The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) announced the list of sporting events and competitions that will take place in Qatar in 2017 yesterday. 
Qatar will organise a total of 72 sporting events this year. Of those 39 will be international competitions while 16 others will be continental.
Speaking to the press, QOC secretary general Dr Thani Abdulrahman al-Kuwari said that 2017 will be yet another exciting year for sports in Qatar. The country will host some of the most prominent competitions in the world including 10th Artistic Gymnastics World Cup, 2017 IAAF Diamond League, and the FINA Swimming World Cup 2017.
He said that organising global sporting events has a number of purposes. The first one is that it promotes the value of sports and inspires youth to be sports professionals and lead an active lifestyle. The second is that it reflects Qatar’s abilities in the field of hosting sporting events. He noted that the country has developed in recent years and become an international hub in terms of hosting sporting events. This enabled Qatar to improve its infrastructure and create new job opportunities. It also helped create opportunities for businesses in the tourism sector. 
In April, Qatar will host three tennis competitions. They are the Qatar F1, F2, and F3 and Futures. They will take place on April 3-8, April 10-15, and April 17-22 respectively. January saw Qatar host Qatar ExxonMobil Open, which was won by world No.2 Novak Djokovic. The women’s tennis competition, Qatar Total Open, was held in February and was won by Karolina Pliskova.
In May, Qatar will host the IAAF Diamond League. The event tours 14 cities around the world and the Doha stop will take place at Qatar Sports Club. The competition will feature some of the world’s best athletes. 
Squash competitions will start in September with two competitions, while the FINA Swimming World Cup will also take place in September.
Squash would return again to Qatar in November, this time with Qatar Classic.
With regards to Asian championships, the 2017 Qatar events calendar includes many tournaments in various categories. The ACBS Asian Men’s Snooker Championship will be held from April 22 to 28 and the Asia Indoor Nations Cup Hockey for men and women will be held from April 24 to 28.
In the first three months of the year, Doha hosted 1st Qatar Asian Junior Tennis Tournament 14 Years & Under (February), followed by the Asia Rugby Men’s Sevens Trophy (March), 2nd Qatar Asian Junior Tennis Tournament 14 Years & Under (March) and the Q-Sports Cricket Championship (March).
Doha also hosted a range of GCC tournaments including 14th GCC Swimming Short Course Championships and 6th GCC Diving Championships, the 36 GCC Club Volleyball Championship, the 5th GCC Women’s Games, and the GCC Road Cycling Championship 2017 (Men, Youth, Juniors). 
The 20th GCC Karate Championships will run from April 28 to 29. In July, the 6th GCC Junior Volleyball Championship, and the GCC Youth Bowling Championship (Singles) will be held.
The GCC 12 & 16 (Boys Teams) + U8, 9 & 10 Years Tennis Tournament will be held in November and Arabian Gulf Cup (23) Football will kick off on December 22, 2017, and will conclude on January 5, 2018. 
Doha will host AVC Beach Volleyball Tour from May 3 to 5, and U-23 Friendly Football Tournament from July 15 to 23, Cricket U-19 Championship Series from September 24 to 26, and U-19 Friendly Football Tournament from September 16 to 24. 
In October, the Qatar & Doha Junior Squash Open will be organised. The ACC U-16 Cricket Tournament will run from October 18-30, while AFC U-19 Cup Qualifiers will be held from October 21 to 29.
The Qatar Asian Tennis Championship 14 Years & Under will be held from November 13 to 18. Qatar will host Cricket Championship Series in December, and Qatar Asian Junior Teams Cup Tennis from December 25-30.