+ A
A -
Tribune News Network
Doha
On Thursday, the Workers' Cup will bid farewell to the QFA Technical Fields in Al Thumama, following the completion of the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the fifth edition of the tournament.~ Sponsored by the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) and organised by the Qatar Stars League (QSL), the Workers' Cup will bring the curtain down on football at Al Thumama until its brand new 2022 FIFA World Cup'99 stadium is ready.
Al Thumama's final day of match action for a while will feature a quarter-final clash between defending champions Taleb Group and Nakheel Landscapes. Taleb Group centre-back Jerry Ayitey will take to the field for that fixture with a lump in his throat.~
"The semi-final last year is when we realised we could win the competition and we also met the honourable~FIFA President Mr Infantino~that day," recalled Ayitey, whose remarkable journey from a former professional in the Ghana Premier League to Qatar~made headlines~last year. ~
"Meeting the FIFA president~made us more determined to win the final," said Ayitey."His words of wisdom that football is all about the hope and determination of ordinary people kept ringing in my ears in the final, as they do even now. These are the moments every football lover lives for."
He added:"Initially, my focus was on the game and I did not realise that Mr Infantino was watching. A British journalist told me afterwards that Mr Infantino was a spectator and then both the teams got a chance to meet him. I shook his hand and told him I was a former professional in the Ghana Premier League and that it was the biggest moment of my life meeting him."~ ~
Ayitey started his career in the late 1990s at a club founded by Ghanaian legend and UEFA Champions League winner Abedi Pele, and has also trained with the Black Stars' captain Asamoah Gyan at Zaytuna FC. A fan of former England and Chelsea player John Terry's old-school style of defending,
Ayitey revealed that it was during the 1-0 win in last year's semi-final that his team perfected their defensive approach.~
"Our coach told my fellow centre-back to play very close to me and asked the full-backs to tuck inside," said Ayitey.
"Being a former striker, I wanted to go forward with the ball occasionally to quicken our counter-attack and I got cover from my fellow defenders because of the new approach. We played the same way in the final and did not concede.""I will miss playing in Al Thumama. But when the World Cup stadium rises up here, I will be the proudest man on earth," he added.
