As the Arab Athletics Federation’s meetings in Syria concluded.
Al Baker named chairman of the women’s athletics committee, Al Ishaq a member.
Egypt to host the 2010 Arab Championship
Arab welcome for Comoros joining the federation’s membership.
At the conclusion of its 64th board meeting, held in the Syrian Arab Republic – the capital Damascus – on 5 October on the sidelines of the 16th Arab Athletics Championship for men and women, the Arab Athletics Federation chose Qatar’s Adel Mohammed Al Baker, a member of the Arab Federation’s board and Secretary General of the Qatar Athletics Federation, as chairman of the women’s athletics committee for the board’s new term. The committee comprises “6” members: Libya’s Somaya Al Jomaa, Qatar’s Mariam Hassan Al Ishaq, Tunisia’s Sara Al Tuwaibi, Jordan’s Taghreed Al Bitar, the UAE’s Sahar Al Oweid and Egypt’s Yildiz Gamal. The Arab Federation, chaired by Saudi Arabia’s Suleiman Al Zaidi, also adopted a numbe
r of decisions and recommendations aimed at advancing the sport in the Arab world, most notably the formation of several supporting committees within the Arab Federation. The federation’s vice-president for Africa, Ammar Brahmia, will chair the competitions committee, with members Saudi Arabia’s Dr Habib Al Ruban, the UAE’s Dr Ibrahim Al Sakkar, Sudan’s Dr Mahjoub Saeed, Egypt’s Fikri Al Okal, Yemen’s Mohammed Barkoush, Syria’s Ahmed Al Refai, Tunisia’s Salah Al Idrissi and Algeria’s Ghazali Moulday. The planning and development committee was entrusted to Egypt’s Major General Mohammed Khalifa, with members Jordan’s Walid Al Hamouri, Algeria’s Youssef Sultana, Iraq’s Dr Alaa Jaber, Lebanon’s Elie Antoun, the UAE’s Hamza Al Mail and Libya’s Dr Mohammed Abdul Rahim. Federation board member Abdel Salam Ibrahim will chair the statistics and information committee, with members Saudi Arabia’s Hassan Abdul Karim, Palestine’s Iyad Eissa, Libya’s Mohammed Al Qarroush, Sudan’s engineer Siddiq Ahmed, Iraq’s Haidar Al Shammaa and Syria’s Ahmed Maher. It was also decided that the Egyptian Federation would organise the 14th Youth Athletics Championship, marking the 100th anniversary of the Egyptian Federation’s founding, in the middle of next year.
Important recommendations and decisions
Attendees discussed the technical and organisational reports of the 3rd Arab Junior Championship, held in the Syrian city of Aleppo in 2009, and were also briefed on the report of the Arab Federation’s technical delegate, Dr Habib Al Ruban, on the Arab Junior Championship. The board also approved adding the 2000m steeplechase for junior women to the official Arab junior championships programme, since the event had been included in the International Federation’s own championships, and accordingly approved including the 2000m steeplechase in the Arab calendar starting from the next championship. Attendees unanimousl
y welcomed the Comoros’ request to join the Arab Athletics Federation as a full member, and the reasons for the absence of several Arab countries from championships, despite the many facilities provided to members to ensure their participation, were discussed at the close of the meeting.
On behalf of the Arab Federation and the participants from the Arab family, Al Zaidi extended his thanks and appreciation to the Syrian leadership for hosting the Arab Federation’s meetings and the 16th Arab Athletics Championship for men and women.
An outstanding championship delivered by Arab hands
For his part, Adel Al Baker, Secretary General of the Qatar Federation, technical delegate and chairman of the jury of appeal for the 16th Arab Championship in Syria, praised the technical and organisational level of the Arab challenge, noting that the participation of “17” Arab countries was a record and a promising sign. He said the spread of medals among all the countries also reflected the improvement in marks by Arab champions, who broke many records, in a competition marked by a spirit of challenge and perseverance from the champions. He added: “Thank God, the championship was held in a good, enthusiastic sporting atmosphere and passed peacefully, without any protests or objections marring it.” Al Baker also thanked the Syrian Athletics Federation for its good organisation and the generous hospitality it extended to the participating Arab delegations. Asked about Qatar’s haul in the competition, Al Baker said: “Athletics is certainly going through a period of renewal, and we saw some young faces whose level bodes well for Qatar’s national team; we hope they continue to succeed in future.” On taking on responsibility for overseeing the women’s committee, Al Baker said: “Yes, we have plans and an ambitious work programme with our fellow committee members to advance the other half going forward.”
