qualifying match against Kuwait on Wednesday. We want ot bring back memories of the famous victory so that it helps the team overall.” The soccer fans can re-live the thrills and watch and witness the team’s journey to the Gulf Cup victory in this film, which includes the training and preparations of the team and the interviews of the coach and the players. Each DVD is priced at RO 5.

Sayyid Khalid bin Hamad bin Hamoud Al Busaidi Congratulated, on his own behalf and on behalf of the members of the Governing Board of the Omani national beach football team on the occasion of winning the gold medal at the first Asian beach tournament which conclude its events in Bali, Indonesia, today, Sunday.

Sayyid Khalid bin Hamad bin Hamoud Al Busaidi Congratulated, on his own behalf and on behalf of the members of the Governing Board of the Omani national beach football team on the occasion of winning the gold medal at the first Asian beach tournament which conclude its events in Bali, Indonesia, today, Sunday.

Today, Monday 25/8/2008 at the Ramada Hotel, Muscat and, under the auspices of Sayyid Khalid bin Hamad bin Humoud Al-Busaidi, Chairman of the Board of the Omani Football Federation, the events of the administrative and management seminar for football were opened to the secretaries of football clubs which were organized by the Omani Football Federation in cooperation with the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA), which will continue until the thirtieth of this month.

Today, Monday 25/8/2008 at the Ramada Hotel, Muscat and, under the auspices of Sayyid Khalid bin Hamad bin Humoud Al-Busaidi, Chairman of the Board of the Omani Football Federation, the events of the administrative and management seminar for football were opened to the secretaries of football clubs which were organized by the Omani Football Federation in cooperation with the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA), which will continue until the thirtieth of this month.

The evening of Friday 23/10/2008 was held at the Ramada Hotel for the conclusion of the events of the specialized regional session for the preparing and qualifying of the training lecturers organized by the Omani Football Federation in cooperation with the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) which lasted from the thirteenth to the twenty fourth of this month, where the closing ceremony was held under the auspices of Saif bin Hamad Al-Jabiri, board member and chairman of the Competitions’ Committee of the Federation in the Omani Football Federation in the presence of Ahmed Omar, the representative of FIFA and Fahd Almukhrej, representative of the Asian Association, in addition to Saber Suleiman of the Regional Development FIFA Office for developing and promoting football in Jordan.

The evening of Friday 23/10/2008 was held at the Ramada Hotel for the conclusion of the events of the specialized regional session for the preparing and qualifying of the training lecturers organized by the Omani Football Federation in cooperation with the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) which lasted from the thirteenth to the twenty fourth of this month, where the closing ceremony was held under the auspices of Saif bin Hamad Al-Jabiri, board member and chairman of the Competitions’ Committee of the Federation in the Omani Football Federation in the presence of Ahmed Omar, the representative of FIFA and Fahd Almukhrej, representative of the Asian Association, in addition to Saber Suleiman of the Regional Development FIFA Office for developing and promoting football in Jordan.

The members of the Board of the Omani Football Federation lauded the tremendous and unprecedented achievement attained by our national football team by winning the gold medal at the first Asian Beach Games which ended the competition in the Indonesian island of Bali last Sunday.

The members of the Board of the Omani Football Federation lauded the tremendous and unprecedented achievement attained by our national football team by winning the gold medal at the first Asian Beach Games which ended the competition in the Indonesian island of Bali last Sunday.

Our beach football’s national team has achieved an unprecedented achievement in its first official participation at a continental level when, Sunday morning, our team heroes succeeded to win the gold medal in the football competition at the First Asian Beach Games in Bali, Indonesia, when they managed to beat the brotherly UAE team with a result of 3 – 2 goals.

Our beach football’s national team has achieved an unprecedented achievement in its first official participation at a continental level when, Sunday morning, our team heroes succeeded to win the gold medal in the football competition at the First Asian Beach Games in Bali, Indonesia, when they managed to beat the brotherly UAE team with a result of 3 – 2 goals.

Sayyid Khalid bin Hamad confirms the participation of all first league teams in the 19th Gulf Football Tournament and,Our National Football Team will host the Indonesian Team on 19/1/2009 in the Asian elimination series.

Sayyid Khalid bin Hamad confirms the participation of all first league teams in the 19th Gulf Football Tournament and,Our National Football Team will host the Indonesian Team on 19/1/2009 in the Asian elimination series.

Khalid bin Hamad: Our ball is on the right path and is expanding geographically and upgrading technically

Khalid bin Hamad bin Hamoud Al-Busaidi, Chairman of the Board of the Omani Football Association, valued the position of Qatari and Kuwaiti Associations and the positions of Qatari and Kuwaiti clubs in permitting professional players of the first national football team in the Qatari and Kuwaiti league games to join the preparatory camp for the team starting tomorrow, Saturday for professionals in Kuwait and fifteenth of the current month of December for professionals in Qatar and even until after Gulf 19 and the game of our national team with the Indonesian team on 19, next January in the framework of qualifying for the coming Asian Nations Cup.

The evening of Friday 24/10/2008 held at the Ramada Hotel witnessed the conclusion of events of the specialized regional session for the initiation and qualifying of the training lecturers under the auspices of Sayyid Khalid bin Hamad bin Hamoud Al Busaidi, Chairman of the Board of the Omani football

Blatter congratulates Khalid bin Hamad on his success in the elections and commends the electoral experience in Oman. FIFA president expressed his admiration to the overall vision for the development of Omani football and Oman\'s methodology, directing FIFA Executive Organization to provide all possible support to aid the Omani Association in its ambitious program. Agreed that the FIFA Technical Director, Jean-Michel, to visit the Sultanate to develop a detailed program of the mechanisms and the potential aspects for supporting the Omani Football Association programs in the context of the overall vision and the suggestions of some of the experts on various aspects of the game Zurich – Special