2019 WAFF Championship

2019 WAFF Championship
بطولة اتحاد غرب آسيا لكرة القدم 2019
Tournament details
Host countryIraq
Dates30 July – 14 August
Teams9 (from 1 sub-confederation)
Venue(s)2 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Bahrain (1st title)
Runners-up Iraq
Tournament statistics
Matches played17
Goals scored34 (2 per match)
Attendance148,683 (8,746 per match)
Top scorer(s)Iraq Hussein Ali
(3 goals)
Best player(s)Iraq Hussein Ali
2013
2023

The 2019 West Asian Football Federation Championship, also called Asiacell WAFF Championship Iraq 2019 due to sponsorship by Asiacell,[1] was the 9th edition of the WAFF Championship, an international tournament for member nations of the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF). It was hosted in Iraq for the first time, in the cities of Karbala and Erbil.

The tournament was meant to be held from 8 to 17 December 2017 in Amman, Jordan,[2] but was postponed to a later date,[3] and subsequently moved to Iraq on 21 May 2018.[4] It was then expected to be held in November 2018, but yet again postponed to July–August 2019.[5]

All WAFF members, excluding title holders Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, participated in the competition. Of the nine teams, seven had also appeared in the previous tournament in 2014. A total of 17 matches were played in two venues across two cities. The final took place on 14 August at the Karbala Sports City in Karbala, between hosts Iraq and Bahrain. Bahrain won the match 1–0 to claim their first WAFF Championship title, marking the second consecutive title won by a Gulf team.

Teams

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Participants

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A total of nine teams participated in the competition.[6][7] All WAFF members, other than Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, agreed to take part in the tournament.

Team Appearance Last appearance Previous best performance
 Bahrain 4th 2014 Third place
 Iraq 8th 2014 Winners
 Jordan 9th 2014 Runners-up
 Kuwait 4th 2014 Winners
 Lebanon 7th 2014 Group stage
 Palestine 9th 2014 Group stage
 Saudi Arabia 3rd 2014 Group stage
 Syria 8th 2012 Winners
 Yemen 3rd 2012 Semi-finals

Draw

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The teams were distributed on 26 June 2019 in Erbil according to their requests.[8][9][10] The nine teams were drawn into two groups: Group A with 5 teams and Group B with 4. While the draw was intended to be held between 18 and 20 July 2019,[11] some teams requested the organizing committee to play in Erbil, therefore placing them in Group B, with the rest of the teams being placed in Group A to play in Karbala.[10] The two group winners directly advanced to the final.[12]

The draw for the group fixtures was held on 20 July 2019 at the Iraq Football Association headquarters in Baghdad.[1]

Squads

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Each team had to register a squad of 23 players, three of whom must be goalkeepers.[13]

Officiating

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Venues

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Karbala Erbil
Karbala Sports City
(Karbala International Stadium)
Franso Hariri Stadium
Capacity: 30,000 Capacity: 25,000

Group stage

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The WAFF announced the tournament schedule on 20 July 2019.[1] The group winners advance to the final.[12]

All times are local, AST (UTC+3).

Group A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Iraq (H) 4 3 1 0 5 2 +3 10 Advances to final
2  Palestine 4 2 1 1 6 5 +1 7
3  Yemen 4 1 1 2 4 5 −1 4
4  Lebanon 4 1 1 2 3 4 −1 4
5  Syria 4 0 2 2 5 7 −2 2
Source: Goalzz
(H) Hosts
Iraq 1–0 Lebanon
  • Ali 57'
Report
Attendance: 25,125
Referee: Ali Al-Samaheeji (Bahrain)
Yemen 0–1 Palestine
Report
Attendance: 200
Referee: Mahmood Al-Majarafi (Oman)

Palestine 1–2 Iraq
Report
Attendance: 12,980[14]
Referee: Turki Al-Khudhayr (Saudi Arabia)
Lebanon 2–1 Syria
Report
Attendance: 500
Referee: Mohammad Arafah (Jordan)

Syria 1–1 Yemen
Report
Attendance: 155
Referee: Mahmood Al-Majarafi (Oman)
Lebanon 0–0 Palestine
Report
Attendance: 500
Referee: Saad Khalefah (Kuwait)

Yemen 2–1 Lebanon
Report
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Ali Al-Samaheeji (Bahrain)
Syria 0–0 Iraq
Report
Attendance: 33,500[15]
Referee: Mohammad Arafah (Jordan)

Palestine 4–3 Syria
Report
Attendance: 3,510[16]
Referee: Saad Khalefah (Kuwait)
Iraq 2–1 Yemen
Report
Attendance: 11,213[17]
Referee: Ali Al-Samaheeji (Bahrain)

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Bahrain 3 2 1 0 2 0 +2 7 Advances to final
2  Jordan 3 1 1 1 4 2 +2 4
3  Kuwait 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
4  Saudi Arabia 3 0 1 2 1 5 −4 1
Source: Goalzz
Jordan 0–1 Bahrain
Report
Attendance: 3,500
Referee: Haitham Al-Walidi (Yemen)
Saudi Arabia 1–2 Kuwait
Report
Attendance: 5,500
Referee: Mohammed Al-Noori (Iraq)

Bahrain 0–0 Saudi Arabia
Report
Attendance: 2,500[18]
Referee: Wissam Rabie (Syria)
Kuwait 1–1 Jordan
Report
Attendance: 2,500
Referee: Mohamad Issa (Lebanon)

Jordan 3–0 Saudi Arabia
Report
Attendance: 500[19]
Referee: Sameh Al-Qassas (Palestine)
Kuwait 0–1 Bahrain
Report
Attendance: 2,000[20]
Referee: Wathik Al-Baag (Iraq)

Final

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Iraq 0–1 Bahrain
Report
Attendance: 34,500
Referee: Turki Al-Khudhayr (Saudi Arabia)

Statistics

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Goalscorers

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There have been 34 goals scored in 17 matches, for an average of 2 goals per match.

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

Final ranking

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As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Final result
1  Bahrain 4 3 1 0 3 0 +3 10 Champions
2  Iraq 5 3 1 1 5 3 +2 10 Runners-up
3  Palestine 4 2 1 1 6 5 +1 7 Eliminated in the
Group stage
4  Jordan 3 1 1 1 4 2 +2 4
5  Kuwait 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
6  Yemen 4 1 1 2 4 5 −1 4
7  Lebanon 4 1 1 2 3 4 −1 4
8  Syria 4 0 2 2 5 7 −2 2
9  Saudi Arabia 3 0 1 2 1 5 −4 1
Source: WAFF

Prize money

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Prize money amounts were announced in 2019.[21]

Position Amount (USD)
Champions 100,000
Runner-up 50,000
Total 150,000

Broadcasting rights

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The WAFF sold the broadcasting rights for the 2019 WAFF Championship to the following broadcasters.[22][23]

Country Broadcaster
 Iraq Al Iraqiya Sports
Duhok Sport
 Jordan Jordan Sport
 Kuwait KTV Sports
 Lebanon Télé Liban
 Syria Sharjah Sports

References

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  1. ^ a b c ""آسيا سيل" ترعى بطولة اتحاد غرب آسيا التاسعة للرجال". The WAFF. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  2. ^ "7 منتخبات تؤكد المشاركة في غرب آسيـا ومنتخبنـا يرسل قائمته الأوليـة". shabiba.com (in Arabic). 7 November 2017.
  3. ^ "تأجيل بطولة غرب آسيا لكرة القدم". Alrai. 25 November 2017.
  4. ^ "Iraq to host first international football tournament". AFP.com. 21 May 2018.
  5. ^ إسماعيل, بغداد-علي. "العراق يحدد المدن التي ستستضيف بطولة غرب آسيا 2019". alaraby.
  6. ^ "ملعب كربلاء جاهز لاستضافة بطولة غرب آسيا للرجال" [Karbala Stadium ready to host the West Asian Men's Championship]. كووورة. 13 March 2019.
  7. ^ "منتخب السعودية يعلن مشاركته في بطولة غرب آسيا لكرة القدم". سيناء الاخباري. 11 June 2019. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  8. ^ العراق يُحدد مجموعتي غرب آسيا دون إجراء القرعة!
  9. ^ "الفدائي ضمن المجموعة الأولى لبطولة غرب آسيا". شبكة أطلس سبورت. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  10. ^ a b الفلسطينية, وكالة الصحافة (27 June 2019). ""الفدائي" في المجموعة الأولى لبطولة غرب أسيا". وكالة الصحافة الفلسطينية. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  11. ^ Lebanon, Football. "اتحاد غرب آسيا يتابع التحضيرات لبطولة الرجال في العراق". football-lebanon.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  12. ^ a b "توزيع المنتخبات على مجموعتين في بطولة غرب آسيا". كووورة. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  13. ^ "خمسة حراس في منتخب لبنان". lebanonfg.com. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  14. ^ "Palestine 1-2 Iraq :: WAFF 2019 :: Match Events". www.playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  15. ^ "Syria 0-0 Iraq :: WAFF 2019 :: Match Events". www.playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  16. ^ "Palestine 4-3 Syria :: WAFF 2019 :: Match Events". www.playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  17. ^ "Iraq 2-1 Yemen :: WAFF 2019 :: Match Events". www.playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  18. ^ "Bahrain 0-0 Saudi-Arabia :: WAFF 2019 :: Match Events". www.playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  19. ^ "Jordan 3-0 Saudi-Arabia :: WAFF 2019 :: Match Events". www.playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  20. ^ "Kuwait 0-1 Bahrain :: WAFF 2019 :: Match Events". www.playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  21. ^ "بطولة غرب آسيا: العراق ولبنان يفتتحان النسخة التاسعة". beIN SPORTS (in Arabic). Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  22. ^ "خمس قنوات تنقل بطولة غرب آسيا". lebanonfg.com. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  23. ^ "الوزير فنيش شاكراً نظيره العراقيّ: تلفزيون لبنان سينقل مواجهتيّ لبنان مع سوريا وفلسطين". football-lebanon.com. 1 August 2019. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
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