Hockey showpiece to begin on January 29
MUSCAT, Jan 13
Defending champions Al Nasr will begin their campaign for the prestigious His Majesty’s Cup hockey championship against Salalah on January 29 at Al Saada Sports Complex.
Fifteen teams have confirmed their participation for the 50th edition of the showpiece hockey championship. All the teams were distributed to four groups according to the geographic location. The first group clubbed Batinah teams including: Majees, Al Salam, Sohar and Al Suwaiq.
Title holders Al Nasr are grouped in the second group specified for Dhofar Governorate teams. Other teams in the group include Al Ittihad, Dhofar and Salalah. The runners-up of the last edition, Ahli Sidab, lead the third group which also features Al Bashayer, Nizwa and Muscat. The third and fourth groups are mixture of clubs based in Muscat and Al Dakhiliyah. The fourth group comprises Seeb, Bausher and Qurayat clubs. The draw for the coveted cup was unveiled at the Muscat Intercontinental Hotel late on Tuesday under the auspices of His Highness Sayyid Firas bin Fatik al Said, Chairman of Al Suwaiq club, in presence of Oman Hockey Association Chairman Talib al Wahaibi and top dignitaries.
TOURNEY TO
CONCLUDE IN MARCH
The tournament will start on January 28 and will conclude in March.
Majees and Sohar will begin the first group matches at Sohar Sports Complex while Al Suwaiq will take on Al Salam on the following day.
Al Ittihad and Dhofar will commence the opening round matches for the second group.
Ahli Sidab will play Nizwa to begin the third group on January 28 at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. Seeb and Qurayat will have the opening match for the fourth group on January 30 at the same venue.
The group matches will be played in two stages — home and away. The top teams in the group will move to the finals that will take place at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher. The finals round will start on February 18 until March first week. The exact date of the final will be announced later.
Al Nasr won the last edition after edging Ahli Sidab 2-1 in a thrilling final on December 19, 2019. Hamed Razi and Mohammed Ameen netted for Al Nasr.
Adil Al Balushi
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