Al Kass Sports Channels

Al Kass Sports Channels is a group of eight sports channel that are broadcast 24/7 from Qatar. Its official name is Al Dawri wal Kass (Arabic:قناة الدوري والكأس), which means The League and the Cup in Arabic, since it was initially launched to broadcast domestic football in Qatar. The eight channels of Al-Kass are numbered from one to eight. Starting from 2013, four of its eight channels (Al-Kass 3/6/7/8) are encrypted with beIN Channels Network Qatari pay-tv network and these encrypted channels are specified to broadcasting matches of AFC Champions League and AFC Cup.

History

Al-Kass was launched in June 2006 as the second sports channel from Qatar after Al Jazeera Sports.^[1] In its first year, the channel won many viewers with its unmatched coverage of domestic sports, especially football. It also broadcast the 2006 Asian Games held in Doha. It now also covers matches involving the Persian Gulf countries, notably FIFA World Cup qualifying matches, the AFC Asian Cup and the Gulf Cup of Nations. It has emerged as one of the most popular sport channels in Arabia. Al-Kass has now eight sports channel, four of them are FTA and the other four channels are encrypted with the Qatari pay-tv beIN Channels Network.

Programmes

Here is a list of some notable programmes broadcast on Al-Kass.

• Al Majlis (المجلس) - Flagship talk show involving former national players and coaches; previews every match involving Qatar and Qatari clubs. Hosted by Khalid Jassim.
• Race N Wheels - Weekly motorsports show. Hosted by Marianne Caracalla.
• Fadh Fadh - Fans interaction show where the channel's reporters mingle among the crowd during matches. Hosted by Jamal Hosni.
• Al Kuratul Aalamiyah - Weekly show on world football with guests like Ronald de Boer, Ali Benarbia and Sabri Lamouchi.
• Jarayed (جرايد) - Newspaper review show, covering local regional and international newspapers. Hosted by Huda Mohammed.

Notable figures

• Khalid Jassim : Host of Al Majlis programme and winner of best host award among Persian Gulf sports channels.
• Ahmed al Tayeb: Egyptian commentator. He has commentated matches of the UEFA Euro 2008 (for Al Jazeera Sports), 2007 AFC Asian Cup and FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.
• Khalid Salman : Former national team player. Has played in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup, the Olympics and the Persian Gulf Cup. Now appears as an analyst on Al Majlis.
• Khalil Al-Zayani : Former coach of Saudi Arabia national football team and Saudi Ittifaq Club.
• Humood Sultan : Former Bahraini player who was keeper for Muharraq.
• Ronald de Boer : Former Dutch international. Also played for Ajax, Rangers and Barcelona. Now appears on the World Football show.
• Rhodri Williams : Former Sky Sports News anchorman. Currently hosts the English-speaking segment QSL Review.^[2]

Events

Beside broadcasting, the channel has held certain sporting events in its history. A notable event is the Al Kass International Cup. It is an under-17 tournament in which the best teams in the world send their youth teams to Qatar to participate in the tournament. Both, Qatar's Aspire International, and Aspire Qatar participated. The main purpose of the tournament is to help develop youth systems worldwide. There are cash prizes for the winners.^[3]

Awards

The channel won the best Persian Gulf Sports Channel award in 2007. Khalid Jassim, the host of the Majlis (The Council) programme won the best host award. The channel also won two awards at the Promax BDA awards held at New York in June 2008.^[4]

References

External links

• Official website