Qatar Olympic Committee secretary general Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and other GCC National Olympic Committee officials at a press conference yesterday.
By Yash Mudgal/Doha
Qatar’s proposal to host a unified Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Sport Day for promotion of sports and healthy lifestyle has been accepted by the representatives of the GCC National Olympic Committees (NOCs) yesterday.
The GCC Sport Day will be celebrated on the second Saturday of February every year.
The decision was one of several major recommendations that were given a go-ahead by the executive committee of the GCC NOCs heads on the third day of their meeting.
Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) secretary general Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani made the announcement at a press conference in the presence of GCC assistant secretary general Abdullah bin Juma al-Shibli and GCC Environment Supreme Council chairman Dr Adel al-Zayani.
Sheikh Saoud said, “Saturday is a part of the weekend in the entire region so it can ensure big participation from the people. We’re confident that it would get positive response and raise awareness in the communities living in the region about health and fitness.”
The decision to organise the unified Sport Day was inspired by widely-appreciated Qatar’s National Sport Day, which is held on the second Tuesday of February every year.
This year, the event was witnessed by GCC NOCs office bearers last month and it was decided to implement it at a regional level.
“The proposal will now be forwarded to the higher authorities of the GCC to finalise the details regarding the day. After that, it will be decided like where and when the first GCC Sport Day will take place,” al-Shibli said.
Sheikh Saoud said a lot of attention was being given to promote activities that would harness the power of youth of the region.
“Physical Education classes have been made compulsory for the students at each level. The UAE have suggested that all schools must dedicate one-hour to physical activities for students, which will make them active and healthy.
“The UAE has also offered to host the first GCC Youth Games and their request has been approved as well. The details about the dates and number of sports the GCC Youth Games would be declared later, though the plan is to host the event as soon as possible,” he added.
Talking about the Schools Olympic Program’s success, Sheikh Saoud said, “Five of the GCC states have already started the SOP and they will soon get the benefits of having a good talent base at grass-root level. Kuwait has also said to launch the programme to activate the talent at the schools level.”
The plan to launch a sports court in Bahrain has also been cleared yesterday.
“It will deal with the legal problems arising on the sports field or related with sports persons. A jury will be set up within six months and hearings will be done in Bahrain. Sports laws will also be enacted and declared soon,” Sheikh Saoud said.
The Gulf region has been controlling 13 sports bodies in Asia and Sheikh Saoud said it reflected the region’s growing influence at the continental level besides showing the trust and co-operation among the member states.
“There are 28 different organising committees under the GCC umbrella. All of them are working with utmost dedication, seriousness and mutual cooperation. This has helped us head 13 Asian sports bodies.”
GCC assistant secretary general al-Shibli also thanked the QOC and Sheikh Saoud for making extensive preparations for the important GCC NOCs meeting.
“I wish to extend my heartiest congratulations to the QOC and Sheikh Saoud for mounting elaborate arrangement for this important GCC NOCs meeting.
“Qatar is always active about playing its bit in the progress of the region. We hope that the recommendations that have been accepted in the meeting would be implemented soon with the consent of the GCC higher authorities,” he added.
