The Philippines national football team will play a friendly match against Nepal at Al Arabi Stadium on October 31; it was announced yesterday at a press conference in Al Sadd stadium.

The match, the second between the two countries in six months is set to take place in Qatar, and will be played after the Qatar Stars League (QSL) round 10 clash between Al Ahli and Umm Salal which kicks off at 5.45pm at the Grand Hamad stadium.

The Philippines won the last match played at Al Ahli Stadium 3-0 in April.

The match is part of the corporate social responsibility programme of QSL club Al Ahli. The proceeds from the match will go towards the construction of a new school building for the Filipino committee here in Qatar. The QSL bought 5,000 tickets so as to give the majority of the fans free entry into the event and the organisation will donate that money to the construction of a school in Doha.

Mr. Crescente R Relacion – the Philippine Ambassador to Qatar addressed the assembled media at the press conference and said the football community in Qatar has helped the community in the past on many occasions.

“I wish to thank Qatar Football Association, Qatar Stars League as well as clubs like Al Ahli and Al Arabi who have supported us in different cultural and sporting events in the past. We thank everyone for joining hands to make this dream a reality, this match will directly help the local community,” Relacion said.

The last match between the two teams was organised to raise funds for the victims of natural disasters in the Philippines, said the Filipino official.

Chief Operations Officer at Qatar Football Association (QFA) Khalid Mubarak al-Kuwari thanked Al Ahli club and officials for their positive engagement with the local communities of Doha.

“The last match between Nepal and the Philippines was to raise funds for people affected by cyclones and earthquake. The proceeds from match on Friday will be donated to the Philippine School Doha,” said al-Kuwari.

The Philippines, who arrived into Doha yesterday, will also play a second friendly match against a Qatari club on November 3. Their Friday opponents Nepal also checked into Doha yesterday.

The Philippines team is at 129th place in the FIFA world ranking, while Nepal is at the 179th spot.

This is the third match for Nepal, who are playing friendly matches with different teams as part their preparation for the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship, in Qatar this year. The Himalayan kingdom players lost to Yemen 2-0 in March, before, losing to the Azkals in April.

Speaking on the occasion Principal of the Philippine School Doha - Dr Alexander S Acosta said: “I would like to invite all football fans to watch the match as their presence will make the life of the Philippines community in Doha better.”

A representative from the Nepalese community Mr. Ram Hari Gairhe, Marketing Manager of Al Ahli Club Nasser Yaqoob, and Head of General Events for the QSL Mr. Hassan Al-Kuwari were all among those present at the press conference.