Qatar Olympic Committee secretary general HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrehman al-Thani (fourth from left) and UAE National Olympic Committee’s secretary general Mohamed Ali al-Kamali (second from left) with other dignitaries during the GCC National Olympic Council Presidents Council meeting in Doha yesterday.
By Sports Reporter/Doha
The GCC countries are committed to promoting sports among its youth but improving sports at the grassroots level remains a key to future success, the secretary general of Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) said yesterday.
HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrehman al-Thani was talking to the media after the first meeting of GCC National Olympic Council (NOC) Presidents Council.
“All GCC countries are playing their part in hosting top sports events for athletes of the region. Saudi Arabia will host the 2nd GCC Games from October 17 to 28,” Sheikh Saoud said.
“Oman is ready to GCC Women’s Games to be held in Muscat from March 8 to 18,” Sheikh Saoud pointed out.
“Let’s not forget that Doha will welcome the top athletes in the region for the second Beach Games in April,” he added.
Last week, QOC announced the second GCC Beach Games will feature seven disciplines in the April 2 to 9 event set to be staged at two venues in Doha.
Oman will welcome regional women athletes at the GCC Women’s Games which will feature competitions in athletics, bowling, basketball, handball, tennis, taekwondo, volleyball, shooting, endurance horse racing and wheelchair athletics.
Sheikh Saoud said the meeting attended by the secretary generals of the GCC Olympic Committees will be making recommendations on how to get more young people interested in sports.
The QOC secretary general said further discussions will be held in the next three days to develop the sporting sector in the GCC countries.
UAE National Olympic Committee’s secretary general Mohamed Ali al-Kamali, who also attended the meeting, hailed Qatar’s National Sports Day concept in furthering the GCC citizens’ interest in sports and healthy living.
“Qatar’s concept of National Sports Day is very good and it has encouraged the GCC nations to adopt it for much-needed awareness about the benefits of healthy lifestyle,” he said after the meeting.
“We all are keen to review the proposal of introducing a standardized sports day to practice sport in the GCC to support community sport as we have plans to hold sporting activities beyond one specific sport day,” al-Kamali said.
The QOC invited the secretary generals of all the five GCC NOCs—Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates—to witness the National Sports Day, which was organised all over the country on February 10.
The meeting also discusses the proposal of introducing sports lessons at GCC schools, GCC Beach Games, GCC Games.
“We have also discussed the proposal of introducing sports lessons at schools of at least 60 minutes, besides sensitizing the concerned parties to the importance of spreading school sport among youngsters.
“We want to be more involved in such initiatives that will help our younger generation grow up with the right principles for healthy living,” he said.
The four-day conclave will conclude on Wednesday with the meeting of the presidents of the GCC NOCs.
