Qatar Sport 21_COVER_FINAL.indd - Qatar Olympic Committee

TIGER WOODS 

Returning to the top of 

golf’s world rankings 

DAVID BECKHAM 

From Manchester to Paris 

– the making of an icon 

DAVID RUDISHA 

One to watch at Doha’s 

Diamond League opener 

ISSUE 21 MAY 2013 $10 

STRONG ROOMS 

THE RISE OF HOME GYMS 

GET UP AND GO 

QATAR’S DAY OF SPORT 

FORMULA E 

NEW ON THE GRID 

IT’S A HIT! 

HOW QATAR’S SCHOOLS OLYMPIC PROGRAMME 

TRANSFORMED THE SPORTING LIVES OF ITS STUDENTS 

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE 

OF THE QATAR 

OLYMPIC COMMITTEE

18 

INSIDE 

5 In Focus 

Sporting life through a lens 

8 Global Sports Update 

Insight from around the world 

12 David Beckham 

The making of an icon 

16 Coming Up 

Your essential sports event guide 

18 Home Gyms 

Fitness begins at home 

22 National Sports Day 

Backed by the business community 

22 

24 

24 Try Triathlon 

Top 10 tips for every level 

26 Leaders 

Opinion from the IOC and QOC 

on Qatar’s National Sports Day 

30 Schools Olympic Programme 

A step change in sports education 

12 

34 For the Record 

Tiger Woods is back on top 

36 Trends 

On the grid with Formula E 

No article in this publication or part thereof may be reproduced 

without proper permission and full acknowledgement of the source: 

Qatar Sport, a publication of the Qatar Olympic Committee. 

© Qatar Olympic Committee, 2013 

www.olympic.qa 

qoc@olympic.qa 

Designed and produced for the Qatar Olympic Committee by 

SportBusiness Group, London. Cover photo: Action Images

Welcome 

The sixth edition of our innovative School’s Olympic Programme reached its climax in April and we are 

delighted to report that this year saw a continuation of the growth that has been a consistent feature of this 

hugely popular event. 

This year 22,000 young people of both genders took part in a programme which embraced 10 Olympic and 

Paralympic sports under the theme ‘Sport for Investment.’ 

The School’s Olympic Programme provides opportunities for youngsters from all parts of our community 

to experience different sports and to take part in activities designed to promote a healthy, active lifestyle. Its 

popularity is evident in the number of participants and we can think of no better investment than providing 

boys and girls with an unforgettable introduction to the enjoyment which comes from sport and the many 

health and social benefits it delivers. 

Next year the programme will be themed ‘Sport and Integrity’ and the Olympic sport of shooting will be 

included for the first time. 

Maintaining the integrity of sport is a key theme for the Qatar Olympic Committee as we believe it lies at the 

very heart of sport and everything it stands for. Our commitment to integrity is the driving force behind the 

Save the Dream campaign which we have developed alongside the International Centre for Sports Security and 

which is represented by legendary Italian footballer Alessandro del Piero. 

The programme is designed to nurture sport’s core values among young people and we hope it will inspire a 

new generation of athletes to safeguard the integrity of sport for years to come. Save The Dream and its new 

logo were launched to an international audience during a spectacular multimedia presentation and the first 

Save The Dream Award was presented to Spanish athlete Fernandez Anaya for his honesty and sportsmanship 

in refusing to take advantage of an error by an opponent during a cross country race last year. He was a worthy 

winner who provides a perfect example of the values which Save the Dream has been set up to promote. 

Qatar’s focus on sport is evident in two exhibitions being staged in the country. The first is ‘Hey Ya’ Arab 

Women in Sport, by the renowned photographer Brigitte Lancombe, who, with her sister, travelled to 20 Arab 

countries to photograph and film female athletes at every level. It is an inspirational exhibit which underlines 

our commitment to provide equal opportunity and encouragement for women to play a full role in the sporting 

life of our country. 

A second exhibition supported by the Qatar Museums Authority, is ‘Olympics Past and Present’ a fascinating 

and engaging collection of objects and artefacts tracing the Olympic games back to their earliest days. The 

exhibition, which has previously only been seen in Lausanne, Switzerland, is proving extremely popular and we 

look forward to a day when Qatar writes its own chapter in the history of the Olympic Games. 

Our attention now turns to upcoming events and we are excitedly anticipating the opening IAAF Diamond 

League event of the year on May 10 while shortly afterwards (May 15-17) we are proud to host the Asian 

3-on-3 basketball championships. 

As ever, these are exciting times and our sporting calendar for 2013-14 shows that we will host 81 events of 

which 40 are annual international events, 29 are GCC events and eight are local. Among the events which we are 

already preparing to host are the 2014 FINA Short Course Championships and you can be sure that competitors, 

officials and spectators at this and every other event will enjoy the same warm and sporting Qatari welcome. 

Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani 

Secretary General, Qatar Olympic Committee 

4 | Issue 21 | Qatar Sport

1 

1 

THE SPORTING WORLD 

THROUGH THE LENSES OF 

REUTERS AND ACTION 

IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHERS 

1 IN HIS GRASP 

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho and 

Manchester United’s Alex Ferguson 

show contrasting emotions during 

a Champions League match at Old 

Trafford, March 5, 2013. 

Photograph by: REUTERS/Phil Noble 

2 JUMP FOR JOY 

Jorge Lorenzo of Spain celebrates his 

win next to second place Valentino 

Rossi at the Qatar MotoGP in Doha, 

April 7, 2013. 

Photograph by: REUTERS/Fadi 

Al-Assaad 

2 

Qatar Sport | Issue 21 | 5

IN FOCUS 

3 SLIP AND SLIDE 

Canada’s women’s team pursuit trio lose control at the ISU 

World Single Distances Championships 2013 in Sochi, Russia, 

March 24, 2013. Photograph by: REUTERS/Grigory Duko 

4 YOUNG AT HEART 

British-Indian marathon runner, Fauja Singh, 101, jogs with 

his coach before a 10-kilometere race at the Hong Kong 

Marathon, February 21, 2013. 

Photograph by: REUTERS/Bobby Yip 

5 POWER PLAY 

Jamaican Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt wins a 150 metres 

challenge event on a track next to Copacabana Beach in Rio 

de Janeiro, Brazil, March 31, 2013. 

Photograph by: REUTERS/Sergio Moraes 3 

4 


5 


update 

GREAT 

EXPECTATIONS 

The new America’s Cup format could change one of the 

world’s most prestigious sporting events for years to come 

The competitors at this year's America's Cup in San Francisco Bay will be sailing fast-moving catamarans. 

t 

he 34th America’s Cup in San Francisco, USA, this 

September, will see massive changes in the way the event 

is presented to sailing fans both on and off the waves. 

The changes, since the last America’s Cup 2010, were devised 

by Team Oracle USA which was awarded the event’s commercial 

rights as per the competition’s traditional “Deed of Gift” transfer 

of rights to the defending champions. 

The 2010 race was hastily convened after a two-year legal 

battle between the then defending champion Alinghi Racing 

of Switzerland and the challenger BMW Oracle Racing, as the 

Oracle Team USA team was called that year. 

For this year's event, Oracle Team USA, led by billionaire 

owner Larry Ellison, has had the time and resources to completely 

revamp the 162-year-old race – setting up the America’s Cup Event 

Authority (ACEA) to create a new America’s Cup programme. 

The ACEA has added new boats and events to improve the 

spectacle and commercial appeal. 

Most significantly, the ACEA has changed the boats from the 

slow monohulls used from 1992 to 2007 to fast catamarans which 

can race closer to the shore, giving spectators a better view of the 

race. The race will also take advantage of the natural contours of 

San Francisco Bay to create what the organisers call “a true stadium 

sailing experience”. 

The new boats can sail in a wider range of weather conditions 

than the old boats, including in wind speeds from three knots 

to 30 knots, meaning that races are more likely to start on time, 

which helps spectators and broadcasters alike. 

A new competition cycle has also been set up with the 

introduction of the World Series of 16 qualifier events from 2011, 

which feeds into the traditional Louis Vuitton Cup series in July 

2013 to decide which boat challenges Oracle Team USA. 

The first Youth America’s Cup, sponsored by Red Bull, will 

launch in August, with the America’s Cup itself following in 

September 2013 with up to 17 races. 

The new format and the World Series, in particular, was driven 

partly by the demands of sponsors, according to ACEA chief 

executive Stephen Barclay. 

“All partners and sponsors over the years, including Louis 

Vuitton for almost 30 years, have said that the America’s Cup is a 

fantastic property but once every four or five years is not enough. 

We need much more visibility,” Barclay said. 

“More visibility means more sponsorship dollars, and all of 

a sudden creates a virtuous circle whereby the teams get on a 

stronger financial footing.” 


Barclay said it would take time for the 

new structure to transform the event's 

commercial fortunes. “We were selling the 

promise; we are now selling the reality. 

The television ratings for the World Series 

in America are, in fact, greater than for 

the NHL [the North American ice hockey 

league] so there’s a lot of interest from the 

broadcast networks.” 

For all that, the teams themselves 

are still struggling to meet the cost of 

competition. Only three teams have made 

it through to the Louis Vuitton Cup playoff 

series. These are Artemis Racing from 

Sweden, Emirates Team New Zealand, and 

Luna Rossa Challenge 2013 from Italy. 

Sponsorship revenues to the teams have 

fallen short of the 2007 figures – the last 

America’ Cup to be properly managed 

– according to Russell Coutts, Chief 

Executive of Oracle Team USA. 

Coutts says that revenues from lead 

sponsor deals, such as Oracle’s with Team 

USA, the airline Emirates with Team New 

Zealand, and luxury apparel brand Prada 

with the Luna Rossa team, have remained 

strong but revenues from second- and 

third-tier deals have declined. 

The decline, he admits, is partly 

because of uncertainty about the new 

formats, but also because of the world 

economic downturn. 

No one can deny, however, that the 

America’s Cup continues to be a blue chip 

sporting property that attracts some of the 

world’s most distinguished brands. 

And the new formats should, given 

time, encourage even greater sponsorship 

interest in the future. 

The ACEA’s changes for 2013 are likely 

to remain part of the event's fabric for 

years to come. 

Although the America’s Cup’s unique 

tradition of giving commercial rights 

to the defending champion means 

there are no guarantees that the new 

programme will continue beyond 2013, 

it is understood that the America’s Cup 

Race Management (ACRM) organisation, 

which acts as a quasi-governing body 

for the competition, is almost certain to 

support the continuation of the World 

Series programme. 

This should ensure that the America’s 

Cup becomes an annual fixture on the 

sporting calendar with an ongoing 

narrative instead of the costly, quadrennial 

event it 's been for so long. 

IN TOUCH 

WITH HISTORY 

Doha hosts a spectacular Olympic exhibition 

A 

major exhibition tracing the 

history of the Olympic Games 

from ancient Greece to the 

modern era has transferred to Doha for a 

three-month stop over. 

The “Olympics – Past & Present” 

exhibition, which launched in Berlin, 

Germany, earlier this year, showcases an 

unprecedented number of objects and 

memorabilia in one Olympic-themed 

exhibition. 

The ancient Games is represented by 

more than 600 pieces, including statues, 

vases and bronzes of athletes and athletic 

activities from Greece and international 

museums such as the Archaeological 

Museum of Rome and the Louvre in Paris. 

The collection of the Qatar Olympic & 

Sports Museum and the Qatar Museum 

Authority’s media collections also features 

strongly in the Doha exhibition. 

“This is the first time that an exhibition 

has showcased the cultural history of the 

ancient and modern Olympics on such 

a scale, not to mention a special section 

on Qatar’s participation in the worldclass 

event,” said Qatar Olympic & Sports 

Museum Director Dr. Christian Wacker. 

The modern section is represented by 

Olympic torches, posters, mascots, medals, 

programmes and tickets, as well as original 

films and images from each Olympic 

Games. 

The participation of Qatari athletes in 

the Games also forms part of the narrative 

through interviews with Qatari Olympians 

and Paralympians. 

After Doha, the exhibition will transfer 

later in the year to Athens in Greece, the 

seat of the ancient Games. 


update 

GOAL-LINE 

GO AHEAD 

World football’s governing 

body FIFA has selected 

goal-line technology from 

German firm GoalControl 

as its preferred option in 

trials ahead of the 2014 

World Cup in Brazil. 

The GoalControl-4D 

system features 14 highspeed 

cameras around a 

football pitch focused on 

both goalmouths to help 

match officials determine 

whether or not the ball has 

crossed the goal-line. 

The technology will be 

put through its paces at the 

upcoming Confederations 

Cup in Brazil. 

Hawk-Eye, a UK-based 

company that was one 

of four firms shortlisted 

for the FIFA contract, has 

been awarded the goal-line 

technology contract for 

the English Premier League 

starting in season 2013-2014. 

The technology, which has 

proven itself in tennis and 

cricket, will be used in every 

Premier League fixture, but 

will have to be switched off 

for Champions League and 

Europa League ties because 

UEFA has not ratified its use. 

PLAY BALL 

Baseball and softball’s bid 

to return to the Olympic 

programme has taken a 

step forward thanks to a 

landmark merger between 

the International Baseball 

Federation and International 

Softball Federation. 

International baseball and 

softball federation members 

voted to approve the plan 

to create the World Baseball 

Softball Confederation 

(WBSC) at a meeting in 

Tokyo, Japan in April. 

FAIR PLAYER 

ATHLETE WINS FIRST 'SAVE THE DREAM' awaRD 

Ivan Anaya receives his award from H.E. Sheikh Saoud. 

t 

he first “Save the Dream” award to 

promote sporting integrity among 

young people was presented to the 

Spanish cross country runner Iván Fernández 

Anaya for an outstanding act of sportsmanship. 

Presented at the Securing Sport 2013 

conference in Doha, March 18-19, Anaya was 

rewarded for the honesty he showed in a cross 

country race in Navarre, Spain in December 

2012, where he refused to take advantage of a 

mistake by Kenya’s Abel Mutai. 

When Mutai, the steeplechase bronze medalist 

at the London Olympic Games, mistakenly 

stopped 10 metres before the finishing line, the 

up-coming Anaya chose to guide Mutai to the 

finish, allowing him to win the race. 

The 24-year-old Anaya said in his acceptance 

speech that he had done “nothing great” by 

doing the right thing, but his sportsmanship 

came in for praise from QOC Secretary General 

H.E. Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani. 

“What Ivan did was exceptional. In the cutthroat 

world of modern sport such examples of 

sportsmanship shine through,” said Sheikh Saoud. 

Save the Dream is a joint international 

initiative backed by the Qatar Olympic 

Committee and the Doha-based International 

Centre for Sport Security (ICSS). 

It was first launched at the 2012 Sorbonne- 

ICSS Sport Integrity Symposium in Paris, 

France, where Italian soccer star Allessando Del 

Piero was unveiled as Save the 

Dream’s Athlete Captain. 

Representing Save the 

Dream’s projected panel of 

high-profile athletes and 

sporting leaders from around 

the world, the 2006 World 

Cup winner delivered an 

emotional speech as part of a 

global video presentation at 

Securing Sport 2013. 

Del Piero, who now plays for Sydney FC 

in Australia’s A-League, said that today’s 

professional athletes are role models for future 

generations and can help youngsters understand 

what it takes to be a champion on and off the 

field of play. 

Mohammed Hanzab, President of the ICSS, 

added that Save the Dream has been designed 

to generate a genuine dialogue around sports 

core values. “Together with the QOC and 

Alessandro Del Piero, we will assemble a 

team of international ambassadors from the 

world of sport, recognised around the world 

for their reputation and talent, to promote 

positive messages around sport and its positive, 

character-building value,” he said. 

“This programme will hopefully become a 

powerful instrument to prevent and protect 

the next generation of athletes and sports stars 

around the world.” 

The award came on the final day of Securing 

Sport 2013, the leading international sport 

security and integrity conference hosted by 

the ICSS, under the theme of “Advancing the 

Security and Integrity of Sport to Safeguard 

the Future”. More than 400 stakeholders in 

sport attended the conference, including 

representatives from the FIFA World Cup 2014 

and the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games 

Organising Committees. 


SUPERSTAR PROFILE 

David Beckham has redefined what 

it means to be a global sports icon. 

World Cup; his return to his beloved Old Trafford to play against 

Manchester United during his second spell at AC Milan; his 

tearful farewell to the England captaincy…the list goes on and on. 

But if one was pushed, cajoled and ultimately forced into 

selecting just one moment which encapsulated the qualities of 

David Beckham the footballer, it came back in 2001 in a vital 

World Cup qualifying match in Manchester. 

England, which the previous month had demolished Germany 

5-1 in Munich, needed to at least match the German’s result in a 

separate match against Finland to book their places for the 2002 

tournament in Japan and Korea. 

But while Germany were held to a draw against the Finns, 

England were having a bad day at the office and were 1-2 behind 

as the 90 minutes were up. Then a free kick in the third minute of 

extra time provided Beckham’s cue. His wickedly curling shot into 

the top right hand corner of the goal left the Greek keeper flat 

footed, the stadium in euphoric uproar and one TV commentator 

demanding that Beckham be given a knighthood. 

It was a goal which summed up what Beckham’s career has 

been all about. He is not the fastest player and not the trickiest. 

He doesn’t always cover the most ground and certainly doesn’t 

score the most goals. Instead his gifts are a supreme range 

and accuracy of passing and mastery of corners and free kicks 

which have won countless games for the array of teams he 

has represented. When something good happened, Beckham 

was generally behind it and for much of his career he had 

an inspirational impact on his colleagues at both club and 

international level. 

goldenboy 

the 

If there is one thing which makes a truly great sports star stand 

out from their competitors, it is the difficulty of pinning down a 

single defining moment in their careers. 

While lesser athletes are likely to be remembered for a single 

instance of brilliance and triumph, it is far more difficult to say 

which of Tiger Woods’ Masters victories was his finest or which 

of Federer’s Grand Slams was the ultimate achievement. Likewise, 

how can Michael Schumacher be characterised by just one win or 

Messi by a single goal? 

In a similar way it is more or less impossible to determine 

which moment sums up David Beckham’s long and illustrious 

career, a career which has seen him make the journey from 

London to Paris via Manchester, Madrid, Milan and Los Angeles 

and all stops in between as he has transitioned from precocious 

teenage footballer to global megastar. 

Naturally a few stand out. His stunning goal from the half 

way line against Wimbledon in 1997 which announced him as 

a serious and very special talent; his red card for kicking the 

Argentinian Simeone at the 1998 World Cup in France; the 

revenge of his winning penalty against Argentina in the following 

Having it all 

On the face of it 

Beckham has it all. 

A stellar career, pop 

star wife and more 

money than most of 

us could count thanks 

to the commercial 

pulling power which 

has grown and grown 

as his celebrity has 

developed beyond the confines of the football community. 

And that’s a key difference between Beckham and most other 

active sportsmen and women. In a 48-slide photo retrospective 

on his career to date, fewer that two thirds featured his work 

on the football field. The remainder have him arm in arm with 

Hollywood superstars and world leaders in whose company he 

appears entirely at home. 

It has been an incredible journey for the boy from Leytonstone, 

East London, who grew up supporting Manchester United thanks 

to his parents, attended a Bobby Charlton soccer school in the 

city and was even a mascot for a first team game at Old Trafford. 

Beckham was part of a group of hugely talented United 

youngsters who won the FA Youth Cup in 1992 and he went on 

to become part of the club’s folk-lore as a critical part of the team 

which won the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup 

treble in the 1989-90 season. 

In his first year as a United regular he was named the Young 

Player of the Year by England’s Professional Players Association 

and the list of honours has continued to expand ever since. 


SUPERSTAR PROFILE 

He has been European Club player of the year, featured in the 

Premier League team of the year four times, the UEFA team in 

2001 and 2003, was Real Madrid’s player of the season in 2005-06 

and was in the Major League soccer team of 2011. 

There are those who believe that if he had stood for election 

as head of the United Nations during this period he would have 

succeeded in that as well. 

But for all his individual awards, it is what he has achieved for 

the teams he has represented which have been Beckham’s key 

contribution. His drive, vision, goals and countless assists took 

United to six Premier League titles as well as to FA Cup wins, the 

Champions League and FIFA’s Intercontinental Cup. 

The Real deal 

At Real Madrid he was part of the team which clawed La Liga 

title back from Barcelona in 2006-7 while in his transformational 

period at LA Galaxy the team won the 

MLS Cup twice. They are impressive 

statistics by any standards but when 

a club signs Beckham they get rather 

more than the sum of the goals, tackles, 

runs passes and assists. The Beckham 

factor ensures the biggest media circus 

in football and creates a buzz which 

resonates around the world. 

When Real Madrid signed Beckham for some $35 million 

for the 2003-04 season he was the biggest prize in town. The 

president of bitter rivals, Barcelona, had already pledged that he 

would deliver Becks for the Catalan fans but there was tangible 

triumphalism in the air when the Englishman was eventually 

paraded in front of packed grandstands at the Madrid club’s 

training ground. 

Yet from the beginning there were whispers that Madrid had 

not brought Beckham the footballer but Beckham the marketing 

machine, a player capable of selling more shirts (he chose 

number 23 at Madrid) than any other player. Equally, Beckham 

was already an international brand in his own right. At a time 

when United was generally top of the Deloitte list of the world’s 

richest football clubs, Madrid certainly had eyes on his brand 

“Beckham’s ability 

to connect has been 

used to good effect.” 

building potential, particularly in those Asian markets which 

had embraced him as a United player. And while Beckham’s 

undoubted commercial appeal must have influenced the sale 

price, the fact was that he certainly delivered on the field. Across 

four years at the Santiago Bernabeau Stadium he played 155 

games, scored 20 goals and as always, created many, many more. 

A different Galaxy 

Over the years Beckham has also gained the knack of doing the 

unexpected and his move to Major League Soccer was in keeping 

with his ability to keep them guessing. Certainly few predicted 

that even before his Madrid contract was up he would announce 

he was moving from one of the world’s biggest clubs and biggest 

leagues to Los Angeles Galaxy. The move was accompanied by 

headlines trumpeting the $250 million he ‘could’ earn over the five 

year contract, although his salary as one of the Galaxy’s cap-busting 

designated players was nowhere near that level. 

“I am looking forward to the new challenge 

of growing the world’s most popular game in a 

country that is as passionate about sport as my 

own,” he told reporters when the signing was 

announced and the later disclosure of a clause in 

his contract permitting him to buy an ownership 

share in an MLS franchise at preferential rates 

underscored the idea that he really was on an 

evangelical mission to promote soccer in the US. 

Despite initial suggestions that Beckham’s presence was a 

disruptive influence in the Galaxy dressing room – where many 

of the players earned as little in a year as he did in a day or so –his 

contribution to the team was invaluable. In all, he played 118 

games for the LA team, scoring 20 goals in the process. Perhaps 

more importantly for the league itself, in Beckham they suddenly 

had a player whose celebrity matched their own ambitions. 

Beckham sold tickets, appeared on chat shows and quietly gave 

MLS a leg-up in the world’s most competitive sports market. 

Paris Match 

After five years, it was time for Brand Beckham to move on and 

it came as little surprise that he chose to join European football’s

next major project, the re-birth of Paris St Germain. Since its 

acquisition by Qatari owners, PSG has been a hotbed of transfer 

activity which has transformed the under-performing team into 

genuine contenders for the next Champions League title. For 

Beckham it was a move to another successful team in another 

world-class city, the thread which runs throughout his career. 

It also provided him with an opportunity to further 

strengthen his personal popularity by announcing that he was 

to donate his salary to a local children’s charity, a move which 

immediately counter-balanced media hostility over his choice of 

accommodation - an exclusive suite at one of the city’s finest hotels. 

But that’s the thing about David Beckham….he’s smart. In his 

early days he may have been portrayed in the 

British media as a one dimensional buffoon 

but the reality is very different. His career has 

been managed with the precision of a guided 

missile, programmed to hit the target every 

time. His personal net worth is now estimated 

at anything up to $200 million, making him 

one of the wealthiest athletes on the planet, as 

his football earnings are dwarfed by massive 

endorsement deals with a bunch of big name 

brands around the world. And he is worth 

it because his personal brand resonates way 

beyond football itself. 

He was recently appointed as a global ambassador for football 

in China which is trying to stage a recovery from repeated 

corruption scandals. Beckham welcomed the opportunity, 

explained that he was not a politician and that he would focus on 

encouraging kids into the game. 

According to one high level member of the team from 

international sports marketing company IMG which put the deal 

together, his first visit to China was a revelation. 

“It is difficult to explain the impact he has. There were crowds 

everywhere he went and in one city Beckham’s appearance at the 

local football stadium attracted a 50 per cent bigger crowd that 

the average home attendance for the team.” 

Brand Beckham 

Beckham’s extraordinary ability to connect has been used to good 

effect beyond the world of brand promotion. As an East Londoner 

“His appeal is based 

on dedication, style 

and an old-fashioned 

sense of respect.” 

he was an essential member of the team which won its bid to host 

the 2012 Olympic Games in London and, less successfully, a part 

of England’s FIFA 2018 World Cup bid. 

Beckham may never have been the sort of footballer who 

would be an automatic choice for a World Select XI but his career 

and achievements stand scrutiny against the best. Perhaps he was 

a little unfortunate that the England team which he represented 

a record (for an outfield player) 115 times scoring 17 goals, never 

quite lived up to its potential but he has won national titles in 

three different countries with a fourth at PSG very much on the 

cards, scored in the final stages of three different World Cup 

tournaments and has the leading assist record for the English 

Premier League. 

This rock solid record is the foundation 

on which his Brand Beckham is based, that 

and the fact that in a world of top level sport 

which is often self-centred and slightly shady, 

he appears to be a genuinely good bloke. 

Andy Milligan, author of the book Brand 

It Like Beckham summed up his appeal in a 

BBC interview: 

“His appeal is based on dedication, style 

and an almost old-fashioned sense of respect. 

It is hard to think of a country or group of 

people to whom those do not appeal. 

“He has earned recognition on the biggest global stages, be it top 

flight football, international fashion or the A-list celebrity scene, 

“He has also made very shrewd choices that have created a 

coherent story and has moved from being captain of his country’s 

football team to cheerleader for its sporting ambitions. 

“On top of that he endures because he is authentic.” 

For a footballer, David Beckham is getting on a bit now. His 

appearances from the bench are more common than starts for 

Paris St Germain and his time as an active player at the highest 

level is inevitably winding down. 

The question is what he will choose to do when he finally 

hangs up his boots? Having publically said he is not interested in 

becoming a manager, the world remains at his feet and he will not 

be short of choices. Perhaps only one thing is certain. Wherever 

he decides his future lies, he will succeed and Brand Beckham will 

continue to grow. 


COMING UP 

MAY-JULY 2013 

Giro d’Italia 

Italy 4-26/5/2013 

Kentucky Derby 

Louisville, USA 4/5/2013 

Diamond League Meeting 

Qatar Sports Club 10/5/2013 

FA Cup Final 

London, UK 11/5/2013 

UEFA Europa League final 

Amsterdam, Netherlands 15/5/2013 

UEFA Champions League Final 

London, UK 25/5/2013 

Monaco Grand Prix 

Monte Carlo, Monaco 26/5/2013 

French Open 

Paris, France 26/5/2013 – 9/6/2013 

Italian MotoGP Grand Prix 

Mugello, Italy 2/6/2013 

World Stadium Congress 

Doha, Qatar 2-5/6/2013 

ICC Champions Trophy 

Across England and Wales, UK 6-23/6/2013 

US Open 

Pennsylvania, USA 13-16/6/2013 

FIFA Confederations Cup 

Across Brazil 15-30/6/2013 

All England Championships (Wimbledon) 

London, UK 24/6/2013 – 7/7/2013 

Tour de France 

10/5/2013 Diamond League Meeting 

Olympic 800m champion David Rudisha 

and Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake will 

both be competing in Doha. 

Tour Across France 29/6/2013 – 21/7/2013 

British Grand Prix 

Silverstone, UK 30/6/2013 

Beach Volleyball World Championships 

Stare Jablonki, Poland 1-7/7/2013 

Ashes 1st Test, England v Australia 

Nottingham, England 10-14/7/2013 

MLB All-Star Game 

New York, USA 16/7/2013 

The Open Championship 

Scotland, UK 18-21/7/2013 

FINA World Championships 

Barcelona, Spain 19/7/2013-4/8/2013 

15-30/6/2013 FIFA Confederations Cup 

Brazil will be looking to retain the FIFA 

Confederations Cup on home turf in June. 


26/5/2013 Monaco Grand Prix 

Australian Mark Webber fi nished on 

top of the podium in Monte Carlo for 

the Red Bull Racing team in 2012. 

24/6/2013 – 7/7/2013 

All England Championships 

Serena Williams will be hoping to record 

her sixth Wimbledon title this year. 

29/6/2013 – 21/7/2013 

Tour de France 

Can Bradley Wiggins manage 

back-to-back Tour de France 

victories after a stellar 2012? 

13-16/6/2013 US Open 

Following Webb 

Simpson’s US Open 

victory in 2012, who 

will come out on 

top at the Merion 

Golf Club in 

Pennsylvania? 

16/7/2013 

MLB All-Star Game 

Citi Field, home of the 

New York Mets, will 

play host to the MLB All- 

Star Game for the fi rst 

time in almost 50 years. 


going home 

to 

gym 

the 

The multi-billion DOLLAR home 

gym market has grown from 

its established consumer base 

in the United States to markets 

all over the world. 


Home gyms 

f 

or impressionable youth, the pursuit of an impressive physique 

is nothing new. 

In 1922, Charles Atlas, a famous body builder from the 

United States, began marketing his “Dynamic-Tension course” to young 

men who felt they were lacking in muscle. 

Atlas promised to “Make a Man of You” through a series of exercises 

that required no equipment whatsoever. 

The body building programme promised skinny young males that they 

would never again have sand kicked in their face by the local bully. 

“I turned myself from a 97-pound weakling into the World’s Most 

Perfectly Developed Man”, the famous magazine advertisements 

explained. “I can change your body, too.” 

And Atlas made a small fortune in the process. 

How times have changed. Today, the home fitness market is no longer 

directed at insecure teenagers but at successful, mature adults of both 

sexes and there is more money spent on home gym equipment than even 

Charles Atlas could have dreamed possible. 

Big Spenders 

In the United States, consumer spend on home exercise equipment rose 

from $3.9 billion in 2001 to $5.6 billion in 2011, according to The 

National Sporting Goods Association, America’s trade association for 

companies that make sports-related products. . 

In terms of multi-purpose home gyms – a category of exercise 

equipment all of its own which includes a combination of fitness and 

strengthening apparatus – more than 50 per cent of primary users in the 

United States were 35 years of age or older in 2011. Almost 50 per cent 

of purchasers made more than $50,000 annually and, most surprisingly 

perhaps, around 55 per cent of primary users were female. 

Not long ago, the idea of fitness equipment at home meant a set of 

weights or dumbbells in a bedroom corner or perhaps a “Bullworker”, an 

isometric device beloved by British adolescents, which could be stored 

conveniently under the bed. 

Now the product segments are many and varied and take up just a 

little more room. There are treadmills and cross country ski machines; 

stationary exercise bicycles and rowing machines. Throw in equipment 

such as elliptical trainers, aerobic riders, ab crunchers and step machines 

and it’s clear that the well-stocked “home gym” has the potential to 

outperform a commercial fitness centre. 

Home Gym Innovation 

America, the home of many of the fitness fads that have swept the world, 

has led the way in home-gym innovation. 

It was a US fitness fanatic Jack LaLanne who opened the first American 

health and fitness club in Oakland, California in 1936. 

He was credited with a major breakthrough in the 1950s when he 

developed the first cable-pulley machine, which evolved into a machine 

useful for leg extensions and bar pull downs. 

The Smith machine as it is called today (named after Rudy Smith, a 

gym club owner who commissioned a modified version of LaLanne’s 

initial design) is now a staple of home gym devotees worldwide. 


Home gymS 

the multi-billion dollar home gym market has grown from its established 

consumer base in the United States to markets all over the world 

1930’s 1970’s 1990’s 

2010’s 

In the same decade, the multi-speed treadmill was developed 

by Dr. Robert Bruce in Seattle as a stress test to monitor and 

diagnose various heart conditions. As devised by Dr. Bruce, the 

treadmill test started slowly and increased in pace and inclination 

every three minutes until no patient was left “unstressed.” 

It wasn’t until the 1960s however that treadmills began appearing 

in people’s homes as exercise equipment – and today the 

treadmill is responsible for nearly half of all home exercise equipment 

sales ($3.2 billion in 2012) in the United States. 

CHanging teCHnoLogy 

Through the 1960s and 1970s, the exercise equipment market 

developed among a series of niche companies, but was not yet big 

business. Advances in home fitness technology and sales really 

exploded in the 1980s. 

In 1981, two brothers, Dick and Peter Dreissigacker, who 

rowed for the US team at the 1972 Olympic Games, developed a 

simple indoor rowing machine known as the Concept2 Indoor 

Rower, which set the standard for the practice of the sport 

indoors. The technology has also encouraged a new competitive 

sport popular with athletes who may never have rowed on water. 

It is also used for cross training within almost every other sport 

including Formula 1, athletics, sailing and triathlon. 

In 1986, another landmark was reached when the Bowflex 

home gym, the name for a series of exercise machines used for 

strength training and cardio training, entered the market. 

Instead of conventional weights or pulley machines, the 

original Bowflex machine used a combination of rods to create 

constant resistance or tension to produce a multi-function fitness 

machine that has continued to evolve in the Bowflex models 

available today. 

The first elliptical cross trainer – the walking and running 

simulators that now populate gyms all over the world – was 

created in 1995. The engineer who invented this machine needed 

a low-impact exercise for his daughter, who had injured her 

“The treadmill is responsible for nearly half 

of all home exercise equipment sales.” 

ankle. Since then, other manufacturers have followed the trend 

and upper body movements were added to develop the range of 

exercise machines now known as cross-trainers. 

Meanwhile, the Ab Rocker was developed in the late 1990s 

and quickly took off as a popular way to tone and strengthen 

abdomen muscles. 

neW CHoiCeS 

If these choices weren’t enough, a new entertaining and family 

friendly method of home training came with the arrival of Nintendo’s 

Wii Fit in 2007, which introduced a whole new approach 

to fitness training and changed the profile of fitness machines. 

Using only a Wii Balance Board and a computer or TV 

screen, virtual exercisers can take part in over 40 different fitness 

activities in the comfort of their own home. 

Indeed, the enduring popularity of home gym-style equipment 

shows that the desire to work out at home is no passing fad. 

Consumer sales of stationary exercise bicycles, ellipticals and 

treadmills have remained steady in the United States over the last 

decade and some new products are rising in popularity. 

Sales of exercise balls in the United States, for example, grew 15 

per cent in 2011.Other growth areas in exercise equipment are on 

the accessories side: pedometers and heart rate monitors both saw 

sales increases in 2011. 

Sales of home gym equipment have also increased beyond 

America’s border in the fast-moving economies of the Asia 

Pacific, South America and the Middle East. The trend shows 

no sign of falling away and is sure to be going strong when the 

hundredth anniversary of Charles Atlas’ “Dynamic-Tension 

course” comes around in 2022. 


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MATCHING SPORTS EVENTS AND HOSTS 

3,300 Events, 

47 Sports Properties. 

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3.1 

SucceSSful bidding: leading 

citieS and nationS 

14 

The research published in The Bid Book is the result of an in-depth analysis of 

approaching 3,500 major events hosted since 2003 across summer and winter 

Olympic sports, global series, mega events and multi-sport Games. 

The qualification requirement was world championship events in Olympic sports hosted 

since 2003 (including those awarded for future years) and all events over the period 2003-2012 

in global series. For world championships, mega events and multi-sport Games staged on a 

non-annual basis (i.e. every two or four years etc), hosts of the five most recent editions were 

included in the sample. 

3.1.1 Paris tops the podium 

On the analysis of event hosting in all categories, the leading major event cities in sport are: 

Figure 3.1: Leading host cities since 2003 

Rank City 

1 Paris 

2 Doha 

3 London 

4 Moscow 

5 Tokyo 

6 Budapest 

7 Madrid 

8 Melbourne 

9 Dubai 

10 Beijing 

Source: The Bid Book 

3.1.2 The Olympic effect? 

Paris may have lost out to London in the race for the 2012 Olympics, but is still able to lay claim 

to the status of the world’s top host of the last 10 years thanks to a consistently high ranking 

across all categories bar – unsurprisingly – winter sports. 

3.5 

Big game hunting: multi-sport 

event Bidding 

Multi-sport events are the biggest beasts of the bidding and hosting jungle: often 

with dozens of disciplines, thousands of competitors and the budget of a government 

department, they can be almost as complex to tender for as they are to stage. 

The owners of these properties need hosts with big ambitions and the resources to fund 

them. That means they may have to cast their net farther and wider than rights holders whose 

events are more accessible to all – a fact that appears to have influenced the patterns of 

penetration achieved by the major multi-sport games on a continent-by-continent basis. 

Figure 3.32: Multi-sport event hosting, by continent, post-2000 

Country Events Properties 

Europe 29 7 

N America 25 3 

Asia 22 7 

Australasia 3 2 

S America 2 2 

Africa 0 0 

Source: The Bid Book 

The Bid Book examined bidding and hosting patterns associated with eight multi-sport 

properties since 2000 in this analysis: 

Olympic Games 

Winter Olympic Games 

Commonwealth Games 

Summer Universaide 

Winter Universiade 

World Games 

• 

• 

• X Games 

Winter X Games 

The seven that have a genuinely global remit (Winter X Games is a USA exclusive) have all 

landed in both Europe and Asia at least once in that time, while only Africa has yet to receive a 

visit. The event data are skewed slightly by the inclusion of the X Games, which has dedicated 

events for the US, Europe and Asia, meaning each of these continents automatically receives 

events that South America, Africa and Australasia cannot bid for, while the US gets a further set 

again thanks to its exclusivity around the Winter X Games. Nevertheless, on a property level the 

reach of all events appears wider than is seen in the hosting market as a whole. 

World Championships in Athletics 

Year City Country 

2003 Paris France 

2005 Helsinki Finland 

2007 Osaka Japan 

2009 Berlin Germany 

2011 Daegu South Korea 

2013 Moscow Russia 

2015 Beijing China 

2017 London UK 

World Indoor Championships 


2010 Doha UAE 

2003 Birmingham UK 

2004 Budapest Hungary 

2006 Moscow Russia 

2008 Valencia Spain 

2012 Istanbul Turkey 

2014 Sopot Poland 

World Race Walking Cup 


2004 Naumberg Germany 

Use this report to: 

2006 La Coruna Spain 

2008 Cheboksary Russia 

2010 Chihuahua Mexico 

2012 Saransk Russia 

Continental Cup 

• Rank hosts by event bid success 


2010 Split Croatia 

2014 Marrakech Morocco 

CONTACT DETAILS 

• Analyse major rights holders / bidder 

Essar 

trends 

Gabriel: General Secretary 

17 rue Princesse Florestine 

BP359 

MC 98007 Monaco Cedex 

Tel: +377 93 10 88 88 

www.iaaf.org 

• Map the sport event landscape 

37 

World Half Marathon Championships 


2003 Vilamoura Portugal 

2004 New Delhi India 

2005 Edmonton Canada 

2006 Debrecen Hungary 

2007 Udine Italy 

2008 Rio de Janeiro Brazil 

2009 Birmingham UK 

2010 Nanning China 

2012 Kavama Bulgaria 

2014 Copenhagen Denmark 

2016 Zapaday Bulgaria 

World Cross Country Championships 


2003 Lausanne Switzerland 

2004 Brussels Belgium 

2005 Saint-Galmier France 

2006 Fukuoka Japan 

2007 Mombasa Kenya 

2008 Edinburgh UK 

2009 Amman Jordan 

2010 Bydgoszcz Poland 

2011 Punta Umbria Spain 

2013 Bydgoszcz Poland 

World Cup 


1998 Johannesburg South Africa 

2002 Madrid Spain 

2006 Athens Greece 

88 


Stakeholders 

The IAAF has 205 member national 

federations. 

Funding 

More than three quarters of the IAAF’s 

annual income is generated by marketing 

and broadcasting rights, with around 10% 

provided by Olympic revenues. 

Objectives 

The IAAF’s constitution lists 16 objectives for 

the organisation, including: 

Promoting the sport and its ethical 

values as an educational subject and lifeenhancing 

activity 

Encouraging participation at all levels 

Promoting fair play and playing a leading 

role in the fight against doping 

Supporting the worldwide development of 

the sport 

• • 

• 

Key people 

The venues for all IAAF championships are 

decided by the IAAF Council, which reports to 

the organisation’s Congress every two years 

and is comprised of: 

A President 

A Treasurer 

• 

5.1.3 

Athletics 

InternatIonal assocIatIon of athletIcs federatIons (Iaaf) 

Four Vice-Presidents 

15 Council Members 

Six Area Representatives 

The Area Representatives are appointed by 

their respective continental associations. 

All other members are elected by the IAAF 

Congress. 

Elite participation 

• 

• 

Around 2,000 athletes from 200 countries 

compete in the IAAF World Championships. 

The World Indoor Championships involve 

up to 1,000 athletes from more than 170 

countries. 

The first report to combine 

trend data and case 

studies alongside coverage 

of the top 47 sports 

89 

properties. 

Principal world championship events 

• 

World Championships in Athletics 

World Indoor Championships 

World Race Walking Cup 

World Half Marathon Championships 

World Cross Country Championships 

World Cup 

Continental Cup 

World Championship hosts 

Distribution of world championships (46 events, 

1998-2017) 

Continent Events hosted 

Europe 32 

North America 2 

South America 1 

Africa 3 

Asia 8 

Oceania 0 

Visit our website to see the contents page for Bid Book or Download your Free Synopsis 

www.sportbusiness.com/bidbook 

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Businesses, large and small, gave their full backing to Qatar’s National Sport Day 

L 

ocal and international businesses put their collective 

might behind Qatar’s National Sport Day in February, 

creating a patchwork of action-packed events that could 

be emulated elsewhere in the Gulf and around the world. 

An initiative of His Highness the Heir Apparent of Qatar, 

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, 

National Sport Day is a unique 

celebration of sport built around an 

official public holiday on the second 

Tuesday of February. 

It first took place in 2012. 

Qatar, in common with other Gulf 

states and nations around the world, 

is facing up to health issues among an increasingly sedentary 

population and the promotion of healthy living is a central tenet of 

national policy, delivered through the Qatar Olympic Committee 

(QOC) and supported by other government agencies. 

This year, the National Sport Day started with a VIP Walk in 

Doha with the participation of QOC Secretary General Sheikh 

“The response from our 

staff was bigger and 

better than last year.” 

Saoud and Australia’s five-time Olympic swimming champion 

Ian Thorpe. 

National Sport Day provides a blank canvas for government 

ministries and agencies and sports organisations to promote 

active lifestyles – and this year’s event was notable for the sheer 

number of companies which created special 

events for their employees and the public. 

Whether it was hotels organising 

running races for their staff or far bigger 

and more sophisticated events, businesses all 

over Qatar took part in the second edition. 

One of the biggest company-led events 

was Dolphin Energy’s Doha Dash, which 

took place at the Losail International Circuit, Doha’s world-class 

motor racing track. 

The event included 5km, 3km and 1km runs, as well as a 1km 

ladies’ walk. 

Organised by the international sports event and management 

agency, Professional Sports Group, it was supported by a number 

The Doha Dash gets underway on National Sport Day. 


national sport day 

of leading businesses in Doha including title sponsors Dolphin 

Energy, platinum sponsors Vodafone Qatar and supporting 

partners Fitness First, Kellogg’s, Rayyan Water and W Doha. 

Each of the event sponsors joined forces to promote healthy 

living by providing a number of fun activities for the runners 

and spectators to enjoy, including an opportunity to run against 

Qatar’s fastest man and event ambassador Samuel Francis. 

There were also free health checks while official fitness partner 

Fitness First held pre-race warm up sessions before every race 

and live demonstrations throughout the day. 

The day went down well with young families and VIP guests 

alike. As Michael O’Neil, the British Ambassador to Doha, said 

after the event: “With high levels of participation and enthusiasm 

from everyone present. I can see it [the Doha Dash] growing as a 

significant annual event on the Doha sports calendar.” 

Away from the Lusail Track, National Sport Day made full 

use of Qatar’s world-class sporting infrastructure, including the 

Aspire Zone, where energy giant Shell teamed up with the Qatar 

Football Association (QFA) to break the world record for the 

largest ever set of five-a-side football matches played at once. 

The match, which lasted for 11 hours and 58 minutes, involved 

523 players from across Qatar and beat the previous record of 464 

players set at the youth academy of English football club Sheffield 

United in October 2012. 

The event came hard on the heels of the launch of “Koora 

Time”, a five-year sustainable initiative set up by the QFA and 

Shell Qatar designed to improve the health and wellbeing of 

Qatar’s youth through football – a private-public initiative that 

was announced just days before National Sport Day. 

Also making the National Sport Day the focal point of more 

concerted efforts to change lives, Qatar First Investment Bank 

(QFIB), organised a month-long corporate wellness programme 

for its employees. 

A professional fitness consultancy was engaged to develop a 

tailor-made wellness programme which featured 

a series of activities, including a weight-loss 

challenge, a weekly outdoor fitness activity and 

nutritional and health awareness seminar. 

“The concept of National Sport Day inspired 

us to develop our internal Corporate Wellness 

Programme,” said Emad Mansour, CEO, QFIB. “The 

aim of this month-long initiative was to encourage our employees 

to adopt a healthy lifestyle that combines a balanced diet and 

regular exercise.” 

Many other domestic companies rivaled the proactive efforts of 

the international companies based in Qatar. Ooredoo, the county’s 

leading telecoms company, hosted several events at the Museum 

of Islamic Art Park, including fun games for younger people such 

as Giant Bowling, Giant Baseball and a unique game of American 

football. Meanwhile, on the Corniche, Doha’s Hamad Medical 

Corporation partnered with the Qatar Development Bank to 

offer blood pressure and basic health check-ups and to distribute 

information about healthy and active lifestyles. 

Almuftah Group— one of the country’s most diverse and 

successful groups of companies – kept it simple by organising a 

“Walk for Health” event from the Corniche to Sheraton Sqaure for 

hundreds of its employees and their families. 

On top of the health and benefits, Almuftah Group Managing 

Director Ibrahim Almuftah said that engaging in sport was a 

great way to inspire camaraderie and goodwill among colleagues 

and families alike. 

The corporate roll call included a jointly-hosted sports event for 

employees and their families, organised by Qatar Petroleum (QP), 

ExxonMobil Qatar and Qatar Gas Transport Company. The state 

carrier Qatar Airways also put on a wide range of activities at the 

Al Jazeera Academy in Doha for 1,500 staff and their families, 

featuring competitions in football, tennis, volleyball, cricket and 

basketball. Echoing the sentiments of corporate citizens all over 

the country, Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer, Akbar Al 

Baker, summed up the Day. “This year, the response from our 

staff was bigger and better than last year’s celebrations,” he said. 

The bar for Qatar-based businesses has been set high for next 

year’s National Sport Day on February 11, 2014.

FIT FOR LIFE 

GET FIT WITH TRIATHLON 

T 

he number of people taking part 

in triathlons has soared over 

recent years and the multisport 

challenge is now one of the most popular 

ways of getting fit. 

The Olympic version of the sport 

consists of a 1.5 kilometre swim, followed 

by a 40km cycle and 10km run. 

But there are many varieties and offshoots 

of the classic triathlon form. 

There are versions for kids, novices 

and of varying distances for elite athletes. 

There are sprint triathlons, half-triathlons 

and ultra-distance triathlons. 

The most arduous of all is the Ironman 

triathlon, which demands that athletes 

swim nearly 4km, cycle more than 180km 

and finish with a full marathon (42.2km). 

The best in the world take more than eight 

hours to complete the course. 

All triathlons, however, are physically 

and mentally challenging, which may 

explain why the sport is often associated 

with high achievers from all walks of life. 

Below, UK-based author and triathlon 

trainer Sean Lerwill offers these simple 

guidelines as the keys to success – whether 

you’re a novice or experienced triathlete. 

MONEY IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR 

HARD WORK 

Nearly all new (and some experienced) 

triathletes want to buy speed and success, 

and throw money at it. It doesn’t work like 

that. Good kit helps to a point, but it’s no 

substitute for hard work, conditioning and 

technique. 

CHOOSE THE RIGHT 

FOOTWEAR 

Don’t train in trainers with elastic laces [to 

speed up the transition from bike to run]. 

Save these for races, when they will save 

you time. During training they’ll just negate 

the support function of your trainers. 

SEEK A PROFESSIONAL OPINION 

If you have money, pay for a professional 

gait analysis. Use the results to specifically 

strengthen and condition the weak areas, 

and you’ll see great improvements. 

TRAIN OFF-ROAD IN COLD 

WINTERS 

Use a mountain bike for cycle training and 

do cross-country runs. Doing such offroad 

training isn’t only good for strength 

and conditioning, it’s also far safer if roads 

and pavements are icy and/or wet. 

STICK TO ONE BIKE 

Other than off-road winter training, you 

should always train on the bike you’ll 

race on. Some people think they should 

keep their ‘race bike’ special for race 

day, however if you train on a different 

set-up you’ll use muscles ever so slightly 

differently. 

DON’T OVER-TRAIN 

It’s tempting to have no or too few rest 

days, but if you have no rest days you won’t 

improve as much. Many improvements 

occur outside of training: if you never rest 

you never see improvements. 

REST BEFORE THE RACE 

Establish a good training routine and 

take your rest day two days before a race, 

not the day before: perform light training 

the day before the race. This ensures you 

aren’t groggy or lethargic on race day from 

having a day off. 

LOOK PROFESSIONAL 

If you take a look at a professional 

triathletes bike, it isn't littered in energy 

gels taped to the frame. It is neat and tidy 

and exudes confidence. Unless you are 

doing a full or half ironman, one or two 

energy gels in a pocket will suffice. 

PLANNING PREVENTS POOR 

PERFORMANCE 

Plan what you are going to do, both in 

training and for the race itself. Proper 

planning makes for a more enjoyable 

triathlon session and means you are more 

likely to succeed in the race. 

NO SHORT CUTS 

There are no quick fixes. Hard work is the 

only way to success. 


Leaders: Incisive opinion and lively debate 

CAN THE national 

Sport DAY help 

change LIFESTYLES? 

The decision to allocate a day for sport in Qatar not only affirms our country’s 

strong commitment towards increasing participation in sport, but our parallel 

efforts to ensure a healthier future for the people in our communities and for 

generations to come. 

Qatar enjoys an international reputation as a hub for sporting events but 

the National Sport Day is celebrated to stress the importance of sport as a 

significant factor in creating a healthy community – both physically and mentally. 

Our country, like many others around the world, face challenges in terms of 

obesity and other consequences of sedentary lifestyles and poor eating habits. 

Obesity has become one of the major epidemics with recent statistics from 

the World Health Organization showing one billion people as obese and 

childhood obesity tripling over the last 30 years. 

Worldwide, approximately 22 million children under the age of five are obese. 

better choices 

In the Gulf region, lifestyles have changed dramatically in little more than a 

generation and as part of our National Health Strategy, we are taking steps to 

help the public make better choices in terms of diet and exercise. 

Qatar is committed to combating the high incidence of obesity and related 

illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and strokes, high blood pressure and cancer. 

IN BRIEF 

Meshaal Nasser Al-Khalifa 

is Assistant Secretary General for 

Administrative Support at the Qatar 

Olympic Committee. Previously, 

he held the position of Director of 

Shared Services Affairs, reporting 

to the President of Qatar’s Public 

Works Authority – Ashghal. Among 

his various duties across the QOC’s 

Finance and HR departments, Mr 

Al-Khalifa is responsible for the 

development of an employeeoriented 

company culture that 

emphasises quality, continuous 

improvement and high performance. 

This is why the National Sport Day aims to promote sport as part of everyone’s daily life, not just as a one-off event. 

The country has provided communities with all the necessary facilities to encourage people to change their lifestyles to 

improve their health. Now we are focused on getting that message across with the National Sport Day acting as a starting 

block for many who have yet to feel the benefits of a more active life. 

Government departments, of course, are in a prime position to influence their employees in this respect, but I have been 

greatly encouraged by private institutions, which lined up a series of creative public events for their staff and families. 

Some partnered with public agencies in Qatar to inform people about their health risks and encourage weight-loss 

programmes. 

health benefits 

Qatar’s leading medical services organisation Hamad Medical Corporation in partnership with the Qatar Development 

Bank, for example, deployed more than 40 nurses to check blood pressure and take weight measurements, Body Mass 

Index measurements and other health tests for participants during National Sport Day. 

Another highlight was the launch of the “Be Fit” competition, organised by the Qatar Olympic Committee, in 

collaboration with VLCC Group, a wellness company, which promotes scientific weight-loss solutions. 

The competition saw participants commit to one-year programme of dietary modification and physical activity to 

maintain a healthy weight. VLCC will keep a track of the participants’ weight loss progress until the next National Sport Day 

when the winners will be announced. 

Public and private agencies, it should be added, are also promoting the mental benefits of sport in line with the maxim 

“a healthy mind in a healthy body”, but also as a force for friendship, community-building and social cohesion. 

In conclusion, Qatar is in the frontline of some of the health problems associated with sedentary lifestyles but thanks to 

the enlightened leadership of His Highness the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, and the National Sport 

Day initiative, it is also in the vanguard of change. 


How do we get 

people off the 

couch? 

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is known as the 

driving force behind the Olympic Games, but it also has a keen 

interest in promoting sport at the grassroots level. 

Encouraging physical activity, especially among young people, 

is a growing concern for organisations throughout the Olympic 

Movement, with good reason. 

The facts are alarming: The World Health Organization 

(WHO) ranks insufficient physical activity as one of the four 

leading risk factors for global mortality from non-communicable 

diseases – with hypertension, tobacco use and high blood glucose. 

Insufficient physical activity is linked to 3.2 million or 5.5 per cent of 

all deaths annually. 

global issue 

Scientific research highlights the importance of getting people 

active early in life. Inactive children tend to become even less 

IN BRIEF 

Dr Richard Budgett has been 

Medical and Scientific Director of the 

IOC since November 2012. Before 

that, he was Chief Medical Officer 

for the London 2012 Olympic and 

Paralympic Games from 2007 to 2012 

and Director of Medical Services for 

the British Olympic Association from 

1994 to 2007. He was a member of 

the IOC Medical Commission at the 

2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and 

2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. 

active as they mature, and sedentary behaviour among young people can lead to long-term health problems, 

such as obesity. 

In response to these disturbing trends, the 2009 Olympic Congress – a gathering of all constituents of the 

Olympic Movement and members of the public – approved several recommendations aimed at increasing 

participation in physical activity and sport and at promoting healthy lifestyles. But the IOC and the Olympic 

Movement cannot address this problem alone. 

An issue of this magnitude and importance requires concerted action by many elements of society. Fortunately, 

government agencies, schools, community groups, sports organisations, the United Nations and a host of other 

governmental and nongovernmental organisations are taking up the cause of promoting physical activity. 

get moving 

Communities around the world participate in Olympic Day, an annual celebration of grassroots sport and 

physical activity that commemorates the birth of the Olympic Movement on 23 June 1894. 

National Olympic Committees (NOCs) have taken a leading role in facilitating and organising Olympic 

Day fun runs and other events that encourage activity by young and old alike. From a modest start in 1948, 

Olympic Day has become a global event, with the large majority of NOCs participating. 

Some countries have incorporated Olympic Day into the school curriculum and organised meetings 

between young people and top athletes. Under the theme, “move, learn and discover,” Olympic Day is 

expanding to include cultural and educational activities as well as sport. 

Qatar’s National Sport Day is very much in keeping with the Olympic Day concept, and goes a step further 

by linking the annual celebration of physical activity to a national holiday in February. It is a great catalyst to get 

people off the couch. This year’s National Sport Day saw thousands of people in Doha and across Qatar getting 

involved in a variety of sports. The event is truly inclusive, with participation by people of all ages and abilities. 

The challenge is to ensure that Olympic Day, National Sport Day and similar events are not just a one-time 

affair. The aim is to convince people that sport is fun and makes them feel better, physically as well as mentally. 

Individual and societal benefits require changes in lifestyle over the long term. 

Changing behaviour is not easy, but we owe it to our children to confront the issue of insufficient physical 

activity head-on. In our constantly evolving society, sport and physical activity hold the key to a healthier, 

more balanced and better life, with more meaning. Let’s get people moving! 


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T 

he Look Company is pleased to announce its latest and 

most innovative environmental awareness program. 

MOG Wear is the re-purposing of printed textile fabrics 

by re-sewing the fabric into new usable items such as bags, iPad 

cases and backpacks. 

In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, it is estimated 

that upwards of 120 million tons of waste is sent to the landfills 

each year. With this number increasing at a rapid pace it’s time to 

look at how we can reduce our waste to land fill. 

The Look Company and the Qatar Olympic Committee 

recognized this ever growing problem and realized it had a means 

to find a solution within its own backyard…MOG Wear. 

What is the MOG Wear Programme? 

The Qatar Olympic Committee and The Look Company have 

partnered together to develop a re-purposing programs that 

allows all organisation to help save the environment by re-using 

the produced branding materials fabric as a post event and legacy 

promotion program for their Mega-Events, conferences, or brand 

rollout programmes. 

This programme offers a means to get involved with Waste 

Management and to re-purpose branded textile materials for 

good a purpose – helping the Environment. The Look Company 

and the Qatar Olympic Committee signed a 10-year agreement in 

November of 2012 during the annual Aspire4Sport conference held 

at Aspire in Doha, Qatar. 

During a press conference between His Excellency Sheikh 

Saoud – General Secretary of the Qatar Olympic Committee and 

Ed Burke – CEO of The Look Company an agreement was signed 

between the two organisations to not only promote this program 

locally but to take this programme internationally. “As a member 

of the Sport and Environment Committee of the International 

Olympic Committee, I will urge the IOC to take this concept to the 

rest of the world,” Sheikh Saoud said. 

What does MOG Wear stand for and 

where did the name come from? 

MOG stands for Memories Of the Games. The Look Company 

has been very fortunate during its years of business to be 

involved in many sport and event programmes around the 

world and this name seemed appropriate for its final life 

products. Memories allow you to remember the event for 

years to come. 

How MOG Wear Program Works. 

■■ 

At the end an event or a conference, The Look Company 

collects all branded fabrics 

■■ 

The fabric then gets cleaned, stored and ready for custom 

design and tailoring 

■■ 

The MOG Wear products have a wide variety of designs 

and functionality all depending on the objectives of 

the corporate or organizations who is re-purposing the 

materials 

Examples of some of the products The Look Company 

currently are able to re-purpose are: 

■■ 

Messenger bags 

■■ 

I-pad and Mobile phone covers 

■■ 

Grocery bags 

■■ 

Tote bags 

■■ 

String bags 

■■ 

Back backs 

MOG Wear bags recycle material from sports events. 


promotion 

MOG Wear jacket made from AFC Asian Cup materials. 

The Qatar Olympic Committee and The Look Company are 

currently looking to grow the awareness of this program and are 

looking for corporates to get involved and be a part of this growing 

solution in Qatar. 

To help corporate organizations to understand how they can get 

involved the following Question and Answer has been developed. 

If an outside organization wants to get 

involved with MOG Wear as a sponsor, 

how can MOG Wear be promoted? 

■■ 

As part of your existing community programme, promoting a 

clean environment by cutting down on waste 

■■ 

It is an effect method to promote your companies CSR 

(Corporate Social Responsibility) Initiatives as an active 

Community sponsor in Sport. 

■■ 

It is a way to leave a legacy from the event attached to your brand 

■■ 

It is an environmentally friendly way to produce Corporate gifts 

and Premium Incentive Items 

■■ 

It is a way to spread your message to those who were connected 

to the event 

■■ 

It is a way to connect to those who were not able to attend your 

event, but now can own a small part of it. 

Why WOuld a Corporation, Federation 

or Organising Committee want to get 

involved? 

■■ 

Unique opportunity for national companies to be associated 

with the event and the environment 

■■ 

Shows support and commitment to the Sport and 

Environmentally conscious communities 

■■ 

Gain national and international awareness through the well 

promoted program by Qatar Olympic Committee and The 

Look Company 

■■ 

Be linked with the Event, Qatar Olympic Committee, The 

Look Company and the Environment 

■■ 

Become associated with the MOG Wear –passion, enthusiasm, 

commitment to the future of Sport and the Environment! 

What are the benefits of adopting MOG 

Wear into your companies Standard and 

Best Practise 

Environmental 

■■ 

Ability to advertise as an active participant in global sustainability 

■■ 

Be a part of reducing total waste to landfill within Qatar 

■■ 

Reduces our collective carbon footprint by re-purposing 

branded materials 

Corporate 

■■ 

Become the benchmark for innovative re-purposing strategies 

■■ 

Introduce Corporate Giveaways 

■■ 

A cost effective way to generate corporate giveaway items such as 

bags, iPad covers, and cases 

Philanthropic 

■■ 

Giving back to the community 

■■ 

Various types of sport items can be made and donated to under 

privileged kids around the world, or even collaborated with as 

part of their local community programs. 

■■ 

Possible partnerships with local and worldwide charitable 

organisations 

■■ 

Who can use MOG Wear and distribute MOG Wear? 

■■ 

Anyone who has used printed textile product can participate in 

this programme. Specifically: 

■■ 

Schools - Public School / Private School / University / Colleges: 

Use the products to give to students at the beginning of the year to 

distribute books, uniforms, etc.. 

■■ 

Corporation, Federation or Organising Committee (large and 

small): use as premium give away items to staff or clients 

■■ 

Exhibitions and Trade Shows: makes use of re-purposed items 

instead of plastic or papers bags 

What types of printed materials can be 

used for MOG Wear? 

■■ 

Currently there are four key fabrics that are being used for this 

programme: PolyWovin, PolySatin, PerfKnit, and DuraFlag. 

MOG Wear bag made from AFC Asian Cup materials. 

If after reading this article you are interested in becoming a part 

of this New and Exciting Environmental initiative please write 

to: mogwear@thelookcompany.com and provide your name, 

contact number and enquiry questions. It is up to each one of us 

to help our organisations make a greener difference is this world. 

Look to convert your organisation to MOG Wear today and be 

part of a movement for a greener Qatar, and a greener planet. 

MOG Wear materials and patterns all designed by Groop Eight 

Communications 



The Schools Olympic Programme is creating a new 

generation of physically active, young people in Qatar 

here is no doubt in our minds that the Schools Olympic 

Programme has changed attitudes towards sport in 

T 

Qatari schools. It’s allowed us to discover hidden talent 

and made SOP competitions a much-anticipated event in the 

school year for students.” 

These are the conclusions of Al Sayyed Abul Noor, a physical 

education teacher at Ibn Taymeya Secondary School in the 

northern suburb of Doha. 

Qatar Sport magazine met with 

the teacher, three of his students and 

the School Director, Khalid Haroon, 

to discuss what the leading sports 

education programme in Qatar meant 

to them. 

All three students, aged between 

15 and 17, were medal winners at the sixth edition of the Schools 

Olympic Programme, which ended this April with finals for boys 

and girls at the Aspire Zone. 

Mohamed Ussama and Mahmoud Salman were bronze medal 

winners in basketball, while Ahmed Abdulhay was a gold medalist 

in the shot put contest. 

Thanks largely to the schools programme, all three boys have 

had the opportunity to try different sports before specialising in 

their medal-winning sports. 

For Mohamed, it was martial arts and handball before opting 

for basketball. His teammate Mahmoud tried table tennis and 

volleyball, but eventually found basketball more exciting and 

attacative. 

As for Ahmed, his athletic ability was channeled into wrestling 

“They feel as though they are they 

are participating in a mini-sized 

Olympic Games.” 

before trying swimming, handball and basketball. He returned to a 

strength-based sport when he discovered the shot put. Ahmed won 

his second, successive gold medal at this year’s Schools Olympic 

Programme and the joy of winning has given him an appetite to 

carry on and strive for much higher competition levels. 

The other boys are also contemplating a sporting life after school. 

Mohamed Ussama, 15, the Year Ten student, discovered that he has 

what it takes to be a very good basketball player. Scouts from the 

Al Gharrafa Sports Club, based in the 

same area as Ibn Taymiya School, agree 

with him and he is now one of the best 

players in their juniors team. Mahmoud 

also wants to continue his sports career 

after school, specialising in sport 

sciences in case his performances do 

not allow him to reach the top levels. 

Sporting rewards 

The three teenagers underline why the Schools Olympic 

Programme experience has been so rewarding: it has allowed them 

to make friends with students from other schools, realise the value 

of hard work and develop their ability to face up to challenges. 

They also like the feeling that they are participating in a minisized 

Olympics, especially when they receive their medals from the 

most important QOC officials, such as HE the Secretary General 

of the Qatar Olympic Committee, Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman 

Al-Thani. 

Ahmed, the shot putter, also praises the care and commitment 

of the PE teachers at his school. He said that they were keen to help 


him with extra training sessions, especially as his specialty requires 

technique as well as strength to achieve the best results. 

The PE teachers at the school – Al Sayed Abul Noor and Ahmed 

Shehata – believe that the Schools Olympic Programme represents 

a “sort of revolution” in the practice of sport in the Qatari 

education system. The programme, they say, has incentivised 

students to reserve most of their spare time to sport rather 

than to other activities. As the teenagers agree, the competition 

atmosphere and the feelings 

produced by winning, have 

encouraged them to take on 

sport, as well as traditional 

academic subjects, as marks of 

achievement. 

They were also surprised to find out that being involved in 

a sport activity reflected positively on their approach to work 

in other school activities – as borne out by improved academic 

results. Mahmoud Salman noticed that sporting students also paid 

greater attention to their nutritional habits: “Our bodies were more 

under pressure, as we were much more active than we used to be 

before participating frequently in the SOP competitions,” he said. 

“With the help of our social and medical advisor at school, as well 

as the advice of our parents and friends – in addition to information 

found on the Internet – we started to change our attitude towards 

what we eat and most of the time try to avoid junk food.” 

More to be done 

The students, school teachers and administrators admit that there 

is still a lot to do in terms of educating the students about their 

eating habits and increasing awareness about the importance of 

“SOP represents a revolution in the 

practice of sport in Qatari schools." 

adopting healthy food habits if they want to be competitive at sport 

or just to enjoy a healthy lifestyle in their daily activities at home, 

school, or later at work. 

Ibn Taymeya School Director, Khalid Haroon, an ex-basketball 

player and the first Master Facilitator for coaches training in Qatar, 

stressed the virtuous circle created by the programme. “Since 

success breeds success, the increasingly positive experience of 

the Schools Olympic Programme every year acts as a catalyst for 

the schools population the 

next year and the number of 

participating students keeps 

increasing in my school, as well 

as in the others.” 

The Director thinks that 

seeing their schoolmates winning medals and being celebrated and 

honoured, gives other students ideas and makes them try a sport 

the following year. 

Ahmed Shehata, another PE teacher at the school, highlights the 

example of a student, Abdulla Al Zaidi: "He never thought of being 

an athlete and nobody thought he could be, but he had the idea of 

trying basketball, was helped by his teachers, trained hard, and was 

finally part of the school's bronze medal-winning team.” 

Like many educationalist before him, the Head of the School, 

Kahild Haroon, believes that sport has an all-round beneficial 

affect on students. “Children need to experience both the 

challenges and festive atmosphere that schools sport competition 

creates,” he says. 

“This can play an important role in building up their character 

and personality and promotes their ability to deal with the 

challenges of life.” 


FOR THE RECORD: WHO’S MAKING HEADLINES IN SPORT WORLDWIDE? 

TIGER 

WOODS 

WORLD GOLF – WEEKS AT NUMBER ONE 

Tiger Woods (USA) 

Greg Norman (Australia) 

Nick Faldo (Great Britain) 

Seve Ballesteros (Great Britain) 

Luke Donald (Great Britain) 

Ian Woosnam (Great Britain) 

Nick Price (Zimbabwe) 

Vijay Singh (Fiji) 

Rory Mcilroy (Great Britain) 

Lee Westwood (Great Britain) 

PATRICK 

CHAN 

624 weeks 

331 weeks 

97 weeks 

61 weeks 

56 weeks 

50 weeks 

44 weeks 

32 weeks 

32 weeks 

22 weeks 

Tiger Woods returned to golf’s World Number One spot 

with victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March to 

secure his 624th week as World Number One. 

The total is far ahead of his nearest historical rival, Greg 

Norman of Australia, who aggregated 331 weeks at number 

one during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The win at the 

Arnold Palmer Invitational meant that Woods replaced Rory 

McIlroy on top of the rankings. 

WORLD FIGURE SKATING SHORT 

PROGRAMME WORLD RECORD (MEN) 

Patrick Chan (Canada) 98.37 (2013) 

Yuzuru Hanyu (Japan) 95.32 (2012) 

Yuzuru Hanyu (Japan) 95.07 (2012) 

Daisuke Takahashi (Japan) 94.00 (2012) 

Patrick Chan (Canada) 93.02 (2011) 

Canada’s figure skating star Patrick Chan shattered the short 

programme world record in winning gold at the ISU World 

Figure Skating Championships in his home country. Chan scored 

98.37 points for his performance to music by Rachmaninov, 

landing a huge quad toe loop in a combination, followed by a 

clean triple axel. Chan topped the world mark previously held 

by Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu by more than three points. 


REAL 

MADRID 

Spanish football clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona were 

ranked as the top two richest football clubs in the world by 

the professional services group Deloitte. Madrid remained 

on top of the Deloitte Football Money League, published 

this January, for the eighth consecutive year and are the first 

team to break the €500 million revenue mark. 

Real has enjoyed phenomenal growth, with annual 

revenues increasing by almost €200m over the past five 

years, Deloitte said. Although Barcelona has narrowed 

the gap, Real still had a €28.8m revenue advantage in the 

2010/11 season under review. 

The top 10 list features five English clubs, with Manchester 

United leading the pack in third position, with €395.9m. 

DELOITTE FOOTBALL MONEY LEAGUE 

(REVENUE FOR SEASON 2010-11) 

Real Madrid (Spain) 

€512.6m 

Barcelona (Spain) €483m 

Man United (England) 

Bayern Munich (Germany) 

Chelsea (England) 

Arsenal (England) 

Man City (England) 

AC Milan (Italy) 

€395.9m 

€368.4m 

€322.6m 

€290.3m 

€285.6m 

€256.9m 

Liverpool (England) 

Juventus (Italy) 

€233.2m 

€195.4m 

TEAM USA 

On March 22, the United States women’s national football 

team registered five years at the top of the quarterly FIFA 

rankings. The 2012 Olympic champions and runners-up to 

Japan in the 2011 World Cup final have headed the rankings 

since March 2008. 

The development of women’s football in America has 

been a triumph for the nation which recently launched the 

National Women’s Soccer League – the country’s latest 

endeavour to establish a thriving top-flight league for the 

best women’s footballers in the world. 

FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD RANKINGS 

(as of March 22) 

United States 

Germany 

Japan 

Brazil 

France 

Sweden 

Canada 

England 

Australia 

Korea DPR 

2215 points 

2163 points 

2096 points 

2038 points 

2027 points 

2025 points 

1992 points 

1992 points 

1943 points 

1943 points 


trends 

ELECTRIC DREAMS 

ON THE STARTING GRID WITH FORMULA E 

R 

ace organisers of the first 

electric-only championship 

motor racing series believe they 

can attract a new generation of young fans 

to the format when it launches next year. 

The speeds, sounds and smells will be 

very different to Formula One – top speeds 

of 130 miles-per-hour rather than 230mph, 

no screaming V8 engines and no highoctane 

fuel. 

But the racing will be just as exciting, 

according to those on the inside of the sport. 

The International Motorsport Federation 

(FIE), the sanctioning body for Formula 

One, is due to hold the Formula E 

championship series next year with 10 

teams in the heart of the world’s most 

famous cities. 

Rio de Janeiro was the first metropolis 

to come on board with London, Rome, Los 

Angeles, Miami, Beijing, Buenos Aires, and 

Putrajaya in Malaysia following suit. New 

York and Monaco are also keen to host 

Formula E races. 

According to Lord Drayson, the head of 

UK-based Drayson Racing Technologies, 

which has developed a prototype car with 

a top speed close to 200mph, the world is 

about to witness the birth of an entirely 

new motor sport. 

“It’s not about electric cars competing 

with established forms of motor sport,” 

he says. “It’s about creating a new type of 

motor sport that suits the electric car.” 

Drayson says that electric motor racing 

must be just as exciting as Formula One if it 

is to attract fans and sponsors. Simply being 

environmentally-friendly is not enough. 

“There’s a very important principal in 

motor sport,” he says. “The cars must excite 

people, they must represent the future and 

they must be awe-inspiring. They must 

provide a jaw-dropping experience. That’s 

what you go to motor racing for.” 

The main difference with electric racing 

is that the car batteries currently last only 

20 minutes or so. The races will last an hour 

but will see the drivers – who are likely to 

be former F1 stars – swapping cars after 20 

minutes, then returning to their original car 

after 40 minutes when it has been charged 

for a final 10 minute burst. 

Another major difference is the decibel 

levels, says Drayson: “They don’t sound 

like Formula One cars but they do have a 

sound. It’s completely different. Because 

you don’t have explosions of the ignition 

in the internal combustion engine being 

the loudest sounds, instead you hear the 

drivetrain, the electric motors, the tyre 

noise and the aerodynamics. It sounds a bit 

like the ‘whoosh’ of an aircraft.” 

Alejandro Agag, the CEO of Formula E 

Holdings, which oversees the development 

and operations of the newly formed 

championship, says one of Formula E’s 

raisons d’être is to advance the cause of 

electric vehicles globally. 

He believes the race series can become 

a testing ground for the “battery life 

and efficiency of electric engines” just as 

Formula One has for decades been a testing 

ground for internal combustion engines. 

“Believe in the power of these cars,” 

he says. “Believe they work. Make people 

believe they need an electric car and a more 

sustainable lifestyle. Many people don’t think 

about buying an electric car because they 

don’t know the facts about them. We want to 

show everyone what these cars can do.” 

Lord Drayson believes it’s the next 

generation of motor sport fans – those now 

in their teens and early 20s – who will be 

the ones to embrace electric motor racing. 

“Those are the people open to new ideas. 

They’re the ones daring to say ‘yes, let’s try a 

new technology’.”

Qatar Sport 21_COVER_FINAL.indd - Qatar Olympic Committee

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