The curtains came down on the 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League with Week 22 matches played on Sunday, April 28, 2024. Five of the six matches ended in victory and one was drawn between Al Markhiya and Umm Salal.

The six matches were held at the same time to ensure the policy of giving equal opportunities to the teams competing in different positions.

Week 22 witnessed determined the final positions, relegation and the Play-Off match.

Muaither were officially relegated to the Second Division after finishing in 12th and last place, while Al Markhiya, ranked 11th in the standings, will play the Play-Off against Al Shahaniya, the runners-up in the Second Division, on May 5, 2024, at Al Thumama Stadium.

Al Sadd won the league shield after their match against Al Shamal in Week 21 and Al Wakrah were confirmed to finish the league in fourth place.

The second-place fight was between Al Rayyan and Al Gharafa, and the round witnessed Al Rayyan’s victory over their rivals Al Sadd to finish as the league runners-up, while Al Gharafa came in third position.

As for the standings and positions after the end of 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League, Al Sadd topped the standings with 49 points, Al Rayyan finished second with 47 points, Al Gharafa third with 44 points, Al Wakrah fourth with 38 points and Al Arabi fifth with 29 points.

Al Duhail, with 28 points, are sixth, the same points as seventh-placed Umm Salal, but with a superior goal difference. Qatar SC are in eighth place with 25 points, the same as ninth-placed Al Shamal, but with a better goal difference. Al Ahli are in 10th place with 23 points, and Al Markhiya are in 11th place with 18 points, while Muaither are in 12th and last place with 14 points.

RESULTS

Al Markhiya drew Umm Salal  1-1

Al Shamal bt Al Gharafa  1-0

Qatar SC bt Al Duhail       4-2

Al Rayyan bt Al Sadd        4-0

Al Arabi bt Muaither         4-3

Al Ahli bt Al Wakrah        1-0

The week witnessed a total of 21 goals scored, with an average of 3.5 goals per match, and the highest number of goals was in the match between Muaither and Al Arabi (seven goals), then Qatar SC and Al Duhail (six goals). Al Rayyan, Al Ahli and Al Shamal came out with clean sheets.

Al Rayyan and Al Arabi, in addition to Al Markhiya and Al Ahli, are considered among the most prominent beneficiaries during Week 22, as The Lions beat Al Gharafa for the runners-up spot, while Al Arabi advanced two places from seventh to fifth, taking advantage of their competitors’ loss of points to advance in the standings by two places, as Al Duhail lost to Qatar SC and Umm Salal drew with Al Markhiya.

Al Sadd star and Qatar national team player Akram Afif finished the league as the top scorer with 26 goals, confirming the high-scoring capabilities he possesses in addition to his creation of chances and decisive passes.

Algerian star Yacine Brahimi, the Al Gharafa player, finished second with 21 goals, while Al Rayyan’s Roger Guedes emerged third with 19 goals.