As many as 12 teams confirmed their presence in the 51st edition of His Majesty’s Cup Hockey Championship. The teams have been divided into two groups. Title holders, Ahli Sidab, were in group B which featured Al Bashaer, Qurayat, Saham, Seeb, Sohar and Al Salam while group A comprised Dhofar governorate clubs including Al Nasr, Dhofar, Salalah, Al Ittihad and Mirbat.
The draw ceremony of the oldest sporting championship in the Sultanate of Oman took place on Wednesday.
HH Sayyid Azzan bin Qais al Said, was the chief guest for the draw ceremony in presence of Oman Hockey Association (OHA) chairman Dr. Marwan al Juma, top officials at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth and other dignitaries.
The Championship, which began in 1971, will be played in groups from November 21. The top two teams in group A will advance to the next round while three teams from group B will move to the same round. The third-placed in group A will meet fourth-placed in group B for the last ticket to the second stage.
In the second round, all the teams will play in a league system from the first round. The top four teams will advance to the semifinals. The first placed team in the group will face third placed team while the runner up of the group will lock horns against the fourth placed team. The winners will move to final game.
Dr Marwan al Juma, Chairman of Oman Hockey Association (OHA), delivered a speech in the ceremony. “Since the first edition of the oldest local championship, there was continuous development until reaching the latest edition. A dedicated thanks to all the previous chairmen and board members for their valuable efforts towards development of hockey sport,” he said.
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