Qatar sport COVERMG.indd - Qatar Olympic Committee

Welcome
The London 2012 Olympic Games were well organised. The quality of performance, facilities and atmosphere
created by full houses of passionate fans made it a remarkable event and our congratulations and thanks go to
both the International Olympic Committee and the London Organising Committee.
London 2012 also represented another milestone for sports in Qatar as the outstanding performances of Nasser
Al-Attiyah in the skeet shooting and Mutaz Essa Barshim in the men’s high jump earned bronze medals.
This was a significant achievement for Qatar’s small but growing team and an indication that the vision and
policies of our country and the Qatar Olympic Committee are bearing fruit.
Looking ahead, we are delighted to have been chosen to host the UCI Road Cycling World Championships
in 2016. It is the first time the event has come to the Middle East and we are determined that it will leave a
significant legacy for cycling and the people of Qatar.
Working with the UCI – cycling’s international governing body – we will create a programme designed to get
the people of Qatar cycling. Cycling is great fun, good for the environment and keeps people active and healthy
and these are all key messages of the Qatar Olympic Committee.
The UCI Road Cycling World Championships is the latest in a series of major global sports events which will be
hosted in Qatar during what promises to be the most exciting period in our nation’s sporting history.
In 2014 we are proud to have been selected to stage the FINA World Championship (25m). It will be a privilege
to welcome the world’s leading swimmers to Doha and the following year our door will open to the finest
handball players as Doha hosts the IHF Men’s World Handball Championship.
These Championships pave the way for the biggest celebration of the most popular team sport in the world, the
FIFA World Cup, which we will host in 2022. Although these major events are naturally an important part of
our mission we are also firmly committed to developing sports from the heart of our community.
That is why we are delighted to celebrate the sixth edition of the Schools Olympic Programme which has
become a cornerstone of our activities. The Schools Olympic Programme is designed to inspire young people
to get involved in sports and adopt healthy lifestyles by creating opportunities and encouragement through
activity and education. It is a national project which we hope will provide the foundations for future Qatari
participation and success in the Olympic Games and other world championships.
During the final months of 2012 we are looking forward to hosting the FINA World Cup Series, the FIVB
Volleyball World Club Championship for the fourth year – and the Asian Champions Trophy in hockey. In
addition, Aspire4Sport takes place in November while Doha GOALS, a global platform for creating change by
connecting the power of sport to health education and social programme runs from December 10-12. You will
find full details elsewhere in this edition of Qatar Sport.
Finally, we were extremely proud to have launched ‘Save the Dream’ a project designed to preserve the
integrity of sport, in conjunction with the International Centre for Sports Security at the Sorbonne in Paris.
It is a much needed and wide-ranging programme and we are thrilled to have football superstar Alessandro
Del Piero as our ambassador.
And we are delighted to announce that the region’s first anti-doping laboratory, a facility which will play an
important role in the battle against cheating and ensuring fair competition in all sports, will be launched in
December this year.
Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani
Secretary General, Qatar Olympic Committee
4 | Issue 19 | Qatar Sport