HE Dr Thani bin Abdulrahman Al Kuwari won the confidence of the Qatar Athletics Federation’s general assembly, being elected unopposed as president for the 2016-2020 Olympic cycle, succeeding former federation president Dahlan Al Hamad. Mohammed Issa Al Fadala was also elected Secretary General, with Talal Mansour, Khalifa Abdulmalik and Khalid Al Marri elected as members of the federation’s new board. This came at the federation’s ordinary general assembly meeting held this evening (15 December 2016) at the Lusail Hall, Qatar Olympic Committee headquarters, after the quorum of general assembly members was reached, attended by a number of former board members, the president and members of the new board, in addition to Qatar Olympic Committee representative Khalil Al Jaber. The general assembly meeting opened with an address by former federation president Dahlan Al Hamad, delivered on his behalf by Mohammed Jassim Al Kuwari, the outgoing Secretary General, in which he thanked everyone who had worked with him during the previous period, board members, staff and employees, and praised everyone’s efforts in raising the profile of Qatari athletics over the past years, and expressed his wishes for success to the president and members of the new board in furthering the standing of Qatari athletics at various international forums. Al Hamad, in the address delivered on his behalf by the outgoing Secretary General, also praised the achievements made during his term as federation president, and said these achievements did not come out of nowhere but were the fruit of continuous effort and work by everyone at the federation and the sports clubs, and thanks to the great and continuous support of those responsible for Qatari sport. In his address, Al Hamad reviewed the most notable achievements made at both Asian and international level, foremost among them the silver medal won by our champion Mutaz Essa Barshim at the Rio 2016 Olympics, and said: we hope the new federation will continue working to achieve further accomplishments for Qatari athletics, especially as there are many commitments awaiting it in the coming period, stressing his confidence in the new federation continuing the journey successfully. Khalil Al Jaber, the Qatar Olympic Committee’s representative at the meeting, then thanked the president and members of the outgoing board for their contributions and the achievements made during the past period, wishing the new federation success in continuing the journey and achieving greater accomplishments for Qatari athletics. The general assembly’s agenda was then reviewed, with the minutes of the third general assembly meeting of 2015 ratified, followed by a review of the local championships schedule for the 2016-2017 sporting season, discussion of the auditor’s report for the 2016 financial year, approval of the draft budget for the 2017 financial year, discharge of the board and auditors for the 2012-2016 Olympic cycle, and the addition of new general assembly members, namely Dr Thani bin Abdulrahman Al Kuwari, Mohammed Issa Al Fadala, Talal Mansour, Khalifa Abdulmalik and Khalid Al Marri, who were then elected unopposed amid a warm welcome and an atmosphere of optimism from the Qatari athletics family, to take charge of the federation for the new 2016-2017 Olympic cycle.
