Maersk Oil Qatar will be the exclusive sponsor of the Schools Olympic Programme (SOP) for a three-year period, starting with its seventh edition, which will commence in the upcoming school year of 2013/2014.
The announcement was made at a joint press conference held by the Organising Committee of SOP and Maersk Oil Qatar at the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) tower yesterday.
The sponsorship agreement was signed by Lewis Affleck, managing director of Maersk Oil Qatar, and Mohamed al-Fadhala, executive director of SOP. The event was also attended by Mubarak Rashed al-Shahwani, Maersk Oil engineer; Faisal Saleh al-Mansouri, QOC public relations and marketing department director; Ali al-Hitmi, secretary-general of Qatar School Sports Association (QSSA); Hassan al-Mohamedi, SOP media manager, and a number of QOC officials.
Lauding Maersk Oil Qatar’s sponsorship of SOP, QOC secretary-general HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said the support for a three-year period reflects the strong commitment of the company as well as the high level of awareness within the firm and its leadership about the important events of SOP and, in particular, those linked to community sporting initiatives.
HE Sheikh Saoud said SOP helps discover talent, thereby serving the interest of clubs and federations, in addition to promoting community sporting activities by gathering youth, celebrating them and holding cultural events that leave a positive impact on young athletes and inspire them to play a key role in their community.
The QOC secretary-general also called upon national institutions and corporations to support activities and programmes that contribute to Qatar’s society.
Meanwhile, the Organising Committee praised Maersk Oil Qatar’s support of SOP, which represents one of the strategic programmes of QOC. Al-Fadhala said, “We would like to express our thanks and appreciation to Maersk Oil Qatar for choosing to sponsor the Schools Olympic Programme for a three-year period.”
“This agreement reflects Maersk Oil’s awareness of the importance of social sports activities and highlights the valuable role and responsibility that the company demonstrates towards society,” he continued. “We will work together to deliver a new SOP edition that meets the ambition and expectations of all parties, in particular students and teachers in various schools in Qatar.”
Maersk Oil Qatar has an active social investment programme, focused on delivering or supporting projects and partnerships that are aligned with Qatar National Vision 2030. SOP is a landmark national programme that encourages the youth in Qatar to participate in sporting activities and adopt a healthy lifestyle.
“We are committed to working with QOC to deliver a truly impactful programme that will make a real and lasting difference to young people in Qatar,” said Affleck.
“Maersk Oil strongly shares the values and goals of the Schools Olympic Programme of inspiring young people in Qatar to participate in sports and adopt a healthy lifestyle. SOP fits within the ‘health’ theme of our social investment programme and will be supported by elements of our ‘Action on Diabetes’ programme, which is another example of our successful local partnerships.”
The seventh edition of SOP will be launched on September 25 and the competitions start on September 30.
The programme is organised annually by QOC and the Supreme Education Council, in co-operation with QSSA and Qatar Sport Federation for Special Needs.
The SOP partners for the new edition will be the Ministry of Interior, International Centre for Sport Security, Qatar Anti-Doping Committee and the Anti-Doping Laboratory in Qatar.