Arab athletics begins a new challenge today, with fresh horizons from the heart of Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt: a journey in search of developing a strategy for Arab athletics and its future begins. It is a new beginning that starts big and works down to the details in order to reach a clear vision that serves Arab athletics’ progress, a strategy built around a seminar, indeed a journey in search of new challenges for an advanced generation in the world of athletics. Today, the seminar on developing an athletics strategy across the Arab world opens, under the supervision of the IAAF, a seminar that drew most of the presidents of the Arab federations from Asia and Africa, and which runs for a day and more, marking the start of a challenge in every Arab federation’s journey to pass on knowledge to the members of every ambitious federation, in pursuit of success in the field, on the track, and in the overall vision. The great interest in the seminar was clear from the large turnout of federation presidents, secretaries general and members, meaning full benefit would be gained, in addition to the presence of IAAF officials. The Qatari delegation, led by Major General Dahlan Al Hamad, president of the Qatar and Asian federations and vice-president of the IAAF, and the development centre, had arrived in Sharm El Sheikh in the preceding hours, and work was under way to complete preparations for this important event in the world of administration and the future
The Qatar Athletics Federation delegation, which included, alongside Major General Al Hamad, secretary general Mohammed Jassim Al Kuwari, assistant secretary general Mohammed Suleiman, federation members Abdulhakim Al Omari and Abdulrahman Al Nobi, women’s committee chair Mai Al Mohammadi, and federation executive director Khalifa Abdulmalik, received an ideal welcome from the development centre and those interested in Arab athletics. On his arrival, Major General Al Hamad met with a number of the presidents of the participating Arab federations to discuss several topics, noting that a meeting of the Arab Athletics Federation had been held over the previous two days, in which a number of important matters were approved, including the creation of a marketing committee and Mai Al Mohammadi joining the federation’s women’s committee
A large number of Arab federation presidents had arrived in Sharm El Sheikh, including Sheikh Shaje Mohammed Al Mardashi, Saleh Sayyar, president of the Kuwait federation, Saad Haisat, president of the Jordan federation, Roland Saadeh, president of the Lebanon federation, Tariq Faisal, president of the Iraq federation, Ahmed Kamali, president of the UAE federation, and Mr Al Hechaichi, president of the Tunisia federation, in addition to a number of secretaries general and board members from other Arab countries. Of course, also present was Egypt federation president Walid Atta and Hamdi Abdulrahim Mohammed, director of the IAAF’s development centre based in Egypt, with Dr Abdulmalek Al Hebeil, the IAAF’s development director, set to be the seminar’s lecturer
The great interest in the seminar was also evident in the arrival of IAAF vice-president Lord Sebastian Coe and fellow vice-president Sergey Bubka, who both pointed to the importance of the seminar and the prospects for the future of world athletics, especially amid the major changes and developments athletics is witnessing around the world
