Al Khor qualify to semifinals of Arab Club Handball Championship

​OUJDA, Morocco, September 20, 2017 – Qatar's Al Khor qualified to semifinals of the 33rd Arab Club Handball Championship after beating Widad Smara of Morocco 28-27 on Tuesday.Al Khor began the match with line-up including; Mohammad Al Sousi, Salem Al Jadid, Mohammad Al Qubi, Shahir bin Zahra, Hamid bin Mami, Mohammad Amin and Abdullah Saleh Salem. Al Arabi confidently booked their spot in the semifinals stage, following their convincing 42-24 victory over Widad Samara of Morocco on Sunday.

Doha to host FINA-Airweave Swimming World Cup

DOHA, September 20, 2017-The Qatar Swimming Association (QSA) is preparing to host the FINA/Airweave Swimming World Cup (25m) in Doha from 4 to 5 of October 2017 at the Hamad Aquatics Complex, the event's host venue for the sixth consecutive year. 20, 2017-Qatar Swimming Association (QSA) is preparing to host the FINA/Airweave Swimming World Cup (25m) in Doha from 4 to 5 of October 2017 at the Hamad Aquatics Complex, the event's host venue for the sixth consecutive year.Doha round is the fifth of total eighth rounds of FINA/Airweave Swimming World Cup Series hosted across the world , Moscow staged the first round (2-3 August), German's city of Berlin organized the second round (6-7 August) and Eindhoven hosted the third round (11-12 August).Hong Kong city is due to host the fourth round ( September 30 to first of October) while Doha will host the fifth round on (4-5 October ), Beijing will organize the sixth round (10 and 11 November), Tokyo will bring together top world simmers to the seventh round ( 14-15 November) and finally Singapore will play a host nation for the eighth round ( 18-19 November).Doha round will bring together top world elite and swimmers at the both regional and international levels. A lot of Swimmers have confirmed participation in Doha round including Hungarian competitive swimmer, Katinka Hosszu who always steals the show here in Doha , she won 13 medals including 9 gold and 4 sliver in last year edition.Also South African Chad Le Clos made his mark by clinching 3 gold medals in 2016 and in 2015 he claimed 4 gold medals. This year's event will see other prominent names and Olympic medalists .In a pre-event release , Mr. Khaleel A Jaber, the President of Qatar Swimming Association (QSA) confirmed that staging the fifth round of FINA/Airweave Swimming World Cup 2017 (25m) in Doha for the sixth consecutive year is proving Qatar's high organizational abilities in hosting major international events.Al Jaber added : QOA appreciate FINA confidence on Doha by granting the city the host rights to stage one of FINA World Series since 2012, as well as staging the 12th FINA World Swimming Championships (25) in Doha in 2012 an event that saw 23 world records breaking, being classified as the biggest ever figure in FINA World Championships (25m).But the biggest challenge remains ahead when Doha host 2023 FINA World Aquatics Championships and FINA World Maters Championships.QOA President also said “ We are keen to host an exceptional FINA event here in Doha, the capital of world sports which had prominent record in hosting many world championships and sport events over the past years.FINA started staging the first edition of FINA World Aquatics Championships Belgrade in 1973. The event becoming one of the most important championships hosted by FINA .The first championship was organized under the name “ FINA World Cup " at the Yoyogi Olympic pool in the Japanese capital, Tokyo in 1979 and had brought together eight teams from across the world including United States of America, Canada, Sweden, Soviet Union, Japan (participated with its all official national teams) also other teams representing Australia, New Zealand, Latin America and Europe.In January 1991, the world records had been made in the short course events (25m) were officially approved during the FINA technical conference held in Australia's Berth city. In the same year, FINA was keen to host World Championships in short course (25m).And from 2007, the FINA has decided to provide busy table for the event in effort to attract large media coverage and brings further international attention.

Al Arabi to face Oujda in Arab Club Handball Championship

​OUJDA, Morocco, September 19, 2017 – Qatar's Al Arabi will shake hands with Morocco's Oujda in the last encounter in the first round of the 33rd Arab Club Handball Championship in Morocco on Tuesday.It is worth mentioning that Qatar's Al Arabi confidently booked spot in the semifinals stage, following their convincing 42-24 victory over Widad Samara of Morocco on Sunday.Qatar's second representative, Al Khor will lock horns against Widad Samara on Tuesday in their last match in the championship.

Preparations underway for Schools Olympic Program

​DOHA, September 17, 2017 – The Schools Olympic Program's Organizing Committee held a productive meeting to discuss the ongoing preparations for the 11th edition of the program at the Qatar School Sport Association (QSSA) on Saturday.The meeting was attended by the QSSA executive director Mr. Abdulrahman Al Moftah, Dr. Salah Salem and Fajr Al Kubaisi alongside directors of SOP and representatives of national sport federations.The meeting discussed the proposed table for the event alongside participants lists, regulations, venues, equipment, referees as well as all technical and managerial arrangements.The participants also shed light on the SOP objectives which mainly aiming to spread sport culture for health and life of community, also attracting students to perform all types of physical activities.Schools across Qatar will participate in the pioneering initiative which aims to promote a healthy lifestyle among schoolchildren through the medium of sports.The Schools Olympic Program is an initiative planned as part of the Qatar National Vision by HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and its main objective is to build a prosperous and healthy society.

Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games to begin on Sunday

​DOHA, September 17, 2017 – The opening ceremony of the 5th edition of Asian Indoor and Martial Games will be staged in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on Sunday .The Games will bring together 22 countries to compete in 21 sports including; Basketball, Indoor athletics, Bowling, Chess, Track cycling, Cue sports, Equestrian, Futsal, Ju-jitsu, Kickboxing, Kurash, Muaythai, Sambo, Short course swimming, Taekwondo, Indoor tennis, Weightlifting , Wrestling, Belt wrestling and Traditional Wrestling.50 Qatari athletes are due to compete in a number of sports events including athletics, chess, billiard, swimming, weight lifting, equestrian , taekwondo, bowling and basketball.The delegation of the Qatari basketball team arrived in Ashgabat on Saturday. The Qatari team will begin their campaign in the event with a match against Samoa on Wednesday.

Qatar Olympic Committee announced as founding donating partner for Olympic Refugee Foundation

DOHA, September 17, 2017-The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the launch of the Olympic Refugee Foundation at its Session in Lima on Friday 15th September, with the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) confirmed as a founding donating partner. The Foundation is aimed at pursuing the work undertaken throughout the Olympic Movement over recent years to support refugees around the world and is a further major initiative that has emerged from the strong and longstanding partnership between the IOC and UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).Speaking about the QOC's donation, President of the QOC, H.E. Sheikh Joaan Bin Hamad Al Thani, said “The Qatar Olympic Committee has made a donation to the Olympic Refuge Foundation to support the International Olympic Committee and the UN Refugee Agency in the valuable work that they are doing to improve the lives of young refugees around the world through the power of sport.“The Qatar Olympic Committee shares the belief that having a safe space to be able to practice and play sport is a basic human right, and we are committed to promoting sport as a tool for peace and inclusion in society. Sport spreads solidarity and hope, promotes a healthy lifestyle and brings communities together - and we hope that our contribution to the Olympic Refuge Foundation will have a positive impact on the lives of young people globally."In a pledge to raise awareness of the magnitude of the refugee crisis – the UNHCR estimates that more than 65 million people have been forced from their homes by war, famine and other man-made and natural disasters – the IOC created the first Refugee Olympic Team at the Olympic Games Rio 2016. The team acted as a symbol of hope and peace for refugees across the globe. They inspired the world with the strength of their human spirit.The aim of the Olympic Refuge Foundation is to create safe, basic and accessible sports facilities in areas where there are refugees, a displaced migrant population and internally displaced people. Working in close collaboration with the UNHCR and with the relevant partners and local authorities on the ground, the Foundation will develop sporting activities and social development projects that can be implemented in a sustainable way within these safe environments . The Olympic Refuge Foundation will enter into strategic partnerships with other foundations, international organisations and non-governmental organisations, in order to share experiences and build a collective approach to foster impactful activities that will assist refugees in their social development and integration through sport.“The IOC has a long-time commitment to refugees around the world. Today we are taking another major step forward by creating the Olympic Refuge Foundation. It was paramount for the IOC to continue to find solutions to help refugees around the globe," said IOC President Thomas Bach. “Working closely with the UNHCR, the Olympic Refuge Foundation will create safe places where young people can not only play sport but also develop skills to help them reconstruct their lives. I would like to thank our founding donating partners, the Qatar Olympic Committee and the Government of Lichtenstein, for supporting the IOC and UNHCR in this project."Addressing the Session in Lima, the UNHCR High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said “This Foundation will mean a lot. It will mean a lot for millions of children and young people. It will mean a lot for young people that are amongst the most deprived in the world. People that have lost everything – their homes, often their families, their jobs, even their identity. “Sport inspires healthy competition in places where competition is often only about weapons, about arms, about money, about drugs, and where violence prevails. We have seen this, we have learned this, we at UNHCR for more than 20 years cooperating with the IOC, and the Foundation we are launching today crowns this very important partnership," Grandi concluded.The IOC and UNHCR first began their cooperation in 1994. The collaboration has since seen the implementation of sports projects in more than 45 countries, which has allowed for the provision of basic sports equipment, the rehabilitation of sports grounds and the organisation of regular recreational activities.The Olympic Refuge Foundation had received pledges of financial support from the Qatar Olympic Committee even prior to its launch, as well as from the Government of Lichtenstein. The Foundation will fund projects across the world through the generous donations from Olympic Movement partners, governmental institutions and private donations.