During the 2012 IIHF Annual Congress in Helsinki, Finland, Qatar became an official member of the International Ice Hockey Federation.
The Qatar Ice Hockey Federation itself was founded in 2010 to develop programs for senior and junior players and becomes the third country from the Gulf region after the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.
The country of less than two million inhabitants has two ice rinks, both located in the capital of Doha: the Villagio Ice Rink in the Aspire Zone and the City Center Ice Rink at West Bay.
A national league kicked off during the 2010/2011 season, and included five teams and 70 players.