Believing in the importance of sport and its role in the lives of individuals and societies as a means and tool for uniting peoples, and in the keenness of the participation of Qatar and its distinguished presence in all forums, arenas, activities, and local, regional and international events, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani attends the opening ceremony of the 2022 Mediterranean Games, which is being hosted by the Algerian city of Oran from June 25 to July 6.
About 3,500 athletes representing 26 countries and Olympic committees will participate in the event.
His Highness the Amir's attendance at the opening ceremony of the tournament comes at a time when Qatar has completed its preparations to host the most prominent sporting event this year, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, as the first edition of this major global tournament in the Middle East.
From the moment Qatar was announced as the host country of the World Cup in 2010, Qatar affirmed its intention to organise an exceptional tournament and a unique and unprecedented World Cup by all standards.
Qatar made all efforts and capabilities and harnessed the necessary resources and energies to organise a global sporting event, which will have a positive impact on the entire Middle East region and will revive hopes in the hearts of the youth and residents of this part of the world.
This will enhance their faith in their abilities and capabilities to organise world championships at the highest level of excellence and creativity, and will also prove the ability of sports of all kinds and activities to build bridges of communication and establish harmony and peace between nations and peoples, regardless of the different visions, ideas, cultures, and distances.
With the belief of Qatar that sport has become an important means and one of the effective diplomatic tools to strengthen friendly relations with various countries of the world, His Highness the Amir attended the opening of the 24th Winter Olympics, which was held under the slogan "Together for a Shared Future" in the Chinese capital, Beijing, on February 4, and continued until February 20, with the participation of about 2,900 athletes representing 90 national Olympic committees around the world.
On July 15, 2018, the Amir officially received the hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar from Russian President Vladimir Putin in the presence of FIFA President Gianni Infantino in a ceremony held in the Kremlin.
During the Amir's participation at the World Economic Forum in Davos in May, His Highness took part in the discussion session held there on the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 entitled "Sport as a unifying force". The Amir opened the session with a speech, in which he mentioned that his first participation in the forum comes in a special year for Qatar, in which it will host the FIFA World Cup.
His Highness added that this will be the first major sporting event attended by all fans after the devastating pandemic. Furthermore, he expressed his happiness that this competition will unite the world, bringing the audience together again.
His Highness remarked that it is going to be the first time that the Arab world hosted such a major event.
The Amir pointed to the long-suffering that the region is going through, and how hosting the World Cup will be a source of hope for the youth throughout the region, in addition to being a permanent contribution to the region will make to the world.
In his speech, the Amir stressed that the impact of such sporting events is not limited to entertainment only, but also to achieving mutual understanding between different cultures and backgrounds, noting that the people of Qatar and the region are very enthusiastic to demonstrate the authentic Arab hospitality and culture.
In the conclusion of his speech, the Amir said that the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 competition reflects a hard journey, with tireless determination and effort.
His Highness added that he is looking forward to welcoming everyone in Qatar and wishing all the qualified teams success.
On Oct 9, 2018, the Amir was re-elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee during the session of meetings of the Committee held in the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires on the sidelines of the Youth Olympic Games.
Furthermore, On June 24, 2019, His Highness participated in the meetings of the General Assembly of the 134th session of the International Olympic Committee, which was held in the Swiss city of Lausanne.
During the meetings, a number of topics related to the development of sports work and the Olympic movement at the global level were discussed, in addition to voting on the winning city to host the 2026 Winter Olympics, which was won by the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina.
While Qatar is eagerly awaiting to host the most prominent sporting event in the world and to become the first Arab country to host the World Cup, Qatar maintains a great record in terms of hosting international sporting events, as Doha had the honor of hosting hundreds of international sporting events, including all kinds of sports, and various age groups.
Furthermore, the number of sports events for this year reached 575 events throughout the current year 2022, which is the highest number the Qatar Sports Federation organized since its establishment.
Qatar's interest in sports stems from its awareness and recognition of the growing role of sport in building a healthy human being who strongly and effectively participates in his nation's march towards building, development, and advancement.
Nevertheless, sport is one of the most important pillars of Qatar National Vision 2030.
Through its great interest in sports affairs, Qatar has succeeded in occupying a leading position in the world in the field of sports, and become the capital of global sports.
Moreover, Qatar does not merely host sporting events, but rather it enjoys a wealth of sporting talents, and a rich achievement record, in addition to world-class sports facilities such as Aspire Academy and Aspetar Hospital, which is the first hospital specialised in sports medicine in the region.
Not to mention an integrated sports infrastructure including unique World Cup stadiums, which are considered a national and global heritage that will benefit future generations.
In addition to this, Qatar has raised its interest in sports to the point of becoming the first country worldwide to celebrate an annual day devoted to sports, being an official holiday, whose objective is to raise awareness of the importance of sports, elevate its status, and enhance sports role in the lives of individuals, societies, and peoples.
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