Qatar secures Guinness World Record for largest ever 5-a-side football match
An event organized by the Qatar football association (QFA) and Qatar Shell has set a new Guinness World Record for the largest ever set of five-a-side football matches played at once.
The matches took place on national sports day, the record was announced on Wednesday, reported the Peninsula Qatar on Thursday.
The matches ran for 11 hours, 58 minutes and 12 seconds, they were played by 523 participants from all over the country.
The sports event was attended by Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry, as well as Guinness World Records officials.
The highly anticipated match was organised by Qatar Football Association (QFA) and Qatar Shell, and officiated by Guinness World Records.
The players managed to surpass the 464 player mark set by England’s BBC Radio 5 Live, at the Sheffield United Academy in 2012.
Other notables who took part in the footie fun included Wael Sawan, Managing Director and Chairman of Qatar Shell Companies and Sheikh Thani al-Thani, Deputy General Manager of Qatar Shell.
The successful attempt was part of a QFA and Qatar Shell five-year sustainable initiative, designed to improve the health of Qatar’s youth via football.
“We knew we were aiming high – but we did it. I am excited to see that we have managed to kick off a driven and passionate football movement we envisioned would be characteristic of the initiative. We look forward to having a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of Qatar’s youth through many more events like this,” said Hamad al-Kuwari, Head of Marketing & Commercial at QFA.
