International Handball Federation president Dr. Hassan Moustafa speaks during the opening ceremony of the 24th Men’s Handball World Championship in Doha on Thursday. PICTURE: Mamdouh
Q: Everyone knows about the games that will take place here in Qatar but what else is happening at this festival of handball?
IHF president Dr Hassan Moustafa: It is the first time that we have invited all of our ‘handball family’ to a World Championship. We have invited Presidents from 200 countries, all of the Secretaries General for the Secretaries General administrative course, as well as all of our referee trainers who will be running courses with the international referees and coaches.
We are also organising a conference [New Sports Medicine Concepts in Handball] so all of those in the medical profession involved in handball will be here too.
The handball family are all here in Doha and, like everyone at the IHF, I am very happy to be here.
Q: World Championships cannot take place without the local organising committee and local Government support. Tell us about the support you have received from Qatar Handball Association and the Qatari Government.
Dr Moustafa: The Qataris have done a very, very good job. We have had a very positive and long-term co-operation with His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani who is a fan of handball and has really supported it. I am very satisfied and express my gratitude towards them.
We have new venues for this World Championship and after it finishes the Qatar Handball Association will be using them, so in addition to the existing hotels and athletic facilities that the national team use to train, they have everything covered to organise tournaments, training camps - all possibilities.
After this tournament I am sure a lot of countries from this region will be asking to organise an event like this and will be increasing their performance levels - Qatar 2015 is set to be a big benefit for our sport in this region.
Q: What does hosting this World Championship mean for Qatari handball?
Dr Moustafa: This is not the first time that Qatar has organised a World Championship - they organised the Men’s Youth World Championship in 2005 and for the past five years they have organised the IHF Super Globe for clubs, but this is the first time that there has been such a big handball event like a senior World Championship here in the Gulf area.
Even though this is the first time, you can see that the standard of organisation and venues here is more than an Olympic Games standard.
Since 2000 I have been the IHF President and before that I was Chairman of the Commission of Coaching and Methods, so I have been involved with organising a lot of World Championships and attended many Olympic Games. I can honestly say these venues and infrastructure here in Doha are the best I have seen.
A lot of fans in Qatar come and support handball which is now the second sport here, but the top sport in terms of results. Qatar’s handball teams are one of the leading teams in Asia as shown by their men’s team who are Asian Champions not only at the senior level, but at a junior level.
They want to continue and be handball pioneers in this region. I hope that the countries around Qatar can follow them in organising big events and being well prepared for World Championships or Olympic Games - it will benefit us all.
Q: You met with the Qatar Government and Ministry of the Interior upon your arrival in Doha this week; what did you discuss?
Dr Moustafa: After the attacks in Paris we had to be sure of the security here so we met with His Excellency the Prime Minister to discuss this and they had already prepared everything.
We wanted to be sure of security and I am certain that there will be no problems; security will be of an extremely high standard like everything else is at this World Championship.
Q: What are your expectations for the tournament itself?
Dr Moustafa: I am sure that it will be one of the best World Championships we have ever had - everything is of such a high standard; accommodation, venues, transport, security - if the players play to their high standard of performance and the referees, players and coaches all co-operate well then it will be the best ever World Championship. (ihf.info)
