Sheikh Joaan Attends Olympic Refuge Foundation Annual Board Meeting in Paris

Paris, France - H.E. Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) and Senior Vice President of the Association of National Olympic Committees, today attended the Olympic Refuge Foundation (ORF) annual board meeting at the Headquarters of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games (Pulse). The meeting was led by ORF Chair, Dr. Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Vice Chair, Mr. Filippo Grande, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.  Members reviewed the progress of the Foundation’s ongoing projects and referenced the importance of highlighting the global refugee crisis while finding ways to address it through sport.  Board Member Mr. Joe Gebbia, Co-Founder of Airbnb, briefed the attendees about the upcoming premiere of “We Dare To Dream”, a film about the Olympic Refugee Team which is produced by Oscar nominated filmmaker, Ms. Waad Al-Kateab.  Ms. Lana Hadad, ORF Executive Committee Member and IOC Chief Operating Officer, Ms. Lana Hadad,  thanked H.E. Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani and The Qatar Olympic Committee for their funding. The donation from QOC has helped deliver 14 programmes in 10 countries.  The Board also accepted the invitation of H.E. Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani to host the next annual meeting in Doha in 2024, alongside his offer to co-develop and deliver pre-Games training programs for the athletes of the Olympic Refugee Team. The IOC established the ORF in 2017 at its Session in Lima where the QOC became a Founding Partner. The Foundation’s mission is for displaced young people to find belonging through sport, and shape their own futures, their way.

QOC President Sheikh Joaan visits Paris 2024 Olympic Village

Paris: President of Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani met Thursday with Director of the Olympic and Paralympic Villages - Paris 2024 Laurent Michaud. They toured the Paralympic Villages, where Laurent Michaud delivered a detailed presentation on the villages and in the meantime His Excellency toured the villages' facilities and was briefed on services the villages are providing, as well as transportation and communications sites, in addition to plans that were set for Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. During the meeting, HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani met with the villages' task force, lauding the ongoing preparations and Paris' readiness to host this major event. His Excellency was accompanied by President of the Qatar Football Association HE Jassim bin Rashid Al Buainain and Vice President of Project Management, SOLIDEO Yann Krysinski. Paris is due to host the upcoming Olympic and paralympic Games from July to September 2024.  

Course on Future of Organizing Major Tournaments after World Cup 2022 Concluded

Doha: The Qatar Olympic Academy (QOA) has concluded a two-day training course on the future of organizing major tournaments after the World Cup 2022. The course was attended by more than 45 male and female participants of various disciplines and functional fields from Qatar and abroad. Organized by the QOA in cooperation with the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, the course aimed at benefiting from the Qatari administrative expertise that contributed to the organization of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and handled many situations and events on the ground in various fields and administrative specialties. It aimed at transferring the legacy of experiences in organizing tournaments and sporting events to the public and those interested in this field, especially after the great organizational success of the State of Qatar in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, as recognized worldwide and considered a model to be followed in hosting major international sporting events when Qatar presented a highly organized event and was distinguished at all levels praised by high-ranking political, sports and media personalities. QOA Executive Director Khalil Al Jaber expressed his happiness at the joint cooperation between the Academy and the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy. During the course, Al Jaber said that they were proud of the joint cooperation with the Supreme Committee which resulted in the organization of the said course, hoping that it achieved its goals. QOA had presented courses in the management and organization of sports tournaments and major events, and hosted many leading, administrative and technical personalities in this field of specialization to transfer their experience to the public and those interested, he added. In this training course, the situation was exceptional as the speakers were the ones who made the country's latest successes, left their mark, and changed the concepts of organizing tournaments with the testimony of the entire world, he said, pointing out that organizing any sporting event is not an easy task as preparations must be done and many aspects, experiences and competencies must be present for the success of the event. (QNA)  

Oumar clinches silver as Qatar signoff with five medals in South Korea

South Korea: Team Qatar sprinter Oumar Dawood  Abakar   overcame  an  injury  to  secure  silver  medal  in  110m  hurdles as Qatar wrapped up their Asian U20 Athletics Cham-pionships campaign with three gold and two silver medals in Yecheon,  South     Korea    yesterday. Oumar    –    an    Aspire    Academy athlete – clocked a personal best of 13.68 secs as he  finished  behind  Yuan  Kai  Hsieh of Chinese Taipei, who was fastest with a time of 13.44.  Liu  Hiu  Long  of  Hong  Kong  claimed bronze medal with a time  of  13.73. Another  Aspire  Academy   athlete   Nayef   Al   Rashidi was disqualified for a false start in the final after he was   awarded   fifth   place   initially. Oumar picked up a minor injury during the men’s 110m hurdles  but  the  team  man-agement gave go ahead to the athlete to compete in the final. After Oumar’s silver medal yesterday, Qatar finished sixth in  the  medals  standings  with  three   gold   and   two   silver   medals. Oumar’s  brother  Ismail  Dawood Abakar was the most successful Qatari athlete in the event as he claimed two gold medals,  winning  the  men’s  400m and 400m hurdles races. Rising pole vaulter Seif Abdes-salem Hemeida, also an Aspire Academy athlete, was the other gold medal winner while Ahmet Gebril won silver in men’s shot put event.

Ahmat wins silver at Asian U20 Championships

Yehceon: Qatar’s Djibrine Ahmat in action during the men’s shot put final on Day 2 of the Asian U20 Athletics Championships in Yehceon, South Korea, yesterday. Ahmat won the silver medal, clearing a distance of 18.85m, while India’s Siddharth Choudhry won the gold with a 19.52m mark. South Korea’s Park Sihoon bagged the bronze medal with a throw of 18.70m. This is Qatar’s third medal in the championship with Seif Hemeida winning the pole vault event, while Ismail Doudai taking gold in the 400m event on Sunday. Meanwhile, Qatar’s Ismail Abakar and Mahamat Abakar Abdrahman advanced to the men’s 400m hurdles final after finishing first and third in their respective heats yesterday. Ismail won the second heat in 52.294 secs, while Mahamat came third in the first heat with a time of 52.77 secs. The final takes place today.

Qatar Olympic Committee celebrates World Challenge Day

DOHA -The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) has celebrated on Tuesday the 2023 World Challenge Day at the Qatar Women’s Sport Committee arena, with the goal of improving Women’s health and raising awareness on the importance of integrating sports as part of our daily routines. This one-day event was organized by the QOC’s sport affairs department in collaboration with the Qatar Women’s Sport Committee and Center for Empowerment and Elderly Care (Ehsan). Around 50 ladies of elderly age positively participated in a group of sport activities, mental exercises, traditional proverbs, entertainment games from 9am to 11 am, supervised by elite female trainers from First Step Center. In a post event statement, Ms. Amna Al Qasimi, the QWSC Executive Director said: we are truly happy to host this amazing event that brought together big number of ladies. We believe in sport and its inspiring role to improve physical and mental health for all”. From her part, Ms. Noora Abdullah Al Malki, Executive and follow-up specialist from Awareness and Community Connection Department at Ehsan Centre said this event has received positive reaction from this age group of women, we’re hopeful that these programs and events will increase in the future”.