Election of new leadership marks a turning point for Kuwait Olympic Committee

At today’s General Assembly in Kuwait City, the Kuwait Olympic Committee (KOC) began a new chapter in its history as H.E. Sheikh Fahad Nasser Sabah Ahmad Al Sabah was elected as President alongside a young and dynamic Board of Directors which comprises representatives from across sport, business and government.

The average age on the Board of Directors is 32 years, reflecting the KOC’s desire to usher in a new generation to lead the Olympic Movement in Kuwait and provide fresh and new perspectives on how best to serve sport in the country. The new Board of Directors reflect the desire of the KOC to blend all walks of society including business, education, sports etc. All elected candidates were audited by the independent KOC Electoral Commission ahead of the General Assembly.

H.E. President Sheikh Fahad Nasser Sabah Ahmad Al Sabah is head of the Kuwait MotorCross Committee and has served in the Kuwait military as an Apache pilot. Fluent in Arabic, English and French, his excellency studied in Switzerland before attaining a degree in Business Administration and Marketing Management from the American University of Kuwait.

Mohammed Jaffar was elected Vice-President and will bring business experience and entrepreneurial spirit to the KOC. Jaffer was the founder and CEO of Talabat.com for five years which he turned into a market leading business and sold to a German based e-commerce giant in 2015.

Husain Al-Musallam was elected as the KOC Secretary General and brings more than 35 years of experience in national and international sport. Al-Musallam has been Director General of the Olympic Council of Asia since 2005 and is also First Vice President of the International Aquatics Federation (FINA).

H.E. President Sheikh Fahad Nasser Sabah Ahmad Al Sabah said: "I am honoured to have been elected to serve as President of the Kuwait Olympic Committee. Alongside my highly experienced colleagues on the Board of Directors we are ready to usher in a new era and lead the Olympic Movement in Kuwait to a brighter and more prosperous future. The members of the Board possess different and complementary expertise across a broad range of sectors, but we all share a passion for sport and a commitment to fulfil our new vison for Kuwaiti sport. It is time to be positive and look forwards as we aim to develop sport in Kuwait from grassroots up to the elite level and spread the Olympic values throughout the country. We will work together with all Government agencies as well as private and public sector to achieve our goal. Our motto is "teamwork, unity and solidarity".

The other newly elected members of the Board are:

Dr. Saoud Al Harbi (Member) - Under Secretary of Education Ministry – Kuwait Handball Federation

Ali Jaber Al Marri (Member) - Vice President of Badminton Asia

H.E. Sheikh Mubarak Al Sabah (Member) - Kuwait Fencing Federation

H.E Sheikh Jaber Al Sabah (Member) - Kuwait Tennis Federation

Mr. Nael Al Awadi (Member) - Founder of Qualitynet - Kuwait's #leading Internet and ICT Services Provider – Kuwait Karate Federation

Mr. Mousad Al Ajeel (Member) - Lawyer – Kuwait Table Tennis Federation

Ms. Fatima Hayatt - Chair of women’s committee - Kuwait Football Association

Ms. Faye Sultan (Chair of the Athletes Committee) - Two-time Olympian (Rio 2016, London 2012); first ever Kuwaiti female Olympic swimmer

For further information, please contact: media@KuwaitNOC.org

or go to: www.KuwaitNOC.org

As a service to our readers, Around the Rings will provide verbatim texts of selected press releases issued by Olympic-related organizations, federations, businesses and sponsors.

These press releases appear to be around the rings and are not edited for spelling, grammar or punctuation.

25 Years at # 1: Your best source for news about the Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com , for subscribers only