By Sports Reporter/Doha
Soothing sunshine and a slightly cool breeze added to the fun as more than 500 persons from various embassies took part in sports activities held during the Winter Camp at Sealine under the Qatar Active Campaign.
As many as 40 embassies sent their representatives on Saturday to the one-day event and the presence of 23 ambassadors at the event reflects the big success that the Diplomatic Day theme under the Winter Camp achieved.
Events were held not only for the adults, but also for the young members of their families. Activities and friendly contests were organised in football, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, tug of war and billiards. For the children, there were slides, trampoline and swings.
Just before the camp site, the Qatar’s flag on a large sand dune was another attraction for the visitors.
Fahad al-Mulla, Qatar Active Campaign Public and Relations Head, extended his warmest gratitude to all the embassies involved in the activities.
“It’s a big honour for me to welcome so many His Excellencies and personnel from 40 embassies that actively took part in the event.
“We’re all thrilled to see that 503 persons attended the games and sports in the Winter Camp under the Diplomatic Day theme.
“Personally, I’d like to thank Ibrahim Yousif Abdullah Fakhro, the Protocol Manager in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Without his help and coordination, this would have not been possible to host such a big number of dignitaries. I also wish to say thanks to a big number of the QOC staff who helped us in organising the activities smoothly,” he added.
The QOC has been hosting the Winter Camp every year and now, it has joined forces with the Qatar Active Campaign to attract the masses to physical and healthy activities to start new sports culture.
All the ambassadors enjoyed being a part of the camp and most of them expressed desire to have more such activities for the embassies in Qatar.
Libyan Ambassador HE Abdul Mansif H Elbun commented, “I’m delighted to be here. It is a good opportunity to interact with other embassies. We all enjoyed this attractive place and the fun atmosphere.
“Sports and games play an important role in keeping people healthy and active. We really hope that we have more such days like this to engage ourselves in sports and games,” he added.
HE Munir Ghannam, the Palestine Ambassdor to Qatar, said, “It was a nice occasion to forget our political differences and take part in the sports activities. The sports culture is growing fast here and it is due to Qatar’s vision about sports.
“Qatar has secured many sporting achievements and its graph is constantly rising. In 2022, Qatar is going to host the one of the biggest sports events—the FIFA World Cup. We’re all very happy to come and take part in this event,” said HE Ghannam.
