Al Gharafa summer signing relishing ‘big game’ against Al Sadd

Al Gharafa new boy Rashid Sumaila revealed that he has settled well in Qatar, and looking to aid his side in pulling off a shock result against table topping Al Sadd in the fifth round of the QSL season. The imposing central defender spoke to QSL online ahead of the game.

Opening up the conversation, Sumailia was eager to sing the praises of the management team at Al Gharafa. “I would like to thank everyone at Al Gharafa from the management, players and the people of Qatar they have done everything they can to make me feel very welcome here.”

Sumailia has only played one game of Al Gharafa thus far, down in part to issues around his registration. However his debut against Shahania ended in a man of the match performance from the 23 year old defender. “The first game with Gharafa was fantastic for me personally, it wasn’t the result we needed but it is the start of the season, the wins will come for us.”



 “Al Sadd is a good team, and this will be a big game for us. We have been working hard as a team this week, focusing on the win. Our aim is to win every game not only the one coming up against Al Sadd” noted Sumailia when asked about Gharafa’s opponents on Saturday evening.

Al Gharafa are taking on a side in Al Sadd packed full of international caps, but the Ghanaian international argues that his side has the same amount of quality. “Sadd has players like Xavi and Mohammed Kasola and many more who are national team players. Likewise Al Gharafa has many good players who are national team players, like Vladimir Weiss and Kooky Han. It will be an exciting game.”

Ending the conversation, Sumailia revealed his aims for the season with his new club. “For me in any club I set a target, and I pray to god that I can reach this target. With Gharafa, we have to look at the championship, top four places or a cup. We did not start well and we are now in tenth place, we must build from this point through hard work. I certainly believe that with the group we have and through God’s Grace we can make the fans happy this season.”

Can Rashid Sumaila inspire Al Gharafa to beat Al Sadd on Sataurday evening at Al Gharafa stadium? You can pick up tickets for the match here.