21 Jan 2026
Aspire Academy began the Al Kass International Cup with a 1-0 win over the Mohammed VI Football Academy from Morocco.
The 11th edition of the tournament for under-17 players is being hosted at Aspire Academy and organised in collaboration with Al Kass Sports Channels, Aspire Zone Foundation and the Qatar Football Association (QFA).
Also taking part in the eight-team event are France’s Paris Saint-Germain, Spain’s Barcelona, Scottish side Rangers, Etoile du Sahel from Tunisia, Japan’s Kashiwa Reysol and the PVF Football Academy from Vietnam.
Ahead of the kick-off of the first match, the players were introduced to the Director General of Aspire Academy, Ivan Bravo; Nasser Abdullah Al Hajri, the Chief Marketing Officer at Aspire Zone Foundation; and Khalid Ali Al Mawlawi, the Acting Director General of Aspetar. At the same time, the General Secretary, Mansoor Al-Ansari, represented the QFA.
A ceremonial kick-off by former Qatar National Football team captain Hassan Al‑Haydos marked the official start of the tournament.
The only goal of the opening game was scored by Aspire Academy in just the 8th minute by Mohsain Alharji Abdulla, thanks to an assist from Dhiaeddine Benyatla Larbi.
Monday’s other Group A match between Rangers and Etoile du Sahel ended in a goalless draw. In the group’s second matches, Aspire Academy play Rangers while the other game is an all-African affair between Mohammed V1 and Etoile Du Sahel.
In the opening Group B game, there was a thrilling 3-3 draw between two legendary European names – Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona. That was followed by a 2-1 win for Kashiwa Reysol over PVF.
The next matches in the group are Barcelona against Kashiwa Reysol, while Paris Saint-Germain are set to face PVF.
The top two from each group will advance to the semi-finals, set for Monday, 26 January, while the third- and fourth-placed teams will compete in the play-offs for places 5 to 8.
The tournament comes eight weeks after Aspire Academy successfully hosted 103 matches at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup 2025, which featured 48 nations.