Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani Chairs the 36th Meeting of the Presidents of the Gulf Cooperation Council Presidents Olympic Committees

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May 29, 2024
HH Sheikh Joaan
29-May-2024

Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani Chairs the 36th Meeting of the Presidents of the Gulf Cooperation Council Presidents Olympic Committees

Doha, Qatar - His Excellency Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee, chaired the 36th meeting of the Council of Their Highnesses and Excellencies, the Presidents of the Olympic Committees of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, which was held today at the Sheraton Doha Hotel.

His Excellency Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani opened the meeting with a speech in which he welcomed Their Highnesses and Excellencies, the Presidents of the Olympic Committees, and His Excellency the Secretary-General of the GCC, and conveyed to them the greetings of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar.

His Excellency expressed his thanks and appreciation to Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed Al Zubair, President of the Oman Olympic Committee, for the sincere efforts made by the Oman Olympic Committee under his chairmanship during the previous session, which had a significant impact on strengthening the course of joint Gulf sports work.

His Excellency Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani praised the great efforts made by the national Olympic committees in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, which have been positively reflected in the development of the Olympic and sports movement in the Gulf countries.

His Excellency also congratulated the United Arab Emirates on the distinguished hosting of the first edition of the Gulf Youth Games, which achieved great success and constituted an important tributary for the preparation of new generations of athletes.

During the meeting, the recommendations submitted by the Executive Board meeting, the memorandum of the General Secretariat on the development and enhancement of work in the Gulf sports system, and the report prepared by the General Secretariat on the steps taken by the member states to implement executive steps to strengthen the capabilities of the national Olympic committees in the GCC countries and empower them to ensure their continued development of the Gulf sports work system and achieve the aspirations and hopes of athletes in the GCC countries, and provide them with a stimulating environment for creativity, development and excellence, where the total number of programs that will be organized during this year reached 43 programs in all sports specializations.

The meeting decided to urge the Olympic committees to hold more specialized courses and workshops in the sports field, with more opportunities for citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to participate in these courses, and that the Gulf Olympic committees should provide the General Secretariat with the schedule for the next year 2025, which includes training courses, conferences, workshops and specialized events in the sports field to be circulated to the member states.

The Presidents of the Olympic Committees in the GCC countries, were also briefed on the recommendations on joint Gulf sports work, where the Secretariat received requests to host 13 Gulf sports championships for the year 2024. The Presidents of the Olympic Committees appreciated the efforts made by the Olympic committees and sports federations for various sports in order to strengthen joint Gulf sports activity. It was agreed that the national Olympic committees in the GCC countries should provide the General Secretariat with the Gulf sports tournaments and championships that the Olympic committees and sports federations intend to host during the next year 2025.

The Council reviewed the memorandum of the General Secretariat on the meeting of the Working Group on studying the conditions of the committees and working groups affiliated with the Council, and the recommendations that emerged from the meeting. It was decided to form a planning, coordination and follow-up committee consisting of nominees from the member states who have experience and competence in the sports field. The tasks and responsibilities of the committee were also approved, and the Executive Board was tasked with following up, supervising and approving the results of the outputs of the committees and working groups affiliated with the Council of Presidents of the Olympic Committees.

The Presidents of the Olympic Committees in the GCC countries, were also briefed on the recommendations of the Executive Board and the memorandum of the General Secretariat on international cooperation and partnerships regionally and internationally, in addition to other international organizations in the sports field, and on the current state of joint Gulf sports activity, which focuses only on organizing the Gulf multi sports events, where a sports tournament is held every year represented in the General Sports Games, the Youth Sports Games, the Beach Sports Games, and the Indoor and Martial Arts Sports Games, with varying activity in holding sports tournaments and specialized workshops in the sports field. The Council recommended that the Planning, Coordination and Follow-up Committee study the most appropriate forms of international cooperation in the coming period.

The recommendation of the Executive Board and the memorandum of the General Secretariat on the results of the work of the Working Group to review the draft of the regulations of the GCC Games were reviewed and approved, with the name being changed to the regulations organizing the sports tournaments in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

It was decided to hold the 37th meeting of the Council of Their Highnesses, Excellencies and Highnesses, the Presidents of the Olympic Committees of the GCC countries, on May 6, 2025, in the State of Kuwait.