Speaking to Qatar News Agency, al-Jabir dedicated the achievement to the State of Qatar, saying the achievement is “an addition to the series of successes made by the a number Qataris who occupy leading positions in different sports organisations”.
He extended thanks to those who have supported him to reach this position, most importantly Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) president His Excellency Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani and QOC secretary general Dr Thani bin Abdulrahman al-Kuwari.
Al-Jabir said that the success of Doha in hosting the World Swimming Championships had a great impact on his election for the FINA board. He expressed hope that his addition shall benefit swimming in Qatar and in Asia.
He explained that his election came during the FINA meeting in Hungary, during which seven distinguished members were selected to serve the sport in the future, adding that he was among selected candidates as a complementary member of the current board until 2020.
Al-Jabir stressed he is on the board as a representative of Qatar.
“It was a reflection of the QOC Vision 2020, which seeks to support Qataris to hold leading position,” he said, pointing to the election of Qatar Equestrian Federation president Hamad bin Abdulrahman al-Attiyah as the President of the Asian Equestrian Federation, and before him, the election of Qatar Table-Tennis Association president Khaleel al-Mohannadi as the first Arab president of the International Table-Tennis Federation.
“These positions show strength of Qatar in sport,” al-Jaber said
“I believe that Doha’s policy is based on sound and well-thought-out principles and rules that have made them reap the fruits of hard work in sport.
“Our success in hosting major sports events is a proof of the great support we enjoy from our wise leadership.”
As for the future work plan, the QSA president said, “Getting to the heart of the federation is an achievement and the FINA will develop a number of programmes that can be utilised especially in the process of developing athletes and their participation which is in line with the programmes of the QOC. In the future we will focus on the benefiting from the programmes directed at the development and training courses for the coaches and judges, which will be beneficial to the sport in Qatar ahead of the hosting of World Championship in 2023.”
With regard to the preparatory programme of the Qatar Swimming Federation before the start of the World Swimming Championship (Doha round 2017), al-Jabir said: “We are now in the final stages before the beginning of the competition which was supposed to be held in September but has been postponed until October 4 and 5 due to changing the FINA calendar.”
He added that the Qatari swimmers have been ready for the championship for a long time through their participation in all international tournaments, especially in the World Cup, pointing that the preparation for international tournaments is continuous.
Concluding his remarks, al-Jabir stressed on the importance of giving attention to building a strong base in order to contribute to the national teams.