In the presence of Prince Sultan bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz, General President of Youth Welfare of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia who is also Chairman of the Saudi and Arab Soccer Federations and leader of his country's delegation to the 15th Asian Soccer Cup finals, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, today kicked off the event. Joseph Blatter, FIFA President , Mohammed bin Hammam, Chairman of Asian Soccer Federation, members of the Executive Bureau of the ASF and members of the FIFA Executive Bureau were also present at the opening ceremony at Khalifa International Stadium in the Qatari capital of Doha. The event goes through January 29 with the participation of 16 Asian national teams divided into four groups. Saudi Arabia, lotted in group II, plays Syria on Sunday next, Jordan on Thursday and Japan next week.
