Qatar sport COVERMG.indd - Qatar Olympic Committee
Qatar sport COVERMG.indd - Qatar Olympic Committee
Qatar sport COVERMG.indd - Qatar Olympic Committee
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ISSUE 17 MAY 2012 $10<br />
TRENDS SPORTS APPAREL AT<br />
THE OLYMPICS SWIMMING<br />
FREESTYLE FOR FITNESS<br />
SUPERFAST<br />
BOLT SPRINTS INTO HISTORY<br />
TOP OF THE CLASS<br />
SERIOUS ABOUT SCHOOL SPORT<br />
SPORTS SHOES<br />
THE DESIGN ICONS OF<br />
ATHLETIC FOOTWEAR<br />
LIFE SAVER<br />
CARDIAC SCREENING<br />
FOR SPORTS PEOPLE<br />
THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE<br />
OF THE QATAR<br />
OLYMPIC COMMITTEE
The only Sport’s cardiology Centre in the Middle East that has screened over 4000<br />
athletes from around the world, recently created and established a <strong>sport</strong>s cardiology<br />
genomics project in conjunction with Shafallah Medical Genetics Centre. In addition<br />
to the comprehensive screening and research programme Aspetar provides team<br />
physicians with resuscitation and automated external defibrillator training.
INSIDE<br />
5 In Focus<br />
Sporting life through a lens<br />
13<br />
8 Global Sports Update<br />
Insight from around the world<br />
11 Fit for Life<br />
Swimming into shape made simple<br />
13 Lightning Bolt<br />
Keeping up with the fastest man on earth<br />
16 Preview<br />
Your essential <strong>sport</strong>s event guide<br />
24<br />
20 Sole Providers<br />
One hundred years of <strong>sport</strong>s shoe innovation<br />
24 Club on a Mission<br />
Al Sadd thinks big on and off the pitch<br />
26 Leaders<br />
Opinion from Nick Keller and Ahmed Said Al Rumaihi<br />
30 For the Record<br />
Tendulkar’s century of centuries<br />
20<br />
32 School Sports<br />
Lessons in <strong>sport</strong> from around the world<br />
36 Trends<br />
Apparel brands target London 2012<br />
No article in this publication or part thereof may be reproduced without proper permission and full acknowledgement of the<br />
source: <strong>Qatar</strong> Sport, a publication of the <strong>Qatar</strong> <strong>Olympic</strong> <strong>Committee</strong>.<br />
© <strong>Qatar</strong> <strong>Olympic</strong> <strong>Committee</strong>, 2012.<br />
www.olympic.qa<br />
qoc@olympic.qa<br />
Designed and produced for the <strong>Qatar</strong> <strong>Olympic</strong> <strong>Committee</strong> by SportBusiness Group, London.<br />
Cover photo: Action Images<br />
30
Welcome<br />
In recent weeks <strong>Qatar</strong> has celebrated <strong>sport</strong> through two very different events, both of which symbolise<br />
our commitment to the promotion of activity and healthy lifestyles. In February we broke new ground<br />
by becoming the first country to hold a National Sports Day, a public holiday in which everybody was<br />
encouraged to engage in <strong>sport</strong>s events.<br />
We were delighted with the response from all of the residents of <strong>Qatar</strong>, young, old, men and women, <strong>Qatar</strong>is<br />
and guests alike. National Sports Day was enthusiastically embraced and promoted by our ministries and the<br />
business community and saw a fantastic range of events taking place.<br />
Then, at the beginning of April, came the finals of our Schools <strong>Olympic</strong> Programme for 2012. This has<br />
become a landmark event for the country and it has grown in scale and developed in purpose every year<br />
since its launch five years ago.<br />
This year more than 20,000 boys and girls took part with 2,200 involved in the prestigious finals events in nine<br />
<strong>Olympic</strong> <strong>sport</strong>s. Over 300 students from 25 schools in two <strong>Olympic</strong> <strong>sport</strong>s also participated in the Schools<br />
<strong>Olympic</strong> Programme 2012 Paralympic Day. These young people are the future of <strong>sport</strong> in our country and<br />
we are already beginning to see the results of the programme. The aim is to introduce youngsters to the sheer<br />
pleasure of taking part in <strong>sport</strong>s and to help them learn to take care of their bodies through adopting exercise<br />
programmes and a healthy diet. But the programme goes further than that. Each year the programme has had<br />
a different theme. Last year it was Sport and Education and this year Sport and the Family. These themes lend<br />
themselves to the teaching of vital life-lessons and skills from a <strong>sport</strong>ing base.<br />
We find it particularly gratifying that we are now beginning to see the fruits of the Schools <strong>Olympic</strong><br />
Programme blossom as youngsters who were inspired by the Programme mature and are selected for junior<br />
national teams in a variety of <strong>sport</strong>s. Both the Schools <strong>Olympic</strong> Programme and National Sports Day are clear<br />
indications of <strong>Qatar</strong>’s clear and total commitment to <strong>sport</strong> at the grass roots.<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong> is now known around the world as the host of many top international <strong>sport</strong>s events and our 2012-13<br />
<strong>sport</strong>s calendar – now published and available online at www.olmypic.qa – is testament to the breadth and<br />
quality of the world-class events we stage year-in, year-out. But while we are proud to host the world and of<br />
our proven and growing event planning and management abilities, these can only ever be a part of the overall<br />
picture. Our aim is ensure that <strong>sport</strong> is at the heart of our society and we understand that this can only truly<br />
be achieved when taking part in as well as following <strong>sport</strong> becomes a way of life.<br />
Naturally we are eager to continue to host world class events and it was with great pleasure that the Doha 2020<br />
<strong>Committee</strong> submitted its Bid Book to the International <strong>Olympic</strong> <strong>Committee</strong>. It would be the greatest honour<br />
imaginable for Doha to host the <strong>Olympic</strong> Games and we believe that our proposals to bring the Games to our<br />
region for the first time in history will be truly inspirational, not only to the people of <strong>Qatar</strong> but the entire<br />
world. We now look forward to working closely with the IOC in the months ahead as they scrutinise the detail<br />
of our submission and we promise them every assistance.<br />
Inspiring change is not only the slogan for our 2020 bid but a sentiment at the heart of our vision and thinking<br />
in many other areas. With the build-up to London 2012 well under way, we are delighted to have 15 athletes<br />
already qualified and selected for our team. Perhaps most pleasing is the inclusion of three female athletes –<br />
swimmer Nada Mohamed Wafa, sprinter Noor al-Malki and shooter Bahiya Al Hamad – for the first time.<br />
This is a significant step forward for <strong>sport</strong> in <strong>Qatar</strong> and the Gulf region and is evidence of the progress which<br />
has been made in building our <strong>sport</strong>ing future from the grass roots by focussing on young people.<br />
Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani<br />
Secretary General, <strong>Qatar</strong> <strong>Olympic</strong> <strong>Committee</strong><br />
4 | Issue 17 | <strong>Qatar</strong> Sport
1<br />
THE SPORTING WORLD<br />
THROUGH THE LENSES OF<br />
REUTERS AND ACTION<br />
IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHERS<br />
1 LOOKING UP<br />
Ferrari Formula One technicians watch a screen during the<br />
Australian F1 Grand Prix in Melbourne, March 18, 2012.<br />
Photograph by: REUTERS/Brandon Malone<br />
2 GRAND SLAM<br />
Wales’ Alex Cuthbert (left) runs to score a try against France<br />
during their Six Nations match at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff,<br />
March 17, 2012. Photograph by: REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth<br />
2<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong> Sport | Issue 17 | 5
IN FOCUS<br />
3<br />
3 FLYING MACHINE<br />
North Carolina guard Reggie Bullock<br />
(35) controls a rebound against the<br />
Creighton Bluejays during the NCAA’s<br />
“March Madness”, March 18, 2012.<br />
Photograph by: REUTERS/<br />
Chris Keane<br />
4 SURFER’S DELIGHT<br />
A young surfer sails his board off a<br />
wave as large swells hit the<br />
California coastline earlier this year.<br />
Photograph by: REUTERS/<br />
Mike Blake<br />
5 EYES ON THE BALL<br />
Iran’s Mehrdad Pooladi (left in<br />
picture) tussles with <strong>Qatar</strong>’s Lawrence<br />
Quaye during their 2014 FIFA World<br />
Cup qualifier in Tehran, February 29,<br />
2012. Photograph by: REUTERS/<br />
Mhammad Amin Jamali<br />
4<br />
6 | Issue 17 | <strong>Qatar</strong> Sport
5<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong> Sport | Issue 17 | 7
UPDATE<br />
Players from Bolton Wanderers show their support for team-mate Fabrice Muamba.<br />
ON THE EDGE<br />
ASPETAR TAKES THE LEAD IN SPORTS CARDIOLOGY<br />
As the English Premier League player<br />
Fabrice Muamba continues his recovery<br />
from a cardiac arrest during an FA Cup<br />
match, March 17, the feelings of relief<br />
within the football world are mixed with<br />
concern that its players remain vulnerable<br />
to the causes of Muamba’s sudden collapse.<br />
FIFA President Sepp Blatter has hailed<br />
the 23-year-old’s recovery from the<br />
moment when his heart stopped beating<br />
for 78 minutes as a “miracle” but believes<br />
that cardiac screenings for players should<br />
become even more commonplace.<br />
The FIFA president has been a<br />
campaigner for regular cardiac screening<br />
since the Cameroon midfielder Marc-<br />
Viven Foe died on the pitch during a<br />
Confederations Cup match in 2003.<br />
In <strong>Qatar</strong>, these issues have special<br />
resonance due to the experience of<br />
Aspetar, <strong>Qatar</strong> Orthopaedic and Sports<br />
Medicine Hospital, where the medical<br />
team, led by Dr Hakim Chalabi, Assistant<br />
Chief Medical Officer and Executive<br />
Director of <strong>Qatar</strong>’s National Sports<br />
Medicine Programme (NSMP), has<br />
screened thousand of athletes.<br />
The most common cause of cardiac<br />
event in an athlete is hypertrophic<br />
cardiomyopathy (HCM). This condition,<br />
thought to occur in 1 in 500 people, can go<br />
undetected for years only to reveal itself<br />
as a sudden cardiac arrest. In up to 80 per<br />
cent of cases, sudden cardiac death is the<br />
first presentation of the condition.<br />
An inherited condition, it appears that<br />
intensive physical exercise may have the<br />
potential to act as a ‘trigger’ for a serious<br />
arrhythmia in individuals who may have<br />
HCM, which may explain why footballers<br />
and other athletes with HCM are more at<br />
risk than the average man.<br />
Pre-participation cardiac screening<br />
is the first line of defence for <strong>sport</strong>s<br />
people against this condition but remains<br />
controversial. In most countries and in<br />
most <strong>sport</strong>s, this screening process is<br />
not mandatory, but is recommended by<br />
FIFA, the IOC, European Society of Sports<br />
Cardiology, and the American Heart<br />
Association.<br />
As a result, the application of<br />
screening and screening procedures vary<br />
widely. All of <strong>Qatar</strong>’s athletes, on<br />
the other hand, are able to be tested<br />
with an echocardiogram (an ultrasound<br />
of the heart chambers). Led by Dr Hakim<br />
Chalabi, Aspetar is taking a lead in this<br />
valuable work.<br />
Over the last three and half years<br />
Aspetar has not only screened more<br />
than 4,000 athletes, Aspetar’s National<br />
Sports Medicine Programme (NSMP)<br />
has educated <strong>Qatar</strong>’s club and federation<br />
doctors about screening procedures and<br />
what symptoms (such as dizziness or<br />
8 | Issue 17 | <strong>Qatar</strong> Sport
chest palpations) to look out for.<br />
When <strong>Qatar</strong> Sport interviewed Aspetar’s<br />
Cardiac Physiologist, Dr Mathew Wilson,<br />
he was assisting the medical team and<br />
the NSMP in the preparation for cardiac<br />
screening the playing squads of the <strong>Qatar</strong><br />
Stars League clubs, at the rate of one club<br />
per day in the space of three weeks.<br />
The Aspetar screening team has also<br />
worked with international teams like<br />
Australia’s Socceroos before last year’s<br />
AFC Asian Cup and believes the Aspetar<br />
facility offers the perfect one-stop shop<br />
for pre-season screening and training. But<br />
football is not the only <strong>sport</strong> under his<br />
remit. Supported by the <strong>Qatar</strong><br />
<strong>Olympic</strong> <strong>Committee</strong>, Dr Wilson says<br />
that Aspetar aims to implement a<br />
comprehensive screening programme for<br />
all athletes in <strong>Qatar</strong>.<br />
“We see a lot of athletes who have<br />
never seen a physician before, and so for<br />
them, we are a frontline screening centre,<br />
and as a result see a lot of pathology.”<br />
This influx of <strong>sport</strong>s people from all<br />
over the world into <strong>Qatar</strong> also provides<br />
excellent data for research on ethnically<br />
diverse populations, unavailable elsewhere<br />
in the world. “Along with <strong>sport</strong>s people<br />
of Arabic descent, we have athletes from<br />
west Africa, Persia, India, Pakistan and<br />
South America which is very interesting for<br />
clinical research,” says Dr Wilson.<br />
As a result, Aspetar is undertaking<br />
major research projects with partner<br />
hospitals in London, Barcelona, Belgium<br />
and Ireland to help understand the<br />
impact of an athlete’s ethnicity upon their<br />
cardiovascular adaptation to exercise,<br />
thus helping the clinician identify what is a<br />
normal versus what is an abnormal heart<br />
response to exercise.<br />
MY HOUSE IS YOUR HOUSE<br />
NOC HOUSES ADD SPICE TO LONDON 2012<br />
Iconic London landmarks will be taken<br />
over by National <strong>Olympic</strong> <strong>Committee</strong>s<br />
(NOCs) during the London 2012 <strong>Olympic</strong><br />
& Paralympic Games. The NOC house<br />
concept, which sees participating country<br />
NOCs take charge of an existing building<br />
or create a temporary home in the host<br />
city, has become a growing feature of the<br />
<strong>Olympic</strong> Games experience.<br />
It allows NOCs to promote their<br />
capabilities as <strong>sport</strong>ing hosts, take care of<br />
athletes, sponsors and VIPs, and, in some<br />
cases, showcase their countries as a<br />
tourist destination. The good news for<br />
fans and visitors to London 2012 is that a<br />
selection will be open to the public while<br />
the <strong>Olympic</strong>s is going on.<br />
These include NOC houses for Belgium,<br />
Brazil, the Czech Republic, France, Germany,<br />
Georgia, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands,<br />
Nigeria, Jamaica, Russia and Switzerland.<br />
There will also be an Africa house, where<br />
all 53 National <strong>Olympic</strong> <strong>Committee</strong>s of<br />
Africa will come together under one roof.<br />
Casa Brasil, the official Brazilian house,<br />
will surely be one of the most popular<br />
destinations. Located in Somerset House<br />
on the banks of the River Thames, the<br />
organising country for Rio 2016, will be a<br />
hot house of Brazilian culture and a major<br />
focal point during London 2012.<br />
Not to be outshone, the Russian<br />
NOC has planned Team Russia Park, the<br />
official Russian House during the London<br />
2012 Games, located next to Kensington<br />
Gardens and Kensington Palace.<br />
Team Russia Park will boast<br />
entertainment and culture, a big screen,<br />
media facilities, a conference centre and<br />
a chance to meet some of Russia’s top<br />
athletes. The French team have taken Old<br />
Billingsgate market, where the French<br />
<strong>Olympic</strong> Village, complete with restaurants<br />
and shops, will host the French <strong>Olympic</strong><br />
Team and French media companies. As for<br />
the German House, it will be based in the<br />
Museum of London Docklands and on a<br />
five-star cruise liner, MS Deutschland, in<br />
nearby West India Docks.<br />
For London’s tourism agencies, the<br />
NOC houses will add a unique flavour to<br />
the summer of <strong>sport</strong> and entertainment in<br />
the <strong>Olympic</strong> capital. According to Martine<br />
Ainsworth-Wells, director of marketing<br />
and communications at London & Partners,<br />
the NOC houses will have an important<br />
role to play for the tourism industry,<br />
acting as another selling point for both<br />
international and domestic visitors.<br />
“NOC houses are certainly a new<br />
feature for the city, and as one-offs, they fit<br />
perfectly into our ‘Limited Edition London’<br />
offering, where we are presenting the<br />
world with one-off and unique reasons to<br />
visit London,” she says. “I think residents<br />
and visitors will be inquisitive about the<br />
different countries represented and be<br />
keen to see what’s inside.”<br />
Sandie Dawe, CEO of VisitBritain agrees<br />
that these NOC houses will add to the<br />
sense of festival in London: “What is<br />
interesting is the concept of these <strong>Olympic</strong><br />
houses will be completely new to the<br />
general public. Unless you know all about<br />
the <strong>Olympic</strong> Movement you won’t have<br />
heard of them before.”<br />
Carrying on the festival theme, there<br />
will be live sites similar to the fan parks set<br />
up for Germany’s 2006 FIFA World Cup<br />
where spectators without tickets can meet<br />
to watch the action on a big screen while<br />
listening to live music. There will be 22 live<br />
sites situated around the UK in cities like<br />
Liverpool and Cardiff, as well as one on the<br />
<strong>Olympic</strong> doorstep in east London.<br />
LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC FACTS<br />
• 30.7 million overseas visitors expected<br />
in the UK, 2012<br />
• 9.3 million a year expected to visit the<br />
<strong>Olympic</strong> Park from 2014<br />
• Increase of 250,000 jobs supported by<br />
tourism in UK between 2010 and 2020<br />
• £2.34 billion in tourist expenditure in<br />
the UK expected to be generated by 2012<br />
London Games from 2007 to 2017 (£1.85<br />
billion in London)<br />
• 10 per cent increase in 2005 inbound<br />
visitors in Athens attributed to 2004 Games<br />
• Number of international visitors<br />
doubled in Barcelona in decade following<br />
the 1992 Games<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong> Sport | Issue 17 | 9
UPDATE<br />
INBRIEF<br />
Security first in <strong>Qatar</strong><br />
The 2nd International Sport Security<br />
Conference (ISSC), staged at the<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong> National Convention Centre in<br />
Doha, March 14-15, brought together<br />
over 400 key decision-makers,<br />
experts and practitioners in <strong>sport</strong><br />
from around the globe. Highlights<br />
included a keynote address by Khoo<br />
Boon Hui, President of Interpol, on<br />
the prevention of terrorism at major<br />
<strong>sport</strong>ing events and a panel session<br />
on the London 2012 <strong>Olympic</strong> and<br />
Paralympic Games, examining the<br />
key security challenges with Lord<br />
John Stevens, Former Commissioner,<br />
Metropolitan Police and Peter Ryan,<br />
Security Advisor to the IOC.<br />
The ISSC also signed partnership<br />
agreements with the Pantheon-<br />
Sorbonne University on the theme<br />
of <strong>sport</strong>ing integrity and Germany’s<br />
Institute for Fan Culture on extreme<br />
behaviour at <strong>sport</strong>ing events.<br />
FINA’s date with Doha<br />
Doha has been awarded the right to<br />
host the 12th FINA World Swimming<br />
Championships (25m) in December<br />
2014. FINA, together with the <strong>Qatar</strong><br />
<strong>Olympic</strong> <strong>Committee</strong> and the <strong>Qatar</strong><br />
Swimming Federation, announced the<br />
decision which will see the biennial<br />
championships staged at the Aquatic<br />
Centre in Doha’s outstanding Aspire<br />
Sports Complex. “I am sure that<br />
all swimmers, coaches, officials, and<br />
representatives of the participating<br />
national federations will enjoy a great<br />
competition and be impressed by<br />
the <strong>Qatar</strong>i hospitality,” said FINA<br />
President Dr. Julio C, Maglione.<br />
Good news Down Under<br />
The 2011 Rugby World Cup in<br />
New Zealand exceeded financial<br />
expectations according to initial<br />
results. Tournament owners Rugby<br />
World Cup Limited said New Zealand<br />
2011 will achieve a net surplus of<br />
more than £90 million making it the<br />
second highest revenue-earner in the<br />
history of the tournament.<br />
INSPIRED BY SPORT<br />
SPORTS-THEMED DOCUMENTARIES HAVE UNIVERSAL APPEAL<br />
The success of a <strong>sport</strong> documentary<br />
at this year’s Academy Awards proves<br />
that <strong>sport</strong> doesn’t necessarily have to be<br />
watched as it happens to be meaningful.<br />
The 2012 Academy Award Winner for<br />
“Best Feature Documentary” went to<br />
“Undefeated” a coming-of-age story<br />
about a high-school American football<br />
team from the wrong side of the track in<br />
Memphis, Tennessee.<br />
“Undefeated” is the first <strong>sport</strong>s-themed<br />
film to take Hollywood’s top documentary<br />
award since “When We Were Kings” in<br />
1996 – and is only the fifth <strong>sport</strong>s<br />
documentary to pick up an Oscar since<br />
1942. Filmed on a shoestring budget,<br />
the movie follows a volunteer American<br />
football coach as he struggles to provide<br />
the discipline, resources and inspiration his<br />
young players need to overcome their bleak<br />
surroundings – and win the first play-off<br />
game in the high-school’s 110-year history.<br />
The message is that American football<br />
“doesn’t build character, it reveals character”<br />
and the wider theme is one common to all<br />
<strong>sport</strong>s: the power to change peoples lives<br />
for the better, even in the most unpromising<br />
of environments.<br />
The film has struck a chord with<br />
audiences in America, who have warmed to<br />
its tough but uplifting story. As the films codirecter<br />
Dan Lindsay explains: “People are<br />
clamouring for something genuine. I think<br />
we’re sick of manufactured.”<br />
“Undefeated” is just the latest in a<br />
string of <strong>sport</strong>s documentaries to win<br />
international acclaim. In the last 18 months,<br />
films such as “Senna”, “Fire in Babylon” and<br />
“Out of the Ashes” have won awards all<br />
over the world.<br />
“Senna” charts the life and death of<br />
three-time Formula One world champion<br />
Ayrton Senna, and has become the biggest<br />
British documentary in terms of box office,<br />
grossing just under $5 million in its first four<br />
months on release.<br />
Interestingly the film also took $1.6<br />
million across the United States, a market<br />
where alternative forms of motor racing<br />
have long overshadowed Formula One.<br />
British film-maker, Asif Kapadia, says the<br />
film has universal appeal. “It was Senna’s<br />
genuine charisma that generated a fan-base<br />
drawn from both <strong>sport</strong>s and non-<strong>sport</strong>s<br />
fans,” he explains.<br />
“Out of the Ashes” tracks the<br />
extraordinary journey of the Afghan<br />
cricket team to the ICC World Twenty20<br />
tournament and “Fire in Babylon” is the<br />
breathtaking story of the West Indian cricket<br />
team’s period of unequalled ascendancy in<br />
the 1970s and 1980s.<br />
10 | Issue 17 | <strong>Qatar</strong> Sport
FIT FOR LIFE<br />
SINK OR SWIM<br />
Top tips for swimmers who just want to get fit.<br />
SWIMMING IS a <strong>sport</strong> that helps you get<br />
fit without wearing you down; an aerobic<br />
activity with minimal risk of injury and one<br />
that suits today’s 24/7 lifestyles.<br />
It’s relatively inexpensive and can be<br />
done any time. Simple? Well, the science<br />
of swimming is actually extremely<br />
complicated, involving the interaction of<br />
propulsive forces from the swimmer’s arms<br />
and legs and the drag caused by water.<br />
The ‘<strong>sport</strong>s ground’ for swimming<br />
(H2O!) is often quoted as being one<br />
thousand times denser than air. Trying to<br />
move efficiently through this very dense<br />
medium is not nearly as easy as other <strong>sport</strong>s<br />
that take place through air. For example,<br />
top cyclists hit over 60kph in short events<br />
on the track or in an end-of-stage sprint.<br />
Elite runners average over 30kph for a<br />
quarter mile and over 40kph at the end of<br />
sprints. By contrast, even the world’s best<br />
swimmers top just 8kph (5mph) over the<br />
100m sprint. Yet that is still superhuman.<br />
Most fitness swimmers would fail<br />
to approach even half that speed. In<br />
fact, swimming for fun and fitness is<br />
not about speed but about technique<br />
and regular training. Here, <strong>Qatar</strong> Sport<br />
introduces Top Tips from the leading blog<br />
“theswimmerscircle.com” to help you keep<br />
it simple.<br />
WARM UP<br />
Warming up is essential to starting any<br />
physical activity to prevent injuries and to<br />
ensure the most effective workout. Start<br />
your swimming workout with a few slow<br />
laps just to make your blood run through<br />
your muscles. Start slowly and gradually<br />
pick up the pace.<br />
SWIM THREE TIMES A WEEK<br />
Regardless of what your goal is in the pool<br />
(weight loss, building muscles, general<br />
fitness) you should strive to swim at least<br />
three times a week. One pool session is<br />
better than none, but because of the way our<br />
body gets accustomed to training, anything<br />
less than three times a week is not optimal.<br />
SWIMMING INTERVAL TRAINING<br />
Swimming interval training is the most<br />
effective in training your cardiovascular<br />
system. Interval training is built on a cycle<br />
of high and low intensity efforts. The low<br />
intensity activity needs to be tailored so that<br />
your body needs to work hard to recover<br />
before the next high intensity activity starts.<br />
FOCUS ON SWIMMING<br />
TECHNIQUE<br />
Regardless of why you’re looking to<br />
improve your swimming, the key is never<br />
lose your technique. The right technique<br />
will help you prevent long-term injuries.<br />
Make sure you are keeping your focus on<br />
your technique – every lap, every stroke,<br />
every swim.<br />
USE THE FLIP-TURN<br />
Although not necessary for beginners,<br />
flip turns for backstroke and freestyle<br />
keep the swimming rhythm and fitness<br />
training continuous.<br />
DO DRILLS<br />
Swimming drills are a set of swimming<br />
exercises aiming at improving the<br />
technique and speed of swimmers. To<br />
improve your coordination, drills such as<br />
kicking fast with slow arms will help you<br />
learn to feel the water. Feeling the water is<br />
essential to becoming a better swimmer.<br />
FILM YOURSELF SWIMMING<br />
Increase your awareness by filming<br />
yourself training and reviewing it<br />
afterwards. If filming is out of the<br />
question, ask someone with good<br />
swimming knowledge to watch you swim<br />
and ask for feedback.<br />
AVOID PADDLES<br />
Paddles can be dangerous in the hands of<br />
a new swimmer and can lead to shoulder<br />
damage if you don’t have the proper stroke<br />
technique. Swimming involves a lot of<br />
smaller, secondary muscles in addition<br />
to the major muscle groups, and it takes<br />
some time to build these up prior to safe<br />
paddle use.<br />
COOL DOWN<br />
Just as warming up is key to perform a<br />
successful training, cooling down is just<br />
as important. After a hard training, your<br />
muscles build up lactic acid. To flush that<br />
lactic acid out of your body to prevent<br />
soreness, swim at a slow and relaxed pace,<br />
focusing on stretching and regaining the<br />
right feeling in the water. This will help<br />
your muscles recover.<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong> Sport | Issue 17 | 11
THE BIG INTERVIEW<br />
THE MAN<br />
WHO SAVED<br />
ATHLETICS<br />
Usain Bolt is the undisputed superstar of world athletics. But with a string of<br />
gold medals, world records and lucrative commercial deals behind him, what’s<br />
next for this modern day icon?<br />
THE HOTTEST TICKETS for London 2012 are<br />
for events, which, together, are likely to take less than<br />
30 seconds to complete. Any longer and the capacity<br />
crowd at the <strong>Olympic</strong> Stadium will want to know why.<br />
More to the point, it will want to know what’s<br />
happened to Usain Bolt who must be about the<br />
biggest favourite in track and field history to retain<br />
the 100 and 200 metres golds he won at the 2008<br />
Beijing Games. For good measure he took his gold<br />
haul to three as a member of the victorious Jamaica<br />
4x100 metres relay team.<br />
Bolt set new world records in both the 100 and<br />
200 metres events despite appearing to ease off to<br />
enjoy the moment during his final giant strides.<br />
And despite beating the records yet again at the<br />
2009 World Championships in Berlin, Bolt says the<br />
<strong>Olympic</strong>s remain very special. “Winning three gold<br />
medals and setting three world records in Beijing<br />
was certainly my most memorable moment in<br />
athletics and I am extremely excited about London<br />
2012,” he told <strong>Qatar</strong> Sport. “I want to defend my<br />
<strong>Olympic</strong> titles and become a legend.”<br />
Become a legend? Surely the famously laid-back<br />
Jamaican is having a laugh. The legend of Usain<br />
Bolt was drafted in China and carved into stone<br />
in Germany on the bright blue track of the Berlin<br />
<strong>Olympic</strong> Stadium.<br />
Pictures of Bolt’s post-victory ‘to di world’ pose after<br />
those record-shattering performances have become<br />
part of 21st century folklore, the images as iconic as<br />
pictures of Marilyn Monroe or paintings by Andy<br />
Warhol. Bolt is already a legend and then some. His<br />
is a status which few other <strong>sport</strong>smen or women ever<br />
achieve. It’s not so much that he is a game changer,<br />
more that he is the man who saved his <strong>sport</strong>.<br />
Track and field has had a rough time over the<br />
years. It appeared that the glory days of the <strong>sport</strong><br />
were well and truly in the past. This is a <strong>sport</strong> which<br />
depends on its stars perhaps more than any other.<br />
Around the world the audience for athletics was<br />
dwindling and, according to most research, in many<br />
major markets it was ageing. Lord Coe, head of the<br />
London 2012 Organising <strong>Committee</strong> and <strong>Olympic</strong><br />
gold medal winner once lamented that the audience<br />
for athletics today consisted of much the same<br />
people who watched middle-distance champion<br />
Coe during in his heyday in the 1980s.<br />
The <strong>sport</strong>’s governing body, the IAAF<br />
(International Association of Athletics Federations),<br />
faced the slump in popularity head-on, revising its<br />
competition schedule, re-inventing its elite series<br />
– first the Golden and then Diamond Leagues –<br />
and re-thought the way that athletics worked for<br />
television and live spectators.<br />
12 | Issue 17 | <strong>Qatar</strong> Sport
<strong>Qatar</strong> Sport | Issue 17 | 13
THE BIG INTERVIEW<br />
But that alone was never going to be enough to<br />
keep broadcasters and sponsors happy or to enthral<br />
a new generation of fans to keep the flame of<br />
track and field alive. That lack of superstars was<br />
compounded by the issue of doping which had<br />
tarnished many a reputation in athletics and created<br />
a level of public scepticism over every outstanding<br />
performance and performer.<br />
But then came Bolt, the boy from Trelawny,<br />
Jamaica who could turn his hand to almost any <strong>sport</strong><br />
but had a unique physique and talent for the track.<br />
Bolt is 6ft 5ins tall (1.98m), the same height as he<br />
was nine years ago as a 16-year-old, and the ability<br />
to harness that physique and its potential to the<br />
particular rigours and disciplines of sprinting have<br />
been the secret to his success.<br />
SUPERFAST<br />
His talent has made him one of the most<br />
recognisable <strong>sport</strong>smen on the planet and he has<br />
single-handedly made track and field cool among<br />
youngsters. In many respects Bolt reinforces the<br />
Jamaican stereotype, but in a good way. Those who<br />
meet him say he is genuinely relaxed and passionate<br />
about athletics and a lot else. On one occasion in<br />
2010 for example, during a day off in Paris, Bolt<br />
spent the afternoon playing a reggae DJ set in front<br />
of City Hall to several thousand people.<br />
As the fastest man who ever lived he has also<br />
become a hot commercial property. In 2010 he signed<br />
the biggest endorsement contract in history, worth<br />
a reported $32.5 million with Puma, a deal which<br />
was rationalised by the brand’s CEO and chairman<br />
John Zeitz who reckons Bolt is bigger than David<br />
Beckham. “He relates not just to the performance side<br />
but to the lifestyle side as well,” he said.<br />
In addition there are deals with Gatorade, watch<br />
brand Hublot, <strong>sport</strong>ing surfaces manufacturer<br />
Repugol and mobile company Digicel. In the<br />
UK, Bolt’s reputation has been done no harm by<br />
appearing in a series of quirky, funny TV spots and<br />
online, press and outdoor media ads for new banking<br />
brand Virgin Media in which he appear as a spoof<br />
Sir Richard Branson, the company’s high profile and<br />
instantly recognisable founder.<br />
All of which is a long way from Bolt’s origins in<br />
Jamaica where his first medal was won in the 80<br />
metres hurdles as a third year student in the Western<br />
Jamaica championships. The almost freakishly tall<br />
Bolt was a promising fast bowler but athletics held<br />
sway even though he is said to have disliked running<br />
the 400 metres which was one of his two main events<br />
in his early years.<br />
He was already considered one to watch when,<br />
in 2002, he won the 200 metres at the western<br />
Championships in 20.3 seconds before going on to<br />
book himself a berth at the CARIFTA (Caribbean<br />
Free Trade Area) Games by winning both the 200<br />
metres and 400 metres at the trials. The Games<br />
themselves were a momentous occasion for Bolt who<br />
won four golds.<br />
Later that year he provided further proof of his<br />
undeniable potential when ran 20.61 seconds to win<br />
the 200 metres in the World Junior Championships<br />
in front of an ecstatic home crowd in Kingston.<br />
Further success came at the 2004 CARIFTA<br />
Games in Bermuda when he broke the world junior<br />
200 metres record in 19.93 seconds but progress was,<br />
for a while at least, slowed by a hamstring injury<br />
which re-occurred to keep him out of the 2006<br />
Commonwealth Games.<br />
But by 2007 Bolt was well and truly back in the<br />
saddle. He had already beaten Don Quarrie’s 30-yearold<br />
the Jamaican 200m record before travelling to<br />
the IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan to<br />
take silver in both the 200 metres and 4x100 metres<br />
relay. And then came 2008, the year in which he<br />
started to rewrite history. Bolt gave notice of what was<br />
to come in New York at<br />
“Few others have achieved his<br />
status. It’s not so much that he is<br />
a game changer, more that he is<br />
the man who saved his <strong>sport</strong>.”<br />
the end of May when, in<br />
only his fifth 100 metres<br />
race, he ran 9.72 seconds<br />
to take Tyson Gay’s<br />
world record.<br />
It was a remarkable<br />
achievement that set the<br />
scene for the <strong>Olympic</strong> Games in Beijing when Bolt<br />
seared himself into the consciousness of the watching<br />
world with a stupendous performance. He set another<br />
new world record in 9.89 seconds but clearly eased up<br />
in the final yards leaving fans wondering just how fast<br />
he could go if he powered through the finish.<br />
A year later the IAAF World Championships<br />
held in Berlin’s <strong>Olympic</strong> Stadium became an event<br />
absolutely defined by the brilliance of Bolt. He was<br />
on fire as the competition approached and in the 100<br />
metres heats he recorded the fastest time ever set<br />
outside a final before focusing his attention on yet<br />
another world record.<br />
Those who were in the stadium on the night Bolt<br />
ran his word record 9.85 seconds 100 metres describe<br />
it as one of the most memorable in the history of<br />
<strong>sport</strong>. Here was the fastest man alive destroying all<br />
opposition to demonstrate just what the human body<br />
is capable of achieving.<br />
Some have described it as Bolt’s Bob Beamon<br />
moment, a perfect set of circumstances which<br />
resulted in a single, perhaps unrepeatable, moment of<br />
brilliance. But he wasn’t finished yet. His own world<br />
record in the 200 metres also tumbled as he took<br />
the line beating his chest in a time of 19.19 seconds.<br />
There was also what might be considered an almost<br />
14 | Issue 17 | <strong>Qatar</strong> Sport
THE BIG INTERVIEW<br />
incidental gold medal in the 4x100 metres relay as<br />
the products of Jamaica’s famous sprint factory did<br />
the business once again.<br />
The success of his compatriots on the track is a<br />
happy side-affect of Bolt’s predominance, but not<br />
one he takes sole credit for. “The success of people<br />
like me, Asafa Powell and Veronica Campbell has<br />
inspired the next generation,” he says. “We have great<br />
sprint talent, great sprint coaches and the athletes are<br />
very motivated in Jamaica.”<br />
EYES ON THE PRIZE<br />
Indeed, when people come to reflect on the legacy<br />
of Usain Bolt they will dwell not simply on his<br />
speed, personality and the way that he reignited the<br />
popularity of the track. They will also take note of the<br />
impact that his own performances have had in raising<br />
the bar for others. The pursuit of Bolt for several years<br />
has been more or less futile quest, but has seen the<br />
most marked improvement in the times of the world’s<br />
top 25 sprinters in the history of the <strong>sport</strong>.<br />
So what is next for a man who has the money, the<br />
fame and even the restaurant (Records and Tracks<br />
in Jamaica)? He is, of course, well and truly focused<br />
on London 2012 and there has been some discussion<br />
over running in the 4x400 metres relay in an attempt<br />
to reach a gold standard of four while<br />
post London he might be tempted to take the advice of<br />
Olympian Mike Powell and have a crack at long jump,<br />
just as another <strong>Olympic</strong> phenomenon, Carl Lewis, did<br />
so successfully.<br />
He has set himself a window through to the 2017<br />
World Championships – also in London – to achieve<br />
whatever can be achieved on the track. “And then,” he<br />
says, “I will find something else to do.”<br />
Bolt is unlikely to be short of options so how about<br />
a career in football? In fact, would he swap all he’s<br />
achieved on the track for a career with his beloved<br />
Manchester United?<br />
“That’s an unfair question,” he replies. “I would like<br />
to have both but I have no regrets. My career has been<br />
great so far.” There’s clearly a lot more to come.<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong> Sport | Issue 17 | 15
COMING UP<br />
APRIL-JULY 2012<br />
APRIL/MAY<br />
London Marathon<br />
London UK 22/4/2012<br />
NBA playoffs<br />
United States 28/4/2012<br />
Giro d’Italia<br />
Around Italy 5-27/5/2012<br />
UEFA Europa League final<br />
Bucharest, Romania 9/5/2012<br />
FIDE World Chess Championship<br />
Moscow, Russia 10-31/5/2012<br />
Diamond League<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong> Sports Club, Doha 11/5/2012<br />
UEFA Champions League final<br />
Munich, Germany 19/5/2012<br />
11/5 Diamond League Doha<br />
The 2012 Samsung Diamond League gets underway at the <strong>Qatar</strong><br />
Sports Club in Doha – the first meeting of the 14-leg series.<br />
JUNE<br />
French Open<br />
Paris, France 28/5-10/6/2012<br />
Monaco Grand Prix<br />
Monte Carlo 27/5/2012<br />
World Stadium Congress<br />
Doha, <strong>Qatar</strong> 3-7/6/2012<br />
UEFA EURO 2012<br />
Poland /Ukraine 8/6-1/7/2012<br />
US Open Golf<br />
California, USA 14-17/6/2012<br />
Wimbledon Championships<br />
London, UK 25/6/-8/7/2012<br />
European Athletics Championships<br />
Helsinki, Finland 26/6-1/7/2012<br />
Le Mans 24 hour<br />
Le Mans, France 9/6/2012<br />
Tour de France<br />
Around France 30/6-22/7/2012<br />
US Open Badminton<br />
California, United States 3-8/7/2012<br />
8/6–1/7 UEFA EURO 2012<br />
Spain defends its title against Europe’s top soccer nations<br />
in Poland/Ukraine.<br />
JULY<br />
The British Grand Prix<br />
Silverstone,UK 6-8/7/2012<br />
WSF World Junior Squash Championships<br />
Doha 18/7/2012<br />
Open Championships<br />
Royal Lytham, UK 19-22/7/2012<br />
3-8/7 US Open Badminton<br />
The world’s’ badminton stars converge on Orange County,<br />
California, for the pre-<strong>Olympic</strong> showcase.<br />
16 | Issue 17 | <strong>Qatar</strong> Sport
COMING UP<br />
19/5 UEFA Champions League final<br />
The German city of Munich will host the final of the 2011-2012<br />
UEFA Champions League.<br />
28/5–10/6 French Open<br />
Rafa Nadal of Spain equalled Bjorn Borg’s record of six Roland<br />
Garros titles in 2011 and may go one better in 2012.<br />
26/6 –1/7 European Championships<br />
Europe’s track and field stars in competition before the London<br />
2012 <strong>Olympic</strong> Games.<br />
30/6–22/7 Tour de France<br />
The 2012 Tour De France gets underway with the Prologue<br />
Time Trial in the Belgian city of Liege.<br />
6-8/7 British Grand Prix<br />
The Silverstone Circuit hosts one of the world’s premier motor<br />
racing events, which it first hosted in 1948.<br />
19-22/7 The Open<br />
Golf’s third Major of the year takes place on the eve of the<br />
London 2012 <strong>Olympic</strong> Games.<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong> Sport | Issue 17 | 17
Assistant Professor in Sport Management<br />
Position Summary<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong> University is the country's major institution of<br />
higher education and consists of the following colleges:<br />
education, arts and sciences, law, Sharia and Islamic<br />
studies, business and economics, engineering, pharmacy<br />
and two independent programs in international affairs and<br />
<strong>sport</strong> science. The government also finances a large<br />
number of students to obtain advanced degrees abroad.<br />
The State of <strong>Qatar</strong> is a small, oil-rich peninsula projecting<br />
northward from the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula<br />
into the Arabian Gulf. With substantial oil and natural gas<br />
reserves, <strong>Qatar</strong> is one of the wealthiest states in the<br />
region and has developed high quality health care and<br />
education systems.<br />
The capital city of Doha lies on the east coast of the<br />
peninsula and features a wide mixture of modern and<br />
traditional Arabic architecture. Almost 90 percent of<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong>'s population lives in Doha and its surrounding<br />
suburbs. Sunni Islam is the predominant religion.<br />
Application Deadline: Open until filled<br />
Position Category: Academic<br />
Employment Type: Full Time<br />
Position Term: Three Years Renewable<br />
Duties and responsibilities:<br />
Program Leadership<br />
The program director is responsible for providing overall<br />
leadership for the program and its faculty, which may<br />
include: conducting periodic meetings of faculty to<br />
discuss programmatic and departmental issues; ensuring<br />
the flow of critical information between the department,<br />
college or university and all program faculty; and soliciting<br />
and submitting program budget requests to the Dean or<br />
VPCAO.<br />
Curriculum Oversight<br />
The program director is responsible for all modifications<br />
to the curriculum, course sequencing and scheduling;<br />
and development and maintenance of the program's<br />
curriculum guide. Faculty recruitment, load, and when<br />
appropriate, evaluation. The program director, in concert<br />
with the college dean or VPCAO is responsible for<br />
management of the program faculty, which may include:<br />
certifying and maintaining documentation related to<br />
faculty credentials; assigning courses, in concert with the<br />
college dean or VPCAO, to achieve workload balance and<br />
to ensure adequate coverage for course offerings;<br />
conducting faculty searches.
Program Planning & Evaluation<br />
The program director is responsible for all program<br />
planning and evaluation activities which may include:<br />
coordinating program goals and strategies from the<br />
strategic plan; assessment of student learning outcomes<br />
including submission of the 5-year Program Assessment<br />
Plan and the annual Assessment Report; oversight of<br />
periodic program review including development and<br />
submission of the Program Portfolio and Program<br />
Development Plan; and when applicable, oversight of<br />
programmatic accreditation. Student Recruitment and<br />
Retention. The program director is responsible for<br />
developing and maintaining materials and processes that<br />
promote recruitment and retention, which may include:<br />
creating and updating promotional brochures/literature,<br />
program website, catalog copy and degree checklist;<br />
oversight of all program-affiliated student organizations<br />
and activities such as majors' clubs, honor societies,<br />
recognition events, etc.: and (Graduate Program<br />
Directors) recruiting graduate students and making timely<br />
decisions on admissions (by checking the electronic<br />
folders in order to make an admission's decision about<br />
"completed" applications).<br />
Outreach<br />
The program director is responsible for representing the<br />
academic program's interests in both internal and<br />
external endeavors, which may include: coordinating<br />
program advisory boards; serving as a liaison between<br />
the program and other campus constituencies; and<br />
participating in community events in which the program<br />
is represented.<br />
Competencies:<br />
• Excellent verbal and written English communication<br />
skills.<br />
• Able to provide innovative and dynamic administration<br />
and teaching.<br />
• Creative scholarship skills and research strengths.<br />
• Previous relevant administrative and academic<br />
experience.<br />
Qualifications: Applicants should possess a doctoral<br />
degree in Sport Science or related field from an<br />
accredited US or UK University with at least five years<br />
of relevant experience.<br />
Benefits:<br />
1. Competitive tax-free salary.<br />
2. Furnished accommodation in accordance with QU HR<br />
policies.<br />
3. Annual round trip air tickets for faculty member and<br />
dependents in accordance with QU HR policies.<br />
4. Educational allowance for candidate's children in<br />
accordance with QU HR policies.<br />
5. Annual leave in accordance with QU HR policies.<br />
6. End-of-contract indemnity in accordance with QU HR<br />
policies.<br />
7. Private health care insurance and national health care<br />
as may be available in the State of <strong>Qatar</strong>.<br />
8. An annual increment that varies between 3% and up to<br />
5% of the basic salary.<br />
9. One and a half month salary as a bonus for recognition<br />
of achievers.<br />
10. QU gives an annual grant (up to 15% of the monthly<br />
basic salary x 12 months), to those high achievers that<br />
need to be recognized on the university level. Winning<br />
of this award is based on merit in their teaching and<br />
service to the university.<br />
11. Opportunities for Faculty Development and continuing<br />
education. We provide full support for attending<br />
conferences. We offer a wide range of workshops<br />
facilitated by well known local, regional and<br />
international instructors.<br />
12. Internal research grants equivalent to more than one<br />
million dollars annually.<br />
13. External research funding from QNRF (<strong>Qatar</strong> National<br />
Research Fund). The <strong>Qatar</strong> National Research Fund<br />
website (www.qnrf.org) has all pertinent information on<br />
the National Priorities Research Program (NPRP), as<br />
well as, the Undergraduate Research Experience<br />
Program (UREP). Twenty Five million dollars was<br />
recently granted to the awardees of the NPRP.<br />
14. Interest-free car loans are available to all employees.<br />
Contact Information:<br />
Please apply on line http://recruit.qu.edu.qa/ also<br />
please feel free to contact the following e-mail if you need<br />
further information vpacademic.office@qu.edu.qa;<br />
vpacademic@qu.edu.qa. If you need to talk to someone<br />
please call us on the following telephones:<br />
+(974) 403-4003 or +(974) 403-4004.<br />
Required Documents:<br />
Applications from interested individuals should be<br />
submitted via our online application process at<br />
http://recruit.qu.edu.qa/pls/recruitment/rec. Please<br />
complete all application sections and ensure you attach:<br />
1. A covering letter;<br />
2. A copy of your current curriculum vitae;<br />
3. Any additional documentation that you feel is relevant<br />
to your application.
FROM<br />
SPORT<br />
TO THE<br />
STREET<br />
Athletic shoes have developed from simple<br />
canvas and rubber constructions to high-tech,<br />
high-fashion items designed for the urban jungle<br />
as much as the <strong>sport</strong>ing arena.<br />
20 | Issue 17 | <strong>Qatar</strong> Sport
SPORTS SHOES<br />
IF USAIN BOLT had wanted to break<br />
the 100 metres world record back at the<br />
start of the 20th century, he wouldn’t have<br />
reached for his beloved gold Pumas.<br />
Instead, he’d have grabbed himself a pair<br />
of Joe Foster’s running pumps, hand-made<br />
in Bolton, England. NBA basketball star<br />
LeBron James, meanwhile, would have had<br />
to ditch his treasured blue Nikes for a pair<br />
of Keds made by the US Rubber Company<br />
or a line of rubber and canvas footwear<br />
touted by a new firm called Converse.<br />
Chances are that both athletes would<br />
find performance restricted by the<br />
rudimentary nature of such products.<br />
But compare their plight with that of<br />
Lionel Messi, who would have had to<br />
forsake his Adidas Predators for steel<br />
toe-capped work boots that weighed a<br />
kilogram when wet.<br />
RUNNING PUMPS<br />
Some historians credit the ancient Greeks<br />
with the invention of athletic footwear –<br />
an industry now worth $50-$60 billion<br />
a year. But most observers agree that the<br />
founding father of the modern industry<br />
was the aforementioned Joe Foster, who<br />
started producing shoes for top athletes<br />
in around 1895. With the advent of the<br />
modern <strong>Olympic</strong>s in 1896, Foster’s shoes<br />
were soon in high demand, says Rachael<br />
Foster, a descendant who wrote a short<br />
history of the period.<br />
By 1898, she writes, Joe “had perfected<br />
his Running Pump. It was ultra light and<br />
used the softest and strongest leathers.<br />
Most importantly it had six one-inch long<br />
spikes in the front for ultimate grip. In<br />
1904 the legendary Alf Shrubb, blistered<br />
down the track at Ibrox Park (Stadium),<br />
Glasgow, smashing three world records<br />
wearing Joe Foster’s Pumps.”<br />
Over the following decades, Foster’s<br />
Pumps featured at many events, not<br />
least the 1924 <strong>Olympic</strong>s – where they<br />
were worn by gold medallists Harold<br />
Abrahams and Eric Liddell, the subjects of<br />
the Oscar-winning feature film Chariots<br />
of Fire. But as <strong>sport</strong> developed into a<br />
mature industry, new footwear companies<br />
appeared in other parts of the world.<br />
In the US, Keds and Converse were<br />
the dominant names in <strong>sport</strong>s footwear<br />
right through until the 1960s. Converse,<br />
bought by Nike in 2003 for $300m,<br />
developed its All Star shoe for elite<br />
basketball players in 1917. In a move that<br />
was well ahead of its time, it signed up a<br />
basketball player called Chuck Taylor to<br />
endorse and promote its footwear. Taylor,<br />
who joined Converse in 1921, was part of<br />
a team sponsored by the company, which<br />
was called The Converse All Stars.<br />
His commitment was 24/7. When not<br />
playing for the team, he held basketball<br />
clinics in high schools where he taught<br />
the fundamentals of the game and sold<br />
the shoes. Not content with this, he also<br />
improved the design to provide increased<br />
flexibility and support.<br />
While Foster’s and Converse were<br />
making their mark in the Anglo-<br />
American world, a young German cobbler<br />
called Adi Dassler was drawing up plans<br />
in his mother’s laundry for a range of<br />
lightweight shoes suited to different<br />
running distances. Adi started alone but<br />
by 1924 was working with older brother<br />
Rudi at The Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory.<br />
Like Foster’s, Dassler’s footwear<br />
proved its worth where it mattered – on<br />
the track. At the 1936 Berlin <strong>Olympic</strong>s,<br />
the company provided US athlete Jesse<br />
Owens with the shoes that would carry<br />
him to a remarkable four gold medals.<br />
THE DASSLER BROTHERS<br />
There were other similarities between<br />
Foster’s and Dassler. The first is that both<br />
factories got drawn into making shoes for<br />
soldiers (as did Converse). The second<br />
is that family splits led to the launch of<br />
rival firms. In the case of Foster’s, 1958<br />
was a year of contrasts, says Rachael<br />
Foster: “At the 1958 FA Cup Final Nat<br />
Lofthouse scored the winning goal for<br />
Bolton Wanderers in Foster’s boots. That<br />
same year my father and uncle left under<br />
a cloud to found Reebok.”<br />
In Germany, the Dassler rift had<br />
happened ten years earlier in 1948. No<br />
longer able to work with each other, Rudi<br />
left the Dassler Brothers company to<br />
found Puma while Adi stayed on at the<br />
original firm but renamed it Adidas.<br />
The 1960s to 1980s saw the <strong>sport</strong>swear<br />
industry lay the foundations for its<br />
current extraordinary levels of success.<br />
Economic growth and globalisation,<br />
increased professionalism within <strong>sport</strong>,<br />
the emergence of celebrity <strong>sport</strong>s star,<br />
the rise of jogging and closer links<br />
between <strong>sport</strong> and fashion combined<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong> Sport | Issue 17 | 21
SPORTS SHOES<br />
to transform the landscape. The early<br />
beneficiaries were adidas and Reebok,<br />
which saw off Foster’s to become a<br />
dominant force in the early 1980s.<br />
Perhaps the highlight of Reebok’s<br />
performance in this decade came in<br />
1982, when it introduced the first athletic<br />
shoe designed especially for women.<br />
Dubbed the Freestyle, Reebok<br />
historians say it “anticipated and<br />
encouraged three major trends that<br />
transformed the athletic footwear industry:<br />
the aerobic exercise movement, the influx<br />
of women into <strong>sport</strong>s and exercise and<br />
the acceptance of well-designed athletic<br />
footwear by adults for street and casual<br />
wear”. Explosive growth followed, with the<br />
Freestyle soon accounting for more than<br />
half of Reebok’s sales.<br />
JUST DO IT<br />
While the start of the 1980s will be<br />
remembered as a good period for Reebok,<br />
another company was on the rise that<br />
would transform the <strong>sport</strong>s footwear<br />
industry for good. The start of this<br />
company’s journey was 1964, when a<br />
runner called Phil Knight and his coach<br />
Bill Bowerman formed Blue Ribbon<br />
“Nike signed up a young basketball player called<br />
Michael Jordan on a five-year sponsorship contract in<br />
1985. That decision transformed Nike from a successful<br />
US firm into a <strong>sport</strong>s brand of global proportions.”<br />
Sports, a company which operated as a<br />
distributor for Japanese firm Onitsuka<br />
Tiger (now ASICS). The relationship<br />
worked well until 1971 at which point BRS<br />
cut its ties with ASICS and launched its<br />
own shoe. The shoe was called Nike and it<br />
carried a Swoosh-shaped logo.<br />
BRS changed the company name<br />
to Nike in 1978 and signed its first<br />
endorsement deal with Ilie Năstase. Iconic<br />
TV ads would come later - but what really<br />
set Nike up at this stage was Bowerman’s<br />
obsessive commitment to performance.<br />
Bowerman’s design capabilities were<br />
matched by Knight’s marketing prowess.<br />
And between them they made the best call<br />
of their lives when they signed up a young<br />
basketball player called Michael Jordan on<br />
a five-year sponsorship contract in 1985.<br />
That decision transformed Nike from a<br />
successful US firm into a <strong>sport</strong>s brand of<br />
global proportions.<br />
PUMA REVIVAL<br />
Jordan’s endorsement of the Nike Air,<br />
with its innovative approach to colour<br />
and style, redefined the relationship<br />
between <strong>sport</strong>swear and high street<br />
fashion. Backed up by iconic TV<br />
advertising from Wieden + Kennedy<br />
and the slogan “Just Do It”, Nike stole a<br />
serious march on its rivals.<br />
One of the first execs to react was<br />
Jochen Zeitz, who had taken over Puma<br />
in 1993 at the youthful age of 30. At that<br />
time, Puma was in financial difficulties,<br />
despite a heritage that involved producing<br />
football boots for Pele, Eusebio, Cruyff<br />
and Maradona.<br />
But Zeitz recognised that the answer for<br />
Puma was to create footwear and apparel<br />
that reflected the zeitgeist of the times.<br />
Speaking to the New York Times in 2004,<br />
the man who recommended Zeitz for<br />
the job, Swedish investor Thore Ohlsson,<br />
22 | Issue 17 | <strong>Qatar</strong> Sport
SPORTS SHOES<br />
said: “Back then, Puma was a loser, a<br />
me-too brand, with a low image and lousy<br />
performance. Jochen had a vision he could<br />
revitalise the brand and restore its image. I<br />
believed in him.’’<br />
Two decades later, Zeitz has justified<br />
Ohlsson’s faith, transforming Puma into<br />
a leading <strong>sport</strong>s fashion brand without<br />
undermining its core performance<br />
credentials. At the same time, he has<br />
done more than most to push forward the<br />
<strong>sport</strong>swear industry’s sustainability agenda.<br />
STREET FASHION<br />
The rise of the branded <strong>sport</strong>s shoe has<br />
worked well for the likes of Puma and<br />
Nike and also drew a response from their<br />
rivals. Reebok targeted street fashion<br />
with the launch of its rbk strategy around<br />
a decade ago. Adidas, recognising the<br />
significance of this trend, acquired<br />
Reebok in 2006. The big brands still<br />
dominate but haven’t had it all their own<br />
way. With the emergence of a counterculture<br />
based around extreme and action<br />
<strong>sport</strong>s, a new wave of brands built a<br />
formidable following, including Vans, DC<br />
Shoes and G-Star.<br />
Fashion apart, another powerful driver<br />
of change is the sector’s constant attempt<br />
to improve performance and well-being<br />
through its footwear. Elite performance<br />
is illustrated by the Nike Lunaracer<br />
running shoe – while Japan’s Asics has<br />
fought back against the iconic <strong>sport</strong>s<br />
brands by focusing its energy on improved<br />
performance. With this has come<br />
increased distribution, increased revenues<br />
and the capacity to sign more high-profile<br />
sponsorship deals.<br />
What would Joe Foster have made of<br />
it all? Would he admire the latest<br />
generation of high-tech shoes – such as<br />
the Nike+iPod Sports Kit (which records<br />
the distance and pace of a walk or run)<br />
and the NIKEiD, which allows customers<br />
to customise clothing purchased from<br />
Nike? Or would he have sounded a note<br />
of caution? While elite athletes are 100<br />
per cent focused on foot health, medical<br />
specialists are now asking whether hightech<br />
shoes make feet lazy and lead to an<br />
increase in bio-mechanical injuries among<br />
the general public.<br />
Nike reacted to this issue with the Nike<br />
Free range, which is designed to “reevolutionise”<br />
running by enabling people<br />
to run as if they barefoot; which maybe<br />
begs the question – why buy <strong>sport</strong>s shoes?<br />
1895<br />
1917<br />
1982<br />
1985<br />
1987<br />
2009<br />
JW Foster’s<br />
Running Pumps<br />
The Running Pumps were<br />
ultra light and had six one<br />
inch long spikes in the<br />
front for ultimate grip<br />
Converse All Stars<br />
Converse dominated the<br />
basketball market until<br />
a company called Nike<br />
turned up. Nike now<br />
owns Converse<br />
Reebok Freestyle<br />
The Freestyle was<br />
introduced in 1982 and<br />
propelled Reebok into the<br />
athletic wear and fashion<br />
scene. By 1984, the shoe<br />
accounted for more than<br />
half of the Reebok sales<br />
Asics GEL<br />
Asics introduced its GEL<br />
Cushioning System in<br />
the 1980s and still uses<br />
variants. It absorbs shock<br />
by dissipating vertical<br />
impact and dispersing it<br />
into a horizontal plane<br />
Nike Air<br />
Nike Air used air pillows in<br />
the shoes’ soles. Backed by<br />
NBA legend Michael Jordan,<br />
they were introduced in the<br />
1980s and transformed the<br />
company’s fortunes<br />
Puma Theseus<br />
Puma is paying record-breaking<br />
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt<br />
an estimated $8-$9m a year in<br />
sponsorship fees through 2013.<br />
Seems like a bargain.<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong> Sport | Issue 17 | 23
CLUBS AND COMMUNITY<br />
THE BOSS TAKES<br />
THE LEAD<br />
Doha football club Al Sadd is nicknamed ‘The Boss’ or ‘The Leader’<br />
and it is not only on the field that the club is blazing a new trail for<br />
the <strong>sport</strong> in <strong>Qatar</strong>.<br />
AL SADD is <strong>Qatar</strong>’s most successful<br />
football club and its current team of local<br />
and international players made a piece of<br />
history in 2011 when they won the AFC<br />
Champions League for the second time<br />
before taking third spot in the FIFA Cup<br />
World Cup in Japan.<br />
To take the title of Asian champions<br />
against competition from teams in the<br />
supposedly stronger Korean, Japanese and<br />
even Australian leagues was a magnificent<br />
achievement and according to the club’s<br />
General Secretary, Jassim Al Romaihi, the<br />
triumph was the cause of immense pride in<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong>, even among fans of their local rivals.<br />
But Al Sadd is not only taking <strong>Qatar</strong>i<br />
club football to new levels in international<br />
competition. It is at the forefront of<br />
ambitious moves to introduce a vibrant<br />
culture of social responsibility (CSR) into<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong>i soccer and <strong>sport</strong> in general.<br />
The woman behind the Al Sadd CSR<br />
initiative is Dalal AlDossary, founder of<br />
Impact CSR Solutions. She is a business<br />
graduate who worked on the 2011<br />
AFC Asian Cup in <strong>Qatar</strong> and brings<br />
tremendous enthusiasm and energy to her<br />
role at the club. “Social responsibility is<br />
not about philanthropy; it is about creating<br />
a win-win for the club, its commercial<br />
partners and society,” she says.<br />
Her programmes kicked off last season<br />
and she is already putting the final touches<br />
to plans for 32 fresh initiatives for the next<br />
eight month long season. That’s one every<br />
week. But to understand the platform from<br />
which she is able to deliver the programmes<br />
it is first necessary to understand a little<br />
about Al Sadd and its influence.<br />
First of all it is not simply a soccer club.<br />
Sitting at the heart of the Al Sadd district<br />
of Doha it follows the <strong>Qatar</strong>i model of<br />
providing a wide range of state-of the art<br />
<strong>sport</strong>s facilities for community and elite<br />
use and has teams in a number of <strong>sport</strong>s.<br />
HIGH PROFILE<br />
Football has the highest profile and, according<br />
to Jassim Al Romaihi, who has<br />
been involved with Al Sadd for much of his<br />
life, it is the best supported in the country<br />
with some 35,000 fans regularly following<br />
its progress through the club website.<br />
Over the years Al Sadd’s football teams<br />
have won a sack full of trophies, both<br />
domestically and internationally. Founded<br />
in 1969, the club has won two domestic<br />
championships, lifted the prestigious<br />
Emir’s Cup 12 times and the Crown Prince<br />
Cup five times, the Sheikh Jassem Cup 12<br />
times and the more recently introduced<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong> Stars League Cup once.<br />
Winning the 2011 AFC Champions<br />
League earned the club a place in FIFA’s<br />
Club World Cup in Japan where they beat<br />
African champions Esperance Sportive de<br />
Tunis 2-1 to earn a dream date against FC<br />
Barcelona. “It was a fantastic experience<br />
to play against the best team in the world,<br />
maybe the best team ever,” said Jassim Al<br />
Romaihi who is a former Al Sadd player,<br />
coach and manager who has been in<br />
charge of all <strong>sport</strong>ing elements of the club<br />
for the past 13 years or so. “In Japan we<br />
lost 4-0 to a Barcelona team which I<br />
think was more or less unbeatable,” said<br />
Jassim Al Romaihi.<br />
“But to come third in the championship<br />
was a big achievement and every one<br />
of our players was a major star. I thank<br />
them all for all they did to help us make<br />
the country proud and very happy. The<br />
whole team worked very hard and after a<br />
little luck along the way I had the feeling<br />
that we would make it to the final of the<br />
Champions League. Our success shows<br />
that football is becoming stronger in west<br />
Asia and shows that <strong>Qatar</strong> is a country<br />
which loves <strong>sport</strong>,” he said. “There is no<br />
secret to our success except a good group<br />
of players who work hard with good<br />
coaching and technological support.”<br />
With its domestic and international<br />
success and growing fan base there is no<br />
doubt that Al Sadd has been a pioneer of<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong>i football – and now its brand, media<br />
profile and influence is being harnessed to<br />
24 | Issue 17 | <strong>Qatar</strong> Sport
Al Sadd win the<br />
AFC Champions<br />
League, November<br />
5, 2011<br />
drive a range of important social projects<br />
under the direction of Dalal AlDossary.<br />
“The club wants to be seen also as a<br />
pioneer in many other ways,” she said.<br />
“It has a new vision and is the first club<br />
not only in <strong>Qatar</strong> but in the region to<br />
adopt a CSR strategy. Al Sadd is successful<br />
on the field and enjoys a high level of<br />
visibility in the community and now we<br />
want to add a third dimension by making<br />
it a socially responsible club, well ahead of<br />
the country hosting the FIFA World Cup<br />
in 2022.”<br />
MISSION STATEMENT<br />
The first year’s activities have been<br />
operated under the banner ‘180 Degrees<br />
of Change’ and has involved a range of<br />
projects including work to make the<br />
Al Sadd Stadium – already world-class<br />
in many respects – fully accessible for<br />
disabled people. In addition, there has<br />
been a healthy neighbourhood programme<br />
which has included delivering specially<br />
prepared healthy lunchboxes to schools in a<br />
branded bus in a move to make youngsters<br />
aware of the need to eat properly to stay fit<br />
and enjoy a healthy lifestyle.<br />
Literacy and the promotion of reading<br />
has also come under the umbrella of<br />
the programme with Al Sadd Player<br />
Ambassadors making guest appearances in<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong>’s malls to read passages from books<br />
to children.<br />
Campaigning against wider social<br />
issues, there has also been a match to raise<br />
awareness of the dire consequences of<br />
human trafficking.<br />
The commitment to CSR is now<br />
enshrined in the club’s culture and<br />
spelled-out on the club’s website, which<br />
affirms: “At Al Sadd FC we believe that<br />
being a responsible football club means<br />
being part of our community in the widest<br />
sense. We know that our success will be<br />
measured not only by our winning on the<br />
field of play or our profitability as<br />
a business but also by our impact on<br />
people’s lives in our community.<br />
Al Sadd has a strong corporate social<br />
responsibility agenda that focuses on five<br />
strategic key areas: Health & Wellness;<br />
Education; Social Inclusion; Social<br />
Development; Environment.”<br />
With its ambitious Year Two<br />
programme taking shape Al Sadd has<br />
taken regional leadership in an area of<br />
<strong>sport</strong>, which continues to grow globally<br />
and in which knowledge exchange plays<br />
an important role. Such is the breadth<br />
of the Al Sadd programme it is likely<br />
to attract attention from <strong>sport</strong>s clubs<br />
elsewhere in the world anxious to<br />
benefit from their experience.<br />
“Social responsibility is not just<br />
something which is nice to do it should<br />
be at the centre of things,” said Dalal<br />
AlDossary. Sport can achieve a great<br />
deal and everyone wins.”<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong> Sport | Issue 17 | 25
Leaders: Incisive opinion and lively debate<br />
CAN SPORT BE A FORCE<br />
FOR SOCIAL CHANGE?<br />
SPORT’S ROLE as a pastime has long been understood. More<br />
recently, its growth as an industry has become one of the great<br />
business developments of recent decades. But as a force for social<br />
change, despite the great strides taken in recent years, it remains<br />
undervalued and underused.<br />
That is demonstrably the case when we compare <strong>sport</strong> to music<br />
or art, let alone politics. And yet <strong>sport</strong>, which engages billions of<br />
people on a daily basis, and the wider business world, both have<br />
potential that reaches beyond each of those sectors.<br />
TACKLING PROBLEMS<br />
In the USA, tackling obesity has become a legislative priority,<br />
and <strong>sport</strong> is being used as an outlet to activation. Each of the<br />
Major Leagues has innovative programmes in place, using their<br />
popularity and power to tackle such issues as breast cancer, the environment and post-disaster recovery.<br />
In the UK, the expenditure on London 2012 is being justified through the social benefits that can come<br />
from <strong>sport</strong> – reduced crime, social cohesion and improvements in health.<br />
Sport can thus be an essential tool for forward-thinking government. Equally, it can drive business in ways<br />
that few would have envisaged even a few years ago. The last decade has seen a remarkable jump forward.<br />
What started as philanthropy and developed into corporate social responsibility is increasingly taking the<br />
next step, to a shared value model. Put simply, that model calls for investment in community and society to<br />
be placed at the heart of business, driving development<br />
and social change at the same time as driving sales,<br />
brand, reputation or a myriad other business goals.<br />
These include the next step for sponsorship –<br />
deepening the narrative of the more hard-edged returnon-investment<br />
mindset. This is not charity – this is part<br />
of the very fabric of the sponsorship and a vital part of<br />
how it can be used to deliver on business objectives.<br />
IN BRIEF<br />
Nick Keller, Founder and Managing<br />
Director of Benchmark Sport<br />
International, which runs Beyond<br />
Sport, the global organisation for<br />
social change through <strong>sport</strong>.<br />
“Be it social inclusion, peace,<br />
healthcare or education, <strong>sport</strong><br />
can play a vital role – and those<br />
who realise it soonest will<br />
benefit the most.”<br />
SOCIAL CHANGE<br />
Beyond Sport, the global organisation which works to promote the use of <strong>sport</strong> as a tool for social change, has<br />
demonstrated that such a model is the way forward for the <strong>sport</strong>s business world.<br />
The opportunity for the Middle East, and <strong>Qatar</strong> in particular, is evident. Organisations are already hard at<br />
work in the region, be it Peace and Sport’s ‘ping-pong diplomacy’ in <strong>Qatar</strong> last year or Reclaim Childhood’s<br />
work with hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees in Jordan. Most recently, the theme of <strong>sport</strong> and social<br />
change ran throughout the International Sport Security Conference staged in Doha.<br />
A regional focus on the opportunity such work provides could put the Middle East more firmly on the<br />
map as a world-leading region than any number of major <strong>sport</strong>ing tournaments.<br />
Likewise, those Middle Eastern businesses extending their reach throughout Asia, Africa, Europe and<br />
America will find themselves welcomed by the communities they reach if they make tangible investment in<br />
the future of those communities – as Etihad are so aptly demonstrating with their increasing support of the<br />
poverty-stricken ward which Manchester City calls home.<br />
From Barcelona’s shirts to Paris St-Germain’s boardroom and from the <strong>Qatar</strong> Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe<br />
to Al Jazeera’s investment in <strong>sport</strong> worldwide, no sector is putting <strong>Qatar</strong>i business as firmly on the map<br />
as <strong>sport</strong>. How that position is used will define how the world regards this nation and so many others. Be<br />
it social inclusion, peace, healthcare or education, <strong>sport</strong> can play a vital role - and those businessmen and<br />
politicians who realise it soonest will benefit the most.<br />
26 | Issue 17 | <strong>Qatar</strong> Sport
HOW WILL THE<br />
NATIONAL SPORTS DAY<br />
CHANGE QATAR?<br />
ON FEBRUARY 14, 2012, <strong>Qatar</strong> launched the first National<br />
Sports Day, a public holiday that encourages all sectors of society<br />
to engage with <strong>sport</strong>, which will take place in the second week of<br />
February each year.<br />
The National Sports Day is a pioneering initiative adopted by<br />
The Heir Apparent, H.H. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.<br />
With a focus on young people in <strong>Qatar</strong>, H.H. Sheikh Tamim’s<br />
decision to create a day dedicated to <strong>sport</strong> will help to further<br />
embed <strong>sport</strong>ing values into the nation’s culture.<br />
IN BRIEF<br />
Ahmed Said Al Rumaihi is Director<br />
General and Chief Editor of the<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong>i ‘Al Arab’ newspaper<br />
(www. alarab.qa) an independent<br />
daily founded in1972.<br />
SYMBOL OF COMMITMENT<br />
The decision is a symbol of the strong commitment of our nation<br />
toward developing <strong>sport</strong>ing participation across the population.<br />
Increased participation in <strong>sport</strong> has the potential to bring our communities together, encourage a better<br />
quality of life and shape a healthier future for generations to come.<br />
The National Sports Day, like the existing Schools <strong>Olympic</strong> Programme, is a great step towards achieving this.<br />
In terms of the of the Day’s activities, the QOC was in charge of bringing together government agencies,<br />
private sector companies, educational and social institutions to participate in over 350 free events from yoga<br />
to fencing, Zumba dancing to beach football.<br />
During the day, all public <strong>sport</strong>s facilities in the country opened their doors to the public for free and<br />
<strong>sport</strong>s federations, leagues and clubs lent their support in myriad ways.<br />
The <strong>Qatar</strong> Football Association, <strong>Qatar</strong> 2022 Supreme <strong>Committee</strong> and <strong>Qatar</strong> Stars League, for example,<br />
hosted a special ‘Football Town’ event, which included soccer tournaments and beach soccer clinics hosted<br />
by superstar beach player, Ramiro Amarelle, as well as interactive fan zones.<br />
The feature <strong>sport</strong>s event of the day – a football match between <strong>Qatar</strong>’s former national team and the<br />
current national team – was another stellar attraction for fans of the country’s number one <strong>sport</strong>.<br />
SPORT FOR ALL<br />
The whole nation embraced <strong>Qatar</strong>’s first National Sports Day. H.H. Sheikh Tamim and his wife Sheikha<br />
Jawaher bint Hamad bin Suhaim Al-Thani showed their support by attending <strong>sport</strong>ing activities held at the<br />
Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.<br />
Public and private organisations also encouraged their employees to engage in <strong>sport</strong> with great results.<br />
Organisations and companies such as <strong>Qatar</strong> Airways, Al Jazeera, and Q Media staged <strong>sport</strong>s activities<br />
for staff and families. <strong>Qatar</strong> Petroleum alone organised over 50 activities across the nation, including its<br />
offshore operations. Meanwhile, The Doha 2020 Bid <strong>Committee</strong> kicked off the day with a 4km morning run,<br />
organised by Aspire Zone Foundation and RasGas, drawing in hundreds of men, women and children to a<br />
day of fun and <strong>sport</strong>s at Aspire Zone, Doha’s world-class <strong>sport</strong>s precinct.<br />
ANNUAL CELEBRATION<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong>, of course, has an international reputation as a hub for staging successful <strong>sport</strong>ing events but it is<br />
important that as our global <strong>sport</strong>ing profile rises we simultaneously ensure that the people of <strong>Qatar</strong> are also<br />
engaged in <strong>sport</strong>ing activity.<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong> is now one of the few countries around the world to dedicate a special holiday for recreation and<br />
wellness. With this annual celebration of <strong>sport</strong> and the whole nation taking part, we can foster a strong<br />
<strong>sport</strong>ing culture in <strong>Qatar</strong> that will create a positive cultural and social legacy for generations to come.<br />
The initiative is all about inspiring and supporting change – and it was wonderful to see so many people<br />
participate in so many different activities to celebrate National Sports Day.<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong> Sport | Issue 17 | 27
Director of Sports Science Program<br />
Position Summary<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong> University is the country's major institution of<br />
higher education and consists of the following colleges:<br />
education, arts and sciences, law, Sharia and Islamic<br />
studies, business and economics, engineering, pharmacy<br />
and two independent programs in international affairs and<br />
<strong>sport</strong> science. The government also finances a large<br />
number of students to obtain advanced degrees abroad.<br />
The State of <strong>Qatar</strong> is a small, oil-rich peninsula projecting<br />
northward from the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula<br />
into the Arabian Gulf. With substantial oil and natural gas<br />
reserves, <strong>Qatar</strong> is one of the wealthiest states in the<br />
region and has developed high quality health care and<br />
education systems.<br />
The capital city of Doha lies on the east coast of the<br />
peninsula and features a wide mixture of modern and<br />
traditional Arabic architecture. Almost 90 percent of<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong>'s population lives in Doha and its surrounding<br />
suburbs. Sunni Islam is the predominant religion.<br />
Application Deadline: Open until filled<br />
Position Category: Academic<br />
Employment Type: Full Time<br />
Position Term: Three Years Renewable<br />
Duties and responsibilities:<br />
Program Leadership<br />
The program director is responsible for providing overall<br />
leadership for the program and its faculty, which may<br />
include: conducting periodic meetings of faculty to<br />
discuss programmatic and departmental issues; ensuring<br />
the flow of critical information between the department,<br />
college or university and all program faculty; and soliciting<br />
and submitting program budget requests to the Dean or<br />
VPCAO.<br />
Curriculum Oversight<br />
The program director is responsible for all modifications<br />
to the curriculum, course sequencing and scheduling;<br />
and development and maintenance of the program's<br />
curriculum guide. Faculty recruitment, load, and when<br />
appropriate, evaluation. The program director, in concert<br />
with the college dean or VPCAO is responsible for<br />
management of the program faculty, which may include:<br />
certifying and maintaining documentation related to<br />
faculty credentials; assigning courses, in concert with the<br />
college dean or VPCAO, to achieve workload balance and<br />
to ensure adequate coverage for course offerings;<br />
conducting faculty searches.
Program Planning & Evaluation<br />
The program director is responsible for all program<br />
planning and evaluation activities which may include:<br />
coordinating program goals and strategies from the<br />
strategic plan; assessment of student learning outcomes<br />
including submission of the 5-year Program Assessment<br />
Plan and the annual Assessment Report; oversight of<br />
periodic program review including development and<br />
submission of the Program Portfolio and Program<br />
Development Plan; and when applicable, oversight of<br />
programmatic accreditation. Student Recruitment and<br />
Retention. The program director is responsible for<br />
developing and maintaining materials and processes that<br />
promote recruitment and retention, which may include:<br />
creating and updating promotional brochures/literature,<br />
program website, catalog copy and degree checklist;<br />
oversight of all program-affiliated student organizations<br />
and activities such as majors' clubs, honor societies,<br />
recognition events, etc.: and (Graduate Program<br />
Directors) recruiting graduate students and making timely<br />
decisions on admissions (by checking the electronic<br />
folders in order to make an admission's decision about<br />
"completed" applications).<br />
Outreach<br />
The program director is responsible for representing the<br />
academic program's interests in both internal and<br />
external endeavors, which may include: coordinating<br />
program advisory boards; serving as a liaison between<br />
the program and other campus constituencies; and<br />
participating in community events in which the program<br />
is represented.<br />
Competencies:<br />
• Excellent verbal and written English communication<br />
skills.<br />
• Able to provide innovative and dynamic administration<br />
and teaching.<br />
• Creative scholarship skills and research strengths.<br />
• Previous relevant administrative and academic<br />
experience.<br />
Qualifications:<br />
Applicants should possess a doctoral degree in Sport<br />
Science or related field from an accredited US or UK<br />
University with at least five years of relevant experience.<br />
Benefits:<br />
1. Competitive tax-free salary.<br />
2. Furnished accommodation in accordance with QU HR<br />
policies.<br />
3. Annual round trip air tickets for faculty member and<br />
dependents in accordance with QU HR policies.<br />
4. Educational allowance for candidate's children in<br />
accordance with QU HR policies.<br />
5. Annual leave in accordance with QU HR policies.<br />
6. End-of-contract indemnity in accordance with QU HR<br />
policies.<br />
7. Private health care insurance and national health care<br />
as may be available in the State of <strong>Qatar</strong>.<br />
8. An annual increment that varies between 3% and up to<br />
5% of the basic salary.<br />
9. One and a half month salary as a bonus for recognition<br />
of achievers.<br />
10. QU gives an annual grant (up to 15% of the monthly<br />
basic salary x 12 months), to those high achievers that<br />
need to be recognized on the university level. Winning<br />
of this award is based on merit in their teaching and<br />
service to the university.<br />
11. Opportunities for Faculty Development and continuing<br />
education. We provide full support for attending<br />
conferences. We offer a wide range of workshops<br />
facilitated by well known local, regional and<br />
international instructors.<br />
12. Internal research grants equivalent to more than one<br />
million dollars annually.<br />
13. External research funding from QNRF (<strong>Qatar</strong> National<br />
Research Fund). The <strong>Qatar</strong> National Research Fund<br />
website (www.qnrf.org) has all pertinent information on<br />
the National Priorities Research Program (NPRP), as<br />
well as, the Undergraduate Research Experience<br />
Program (UREP). Twenty Five million dollars was<br />
recently granted to the awardees of the NPRP.<br />
14. Interest-free car loans are available to all employees.<br />
Contact Information:<br />
Please apply on line http://recruit.qu.edu.qa/ also<br />
please feel free to contact the following e-mail if you need<br />
further information vpacademic.office@qu.edu.qa;<br />
vpacademic@qu.edu.qa. If you need to talk to someone<br />
please call us on the following telephones:<br />
+(974) 403-4003 or +(974) 403-4004.<br />
Required Documents:<br />
Applications from interested individuals should be<br />
submitted via our online application process at<br />
http://recruit.qu.edu.qa/pls/recruitment/rec. Please<br />
complete all application sections and ensure you attach:<br />
1. A covering letter;<br />
2. A copy of your current curriculum vitae;<br />
3. Any additional documentation that you feel is relevant<br />
to your application.
FOR THE RECORD: WHO’S MAKING HEADLINES IN SPORT WORLDWIDE?<br />
SACHIN TENDULKAR<br />
India’s ‘Little Master’, Sachin Tedulkar scored his 100th<br />
international century in India’s Asia Cup One Day International<br />
match against Bangladesh in Mirpur, March 16, 2012.<br />
The hype around Tendulkar’s 100th international century<br />
began during last year’s ICC World Cup, when two hundreds in<br />
the group stages put him on 99 international hundreds.<br />
But the pressure to reach the century of hundreds took its toll.<br />
Tendulkar failed to get to three figures in his next 33<br />
international innings. Understandably, he took his time in the<br />
one-day international against Bangladesh, one of international<br />
cricket’s weaker nations.<br />
Tedulkar took 138 balls to reach the century, his 49th in oneday<br />
international cricket. When added to his 51 three-figure<br />
scores from Test cricket, this gave him the magic 100.<br />
The previous 12 months, Tedulkar admitted, were “possibly<br />
the toughest of my life”. But with the weight of expectation<br />
lifted from his shoulders, Tendulkar believes he has more to<br />
offer Indian cricket – and more centuries still to come.<br />
Most Hundreds in international cricket (Tests/ODI)<br />
Sachin Tendulkar (IND) 100 (51/49)<br />
Ricky Ponting (AUS) 71 (41/30)<br />
Jacques Kallis (RSA) 59 (42/17)<br />
Brian Lara (WI) 53 (34/19)<br />
Rahul Dravid (IND) 48 (36/12)<br />
Mahela Jayawardene (SRI) 45 (29 /16*)<br />
Sanath Jayasuriya (SRI 42 (14/28)<br />
Kumar Sangakkara (SRI) 41 (28/13)<br />
Matthew Hayden (AUS 40 (30/10<br />
Mohammad Yousuf (PAK) 39 (24/15)<br />
* Includes one Twenty20 century<br />
LIONEL MESSI<br />
Three-time World Footballer of the Year, Lionel Messi, became<br />
the first player to score five goals in a UEFA Champions League<br />
game when FC Barcelona claimed a record knockout round<br />
victory against Bayer 04 Leverkusen, March 2, 2012. Messi scored<br />
the first five-goal haul as the holders powered to a 7-1 win over<br />
the Bundesliga side, winning the tie 10-2 on aggregate.<br />
Most goals in UEFA Champions League match<br />
Lionel Messi (Barcelona) 5 (2011-12)<br />
Bafetimbi Gomis (Lyon) 4 (2011-2012)<br />
Lionel Messi (Barcelona) 4 (2009-10)<br />
Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan) 4 (2005-06)<br />
Ruud van Nistelrooy (Man United) 4 (2004-05)<br />
Dado Prso (Monaco) 4 (2003-04)<br />
Simone Inzaghi (Lazio) 4 (1999-2000)<br />
*Semih Senturk (Fenerbahce) 4 (2008-09)<br />
*Tomasz Frankowski ( Wisla Krakow ) 4 (2004-05)<br />
*Serhiy Rebrov (Dynamo Kyiv) 4 (1998-99)<br />
*In UEFA Champions League qualifying matches<br />
30 | Issue 17 | <strong>Qatar</strong> Sport
NATALIYA DOBRYNSKA<br />
The 14th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Istanbul<br />
(March 9-11, 2012) saw a stunning world record in the<br />
women’s Pentathlon for Nataliya Dobrynska of the Ukraine.<br />
The <strong>Olympic</strong> heptathlon champion saw off Jessica Ennis of<br />
Great Britain and Tatyana Chernova of Russia to set a new<br />
global mark of 5,013 points, finally erasing the 20-year-old<br />
figures of 4,991 set by Irina Belova of Russia.<br />
RORY MCILROY<br />
Aged 22 years and 305 days, Rory McIlroy became the second<br />
youngest player to reach Number One in the Official World<br />
Golf Rankings when he won the Honda Classic in Florida,<br />
March 24, 2012. The Northern Irishman followed Tiger Woods,<br />
who was 21 years and 167 days, when he first reached Number<br />
One on June 15, 1997. McIlroy was only the second 20 year-old<br />
(with Tiger Woods) to reach the world’s top ten in 2009.<br />
Indoor World Pentathlon bests (women) Youngest golf Number Ones (since April 1986)<br />
Nataliya Dobrynska (UKR) 5,013 points (2012)<br />
Irina Belova (RUS) 4,991 (1992)<br />
Carolina Klüft (SWE) 4,948 (2005)<br />
Carolina Klüft (SWE) 4,944 (2007)<br />
Jessica Ennis (UK) 4,937 (2010)<br />
Carolina Klüft (SWE) 4,933 (2003)<br />
Kelly Sotherton (UK) 4,927 (2007<br />
Tia Hellebaut (BEL) 4,877 (2007)<br />
Tia Hellebaut (BEL) 4,867 (2008)<br />
Svetlana Moskalets (RUS) 4,866 (1995)<br />
Tiger Woods (USA) 21 yrs (1997)<br />
Rory McIlroy (UK) 22 yrs (2012)<br />
Martin Kaymer (GER) 26 yrs (2011)<br />
David Duval (USA) 27 yrs (1999)<br />
Ernie Els (RSA) 28 yrs (1997)<br />
Bernhard Langer (GER) 28 yrs (1986)<br />
Seve Ballesteros (ESP) 29 yrs (1986)<br />
Greg Norman (AUS) 31 yrs (1986)<br />
Luke Donald (UK) 33 yrs (2011)<br />
Fred Couples (USA) 33 yrs (1992)<br />
LINDSEY VONN<br />
Lindsey Vonn became the most successful American in the history<br />
of alpine skiing during a memorable FIS Alpine Ski World Cup<br />
season this year. Vonn is now third on the all-time list for World<br />
Cup wins behind Austria’s Annemarie Moser-Proell (62) and Vreni<br />
Schneider (55) of Switzerland.<br />
The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup wins (women)<br />
as of 20/3/2012<br />
Annemarie Moser-Pröll (AS) 62 (1969–1980)<br />
Vreni Schneider (SUI) 55 (1984–1995)<br />
Lindsey Vonn (USA)<br />
53 (2000–active)<br />
Renate Götschl (AS) 46 (1993–2009<br />
Anja Pärson (SWE)<br />
42 (1998–active)<br />
Katja Seizinger (GER) 36 (1989–1998)<br />
Marlies Schild (AS)<br />
35 (2001–active)<br />
Hanni Wenzel (LIE) 33 (1972–1984)<br />
Erika Hess (SUI) 31 (1978–1987)<br />
Janica Kostelić (CRO) 30 (1998–2006)<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong> Sport | Issue 17 | 31
SCHOOLED<br />
IN SPORT<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong>’s innovative Schools <strong>Olympic</strong> Programme<br />
(SOP) gives every child a chance to take part in<br />
competitive <strong>sport</strong>. SOP shares its core values<br />
with ‘Sport for All’ initiatives in other <strong>sport</strong>sloving<br />
nations, but its unique model contains<br />
lessons that everybody can learn from.<br />
32 | Issue 17 | <strong>Qatar</strong> Sport
SCHOOL SPORT<br />
EVERYONE AGREES that <strong>sport</strong> is good for young<br />
people. While different cultures may have varying<br />
opinions about the value of competition, they’re<br />
united in the belief that physical activity helps<br />
combat contemporary concerns such as obesity,<br />
while encouraging cross-community social<br />
integration and well-being.<br />
QATAR<br />
In <strong>Qatar</strong>, the last decade’s investment<br />
in <strong>sport</strong>s facilities and events<br />
has been matched by an ongoing<br />
commitment to the nation’s children. This is best<br />
illustrated by <strong>Qatar</strong>’s Schools <strong>Olympic</strong> Program<br />
(SOP), the annual event, which started during the<br />
2007/2008 school year and is now five years old.<br />
The SOP was an initiative of H.H. Sheikh<br />
Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, <strong>Qatar</strong>’s Heir<br />
Apparent and President of the <strong>Qatar</strong> <strong>Olympic</strong><br />
<strong>Committee</strong>. Keen to encourage school students to<br />
regard <strong>sport</strong> as an integral part of their lifestyle,<br />
he proposed that the SOP be launched as part of<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong>’s “Sport for All” programme.<br />
Three main pillars are evident in the way the<br />
SOP has developed.<br />
The first is that it provides a powerful<br />
introduction to Olympism and a platform for<br />
<strong>Olympic</strong>-based initiatives.<br />
The second is that it provides an early<br />
opportunity to identify and develop young talent.<br />
The third, no less significant, is a social<br />
agenda which is designed to raise <strong>sport</strong><br />
awareness and participation among youth,<br />
celebrate the cultures of <strong>Qatar</strong> and debate<br />
<strong>sport</strong>ing values and societal challenges.<br />
This last pillar is reinforced by an annual theme,<br />
which is chosen to reflect the critical relationship<br />
between <strong>sport</strong> and civil society.<br />
After Sport for Health in year one, the SOP<br />
organisers singled out Sport and Environment,<br />
Sport and Culture and Sport and Education for<br />
the next three years. For the fifth edition, the<br />
theme is Sport and Family. It was chosen, say the<br />
organisers, to highlight “the valuable contribution<br />
of the family institution in the society and its<br />
direct impact on <strong>sport</strong>.”<br />
Although <strong>Qatar</strong>’s SOP builds towards two<br />
high-profile days of competition for girls and boys<br />
which are played out at the Aspire Indoor Hall<br />
in front of family, friends and key stakeholders,<br />
the entire process (from qualification through to<br />
Finals) lasts from October through to April.<br />
Boys and Girls from 6-18 are able, via their<br />
schools, to participate in individual <strong>sport</strong>s<br />
such as gymnastics, fencing and table-tennis and<br />
team <strong>sport</strong>s such as basketball, football, handball<br />
and volleyball.<br />
The 2012 edition has already been hailed a<br />
success. More than 20,000 boys and girls took<br />
part, surpassing the record of 17,492 who were<br />
involved in 2011.<br />
SOP also features a ‘Special Day’, a unique<br />
event that this year offered more than 350 students<br />
with special needs the opportunity to take part in<br />
a variety of different <strong>sport</strong>ing events, including<br />
athletics-based <strong>sport</strong>s and table-tennis.<br />
“Across all <strong>sport</strong>s and all abilities, the SOP<br />
encourages meaningful competition, but just as<br />
important is the sense of a society pulling together<br />
behind a common cause.”<br />
Across all <strong>sport</strong>s and all abilities, SOP encourages<br />
meaningful competition, but just as important is<br />
the sense of a society pulling together behind a<br />
common cause – a successful combination which<br />
owes a lot to the interaction between the QOC,<br />
the Supreme Council of Education and School<br />
Sports Federation.<br />
Not all countries benefit from such a direct<br />
connection between the <strong>sport</strong>ing and political<br />
institutions. But there are plenty of other<br />
illustrations of how nations use youth <strong>sport</strong><br />
programmes to identify potential talent and meet<br />
social goals.<br />
CANADA<br />
Canada has one of the most active<br />
school <strong>sport</strong>s bodies in the world and<br />
a government that aims to ensure<br />
that all children have access to <strong>sport</strong>.<br />
School Sport Canada is the largest structured<br />
<strong>sport</strong> organisation in Canada, with over 750,000<br />
student athletes, 52,000 volunteer teacher coaches<br />
and 3,200 schools attached.<br />
But for those who are liable to slip through<br />
the net, the Canadian government’s agenda is<br />
managed via Sport Canada – a federal body<br />
that is briefed to encourage and support both<br />
competitive excellence and mass participation.<br />
Sport Canada contributes funds to KidSport,<br />
a charity focused on helping kids overcome the<br />
financial barriers to playing <strong>sport</strong>.<br />
As the organisation says in its mission<br />
statement: “We believe that no kid should be<br />
left on the sidelines and all should be given the<br />
opportunity to experience the positive benefits of<br />
organised <strong>sport</strong>s.”<br />
As a result of KidSport’s excellent work and<br />
with the support of thousands of local <strong>sport</strong>s<br />
organisations, the programme has gone from<br />
strength to strength since it was formed in 2005.<br />
In 2010, 50,000 kids received grants ranging from<br />
$200 to $500 to pay for fees or equipment.<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong> Sport | Issue 17 | 33
SCHOOL SPORT<br />
UNITED KINGDOM<br />
KidSport’s activity in Canada is<br />
echoed by that of the Youth Sport<br />
Trust (YST) charity in the UK, whose<br />
goal is to help young people “achieve their full<br />
potential in life by delivering high quality physical<br />
education and <strong>sport</strong> opportunities.”<br />
Like KidSport, the YST relies on support from<br />
both the public and private sectors.<br />
A classic example of the latter is its work with<br />
supermarket chain Sainsbury’s, a programme<br />
which has raised £100m worth of equipment and<br />
experiences for nurseries, schools and <strong>sport</strong> clubs<br />
since its formation in 2005.<br />
With the London 2012 <strong>Olympic</strong>s coming up later<br />
this year, this kind of public-private partnership is<br />
very visible right now. YST and Sainsbury’s are both<br />
involved in the forthcoming 2012 School Games<br />
finals, which will see 1,600 of Britain’s top young<br />
<strong>sport</strong>s stars compete at the new <strong>Olympic</strong> Park just<br />
two months before the start of London 2012.<br />
A multi-<strong>sport</strong> event, the Sainsbury’s 2012 School<br />
Games will mirror the <strong>Olympic</strong> and Paralympic<br />
Games, complete with opening and closing<br />
ceremonies, and is expected to see 35,000 spectators<br />
cheering on the athletes. Most importantly the<br />
project has funding committed until 2015 thanks to<br />
sponsors Sainsbury’s and adidas and backing from<br />
the UK government’s Department of Health.<br />
Speaking of the programme, Secretary of<br />
State for Culture, <strong>Olympic</strong>s, Media and Sport,<br />
Jeremy Hunt said: “We are determined to leave<br />
a real and lasting legacy for young people from<br />
London’s <strong>Olympic</strong> and Paralympic Games, and the<br />
Sainsbury’s School Games will help do just that.<br />
“The fantastic funding package shows the<br />
commitment to completely transform competitive<br />
<strong>sport</strong> in schools.”<br />
SINGAPORE<br />
As host to the first ever Youth <strong>Olympic</strong><br />
Games in August 2010, it only seems<br />
right that our next port of call is<br />
Singapore. The decision to give Singapore such a<br />
prestigious job reflects its ongoing commitment to<br />
both youth participation and elite development.<br />
At the start of 2011, for example, the Singapore<br />
Sports Council (SSC) sanctioned a significant<br />
increase in funding for National Sports Association<br />
development programmes.<br />
“Singapore needs holistic youth development<br />
programmes to identify and groom our young<br />
<strong>sport</strong>ing talent into the world champions of<br />
tomorrow,” explained Mr Teo Ser Luck, Senior<br />
Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Community<br />
Development, Youth and Sports.<br />
In parallel with this investment, the SSC also<br />
unveiled an increase in funding for team <strong>sport</strong>s.<br />
Supporting this initiative, SSC chairman Richard<br />
Seow, said, “These young athletes have the potential<br />
to become our leaders of tomorrow. Team <strong>sport</strong>s<br />
teach youth about sharing responsibility in victory<br />
and defeat, pursuing a group strategy and problemsolving<br />
in real time.”<br />
Singapore’s model is probably closest to <strong>Qatar</strong>’s in<br />
terms of its centrally planned <strong>sport</strong>s strategy. Like<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong>, the Singapore government has a vision for<br />
the nation’s <strong>sport</strong>ing life by the year 2030 – with the<br />
opportunity for Singaporeans to play more <strong>sport</strong>s in<br />
school number one on its to do list.<br />
The medals ceremony for<br />
the boy’s soccer competition<br />
(elementary school age group) at<br />
the Aspire Indoor Hall this April.<br />
34 | Issue 17 | <strong>Qatar</strong> Sport
TRENDS<br />
GEARING UP FOR LONDON 2012<br />
Sports apparel brands will compete for awareness at this summer’s <strong>Olympic</strong> Games.<br />
THE LONDON 2012 <strong>Olympic</strong> Games<br />
will be a major battleground for makers<br />
of <strong>sport</strong>s apparel as emerging brands compete<br />
for awareness at the world’s greatest<br />
multi-<strong>sport</strong>s event.<br />
While market leaders like Nike, adidas<br />
and Puma will have a strong presence<br />
at the Games, they can expect strong<br />
competition from BRIC [Brazil, Russia,<br />
India, China] country newcomers.<br />
Chinese brands Anta Sports and<br />
Russia’s Bosco Sport, in particular, are<br />
anxious to use the London Games as a<br />
marketing platform. Anta replaced<br />
adidas as the Chinese team’s sponsor in<br />
2009, while Bosco Sport will outfit the<br />
Russia, Ukraine and Spanish teams on<br />
the medals podium.<br />
“It’s inevitable that we’re seeing the<br />
national champions [of Russia and<br />
China] come forward because of Beijing<br />
2008 and Sochi 2014 - and there’s no<br />
doubt that they are a threat to the<br />
established players and have genuine<br />
international ambitions,” says Tim Crow,<br />
CEO of the London-based consultancy<br />
Synergy Sponsorship.<br />
“It’s not really surprising that they’re<br />
looking to the <strong>Olympic</strong>s as a marketing<br />
platform. After all, along with the<br />
World Cup, the <strong>Olympic</strong>s were crucial<br />
in accelerating the growth of adidas<br />
(especially) and the others. It’s a highlycharged<br />
market and one that is sure to<br />
improve the negotiating position of National<br />
<strong>Olympic</strong> <strong>Committee</strong>s going forward.”<br />
Pressure on the established <strong>sport</strong>swear<br />
brands has been building over recent<br />
<strong>Olympic</strong> cycles with Brazilian-owned<br />
Olympikus unifying the nationality of<br />
uniform supplier and team for the Brazil<br />
<strong>Olympic</strong> <strong>Committee</strong> at the <strong>Olympic</strong>s<br />
since 1999 and Bosco Sport kitting out<br />
Russian medal winners since 2002.<br />
Bosco Sport paid almost $20m for<br />
the Russian rights to Beijing 2008 and<br />
Vancouver 2010 to see off domestic rivals<br />
Miroff Sport and China’s Li Ning.<br />
Bosco then held onto pole position<br />
for the London-Sochi-Rio series with a<br />
bid worth around $100m, which also<br />
gives them General Partner status at<br />
Sochi 2012. Nike, however, will be kitting<br />
out Russia’s star athletes during the track<br />
and field competition at London 2012.<br />
In China, the story is that Anta<br />
Sports signed with the Chinese <strong>Olympic</strong><br />
<strong>Committee</strong> in 2009 for four years covering<br />
Vancouver 2010, the Guangzhou Asian<br />
Games 2010 and London 2012 in a deal<br />
worth between $60m and $70m [Nike will<br />
be the in-competition kit supplier].<br />
But the Brazil deal between 2012<br />
and 2016 has the power to surpass<br />
these figures. While Nike (football) and<br />
Olympikus (volleyball) have two of the<br />
biggest Brazilian <strong>sport</strong>s federations wrapped<br />
up, adidas have dominated the host country<br />
podium and uniform rights since 2000.<br />
Adidas, along with Brazilian <strong>sport</strong>s<br />
brand Olympikus, were keen to kit out the<br />
Brazil team, but <strong>Qatar</strong> Sports understands<br />
that Nike will be the apparel brand of<br />
choice for Team Brazil at London 2012<br />
and Rio 2016.<br />
London 2012 Team Uniform Suppliers<br />
Australia<br />
Adidas<br />
Brazil<br />
TBC<br />
Canada<br />
Nike<br />
China<br />
Anta Sports<br />
France<br />
Adidas<br />
Germany<br />
Adidas<br />
Great Britain<br />
Adidas<br />
Italy<br />
Asics<br />
India<br />
TBC<br />
Jamaica<br />
Puma<br />
Japan<br />
Asics<br />
Netherlands<br />
Asics<br />
Poland<br />
4F Sport Performance<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong><br />
Nike<br />
Russia<br />
Bosco Sport<br />
South Africa<br />
Adidas<br />
South Korea<br />
Asics<br />
Spain<br />
Bosco Sport<br />
Ukraine<br />
Bosco Sport<br />
United States<br />
Nike<br />
36 | Issue 17 | <strong>Qatar</strong> Sport