QATAR COMES ALIVE ON NATIONAL SPORT DAY

Qatar is today celebrating its biggest ever National Sport Day with more activities than ever before taking place across the nation for all ages, abilities and fitness levels. The annual public holiday dedicated to sports participation encourages a future of long-term healthy living for the whole population.

The Qatar Olympic Committee Sport Village is leading the celebrations with more than 10 national federations offering free activities and entertainment for all the family. Some of Qatar’s best athletes, including captain of Qatar’s 2014 World Championship winning 3x3 basketball team, Yassin Ismail Musa, captain of Qatar’s volleyball team, Mubarak Dahi, Qatar’s best-ever football player, Mansour Muftah, and 2006 Asian Footballer of the Year, Ibrahim Khalfan, were present to demonstrate their skills and give masterclasses to budding young athletes, helping to inspire Qatar’s future sporting heroes. The handball area has been particularly popular following the recent success of Qatar’s team at the World Championships, where they became the first non-European side to make the finals in the history of the event.

Speaking from the Sport Village, Secretary General of the Qatar Olympic Committee, Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, said:

"National Sport Day has cemented its status as one of the highlights of Qatar’s community, sporting and national calendars. There is no better way to celebrate our nation’s passion for sport and encourage a healthier and more active future. It is also an important part of Qatar’s sporting vision to increase community participation in physical activity, educate through the values of sport, and connect more people to sport at a grassroots level.

"The presence of so many of our nation’s best athletes in the Sport Village today shows how important National Sport Day is to everyone in Qatar. Seeing the public interact with these athletes and take part in new activities has been fantastic to watch. We hope that today has helped to inspire some of Qatar’s future sporting heroes and more importantly, inspire more young people to make sport an integral part of their life whatever their level and future ambitions."

Qatar is one of the only countries in the world to dedicate a public holiday to sports participation. Now in its fourth edition, National Sport Day was adopted after a 2011 decree by HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. It aims to make sport an integral part of everyday life by encouraging the whole nation to take part in sport regularly, contributing to the development of a healthy society and raising awareness of the importance of sport and physical activity at every level. All government departments and private organisations across the country organise different activities for their employees and families to enjoy.

With Qatar set to host a multitude of sports events over the next few years, including World Championships in IPC Athletics, Boxing, Road Cycling, Gymnastics and IAAF Athletics, the public have had a chance to learn more about these sports and try them out first-hand as the nation aims to use the hosting of world-class sports events as a catalyst for developing sport at all levels.

Speaking from the Qatar Paralympic Committee booth in the Sport Village, Adbulrahman Abdulkader, who won gold and bronze medals at the 2014 Asian Para Games, said:

"It has been so good today to demonstrate Paralympic sport to the public and let them know more about what is on offer in Qatar for people with a disability. The IPC Athletics World Championships will be hosted in Doha in October and competing in one of the biggest para sports events in the world in front of a home crowd will be a dream-come-true for me. The World Championships will be a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness about para-athletics and disability sport in Qatar and across the whole of our region. I really hope that I will help others to realise that being disabled is not a negative thing and that you can achieve so many things in spite of your disability. I hope that the activity in the Sport Village has helped to inspire a new generation of Paralympic sporting heroes!"

The Sport Village and other locations across Qatar, including the iconic Katara, famous Aspire Park, and all national federation and sport club facilities have had the biggest turnout of any National Sport Day to date showing the huge and growing success of the initiative. Family and friends, young and old, were brought closer together through activity, creating a fun-filled festival atmosphere and demonstrating the very best of the sporting spirit.

For further information, please contact:

Nicola Milan

nicola.milan@hkstrategies.com

+974 5030 4619

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