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Courtesy
of Qatar National Olympic Comm.
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H.E. Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman
Al-Thani
Director General, QNOC
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Sport has always played a pivotal role in the social
lives of Qataris and nowhere is the passion for
athletics more palpable than in the halls of the
Qatar National Olympic Committee (QNOC) tower. At
any given time of day, this building is teaming
with people finalizing the details the next cycling,
or basketball or squash tournament. Without a doubt,
Qatar is the sports capital of the Middle East.
"The Qatar National Olympic Committee is essentially
a Ministry of Sport," said H.E. Sheikh Saoud
Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, QNOC Director General.
He continued, "It consists of ten departments
and 28 federations." Federations are organized
clubs committed to a particular sport, with the
most popular being football (soccer) and basketball.
QNOC was established approximately 27 years ago
because of the increasing variety and level of competition
of organized sports. At that time, Qatar’s
national teams were beginning to experience success
at local, regional, and international competitions
and they needed the organizational support of a
formal Olympic committee.
After its inception, QNOC joined the International,
Continental and Regional Committees. From the beginning,
QNOC’s mission has been to make access to sport
and physical recreation available to men, women
and young people in the country, fostering harmonious
development in the true Olympic spirit and in accordance
with the Olympic Charter. Sheikh Saoud concurred,
stating, "Part of the role of the Olympic Committee
is to make sport available to all Qataris. To that
end, we are building 90% of the sports facilities
in Qatar. We will operate and maintain all the facilities.
From the perspective of QNOC, sports are not only
about organized competition and winning medals.
If you can have a healthy and active society because
of access to athletics, then you’ve changed
their lifestyle through sports and that’s a
good thing."
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Courtesy
of Qatar National Olympic Comm.
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A member of Qatar's Tae Kwon
Doe team in action.
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QNOC is also heavily involved with the 2006 Asian
Games taking place in Doha in December, 2006. The
Asian Games are quite significant because they are
the largest organized sporting event in the world,
second only to the Summer Olympic Games. Qatar will
be the first Arab country ever to host the Asian
Games.
Sheikh Saoud said, "We are trying to represent
the country as best as we can. The Asian Games Doha
2006 is our way of putting Qatar on the map. This
has been the vision of His Highness the Emir. He
wants us to develop all aspects of Qatar, from education
to the economy, from sports to health care to freedom,
etc."
He continued, "What we’re really doing
is we’re building the country. The Doha Asian
Games will give Qatar a thirty year push forward
in prestige, exposure, and the fact that we’re
getting all this infrastructure ready is so that
we can effectively host the Games. We have a deadline
of when the Games begin and we need to be ready.
We have to have accommodations available. We have
to have everything worked out, from transportation
to communications to airline departures and arrivals,
etc. By organizing a big event, you force everyone
to work hard. Such an event forces you to realize
that you can move a mountain but you cannot change
the day of the opening ceremony.
You just have to be ready. Organizing a big event
is not just a test for the Qatar National Olympic
Committee. It’s a test for the whole country.
We’ll try our best and we’ll do our best,"
said Sheikh Saoud.
QNOC is working closely with the Doha Asian Games
Organizing Committee (DAGOC) in an effort to put
on the best event possible. DAGOC is working on
the organization and coordination of everything
until the Games begin. After that, QNOC will take
over the bulk of the duties. Sheikh Saoud commented,
"DAGOC will be dissolved after the Doha Asian
Games. The Games are going to be DAGOC’s legacy."
Sheikh Saoud is an ambitious person, to say the
least. He is obviously a pariotic man who loves
his country and loves sports. He’s a dynamic,
effective leader and has a reputation for cutting
through red tape and getting things done. He never
stops planning for the next big thing. He said,
"After we’re done with the Asian Games,
we will know that we can organize any big event.
Perhaps we may try to host the 2014 World Cup or
the 2016 Olympics. After this, we know we can do
it. We want to try to do things nobody has done."
On that note, QNOC has opened a United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime in Doha. The Office aims
to reduce the possibility of children getting involved
with drugs and crime by offering them the opportunity
to play sports. "Using sports as a tool to
keep kids away from drugs and crime... Youth clubs
will be set up in rural areas. Our vision meets
the United Nation’s vision on this. And there
has been no UN establishment of this type outside
of Vienna, until now in Doha," said Sheikh
Saoud.
Through organizations such as QNOC, Qatar has cleverly
harnessed the people’s love of sport and channeled
their enthusiasm towards constructive endeavors
such as the Doha Asian Games coming later this year.
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Qatar
