EYES ON CHINA GOLD - Qatar Olympic Committee

QatarSport 

Q3.2008 

the official magazine of the qatar olympic committee 

qatar’s stars 

bound for 

beijing 

eyes 

on 

china 

gold 

GAME ON! 

WORLD CUP SUCCESS 

FOR QATAR 

JUMP FOR JOY 

IRISH RIDER WINS 

DOHA SHOW 

THE BIG INTERVIEW 

GEORGE O’GRADY

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qatarsport.Q3.08.contents 

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Silver Metalic 

04 QOC Comment Message from the Secretary General 

05 News 2010 World Cup Qualifiers 

10 The Emir’s Cup More than a match 

12 Exhibitions Life - Be Part of it! 

14 Beijing 2008 History in the making 

24 Stars in Qatar Ireland’s Show Jumping sensation 

26 Partners in Sport QNB’s sponsorship portfolio 

29 Health & Society Aspetar sets new standards 

31 Sports Calendar Highlights of the sporting season 

33 World Rankings The best of the best 

34 The Big Interview European PGA chief George O’Grady 

No article in this publication or part thereof may be reproduced without proper permission and full acknowledgement of the source: 

Qatar Sport, a publication of the Qatar Olympic Committee. 

© Qatar Olympic Committee, 2008. 

www.olympic.qa 

qoc@olympic.qa 

Designed and produced for the Qatar Olympic Committee by SportBusiness Group, London. 

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Cover photo: supplied by the QOC 

Q3.08 QatarSport 3

Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Secretary General, Qatar Olympic Committee 

Welcome... 

Like people the world over, we are eagerly looking 

forward to the Olympic Games. 

This summer over 10,000 athletes and officials and a 

further 20,000 media representatives will be in Beijing to 

celebrate sport, life and humanity in what has come to 

be known as The Greatest Show On Earth. 

The Opening ceremony is set to become the most 

watched programme in the history of television with 

nearly 2 billion people around the world tuning 

in. That surely underscores the global importance 

of these Games. 

The Olympic Games represents the pinnacle of every 

competitor’s sports career. They may set new records and 

even win world championships but, in most sports, an 

Olympic Gold medal is the ultimate goal. 

“The values of sport and fair play are 

more important than the barriers 

of nationality and politics” 

That is why I am delighted that Qatar will send 

its biggest ever delegation to the Beijing Games. Six 

federations - Athletics (Track and Field) Archery, Fencing, 

Swimming Shooting and Taekwondo - are sending 

competitors and our nation will also be represented in 

the Paralympic Games. 

In many respects, the Olympic Games provide an 

indicator of how far sport in Qatar has come and how 

quickly it is developing. It is a credit to the federations, 

their coaches and officials that we are sending more 

competitors to the Games than ever before and there is 

also a belief that Qatari athletes have a genuine chance of 

winning medals in a number of events. 

That is a real mark of progress for everybody involved 

in sport in Qatar and a tribute to the inspiration and 

leadership of HH the Emir. 

The Olympic Games will provide inspiration for a 

generation of youngsters watching around the world 

and I am sure that the performance of our athletes 

will encourage Qatari youngsters to emulate them, by 

showing them that by recognising and developing your 

talents, anything is possible. 

The importance of the Olympic Games is heightened 

in Qatar because of the central role of sport in our 

country. The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) is 

responsible not only for the team which represents Qatar 

in Beijing but for all aspects of sporting life. (QOC) 

is the clear link between the medal hopefuls in China 

and the youngsters taking their first sporting steps as 

participants in our schools Olympic Day programme. 

It is what connects the major international events 

which are staged in our country and the thousands of 

men, women and children who take part in the Aspire 

Active programme. 

We are confident that the people of Qatar will provide 

fantastic support to our athletes and those of other 

nations during the Olympic Games but the Olympic 

Committee is determined that the focus on sport does 

not end with the closing ceremony. 

Our role is continue to provide the facilities, coaches 

and stimulus to encourage every Qatari and Qatar 

resident to make sport part of their lives, not simply as 

spectators but as participants. 

Not everybody will ever run a marathon, fewer still will 

complete the 100 metres in under 10 seconds. Not all of 

us can be a top class footballer or win a tennis title. 

But sport is amazingly diverse and offers most people, 

irrespective of age or gender, an opportunity to participate, 

to be part of a new and stimulating community and enjoy 

the health benefits of a more active lifestyle. 

The Olympic Games are the embodiment of sport’s 

role in life and goes beyond the arena itself. Despite the 

fact that the world is an intensely complicated place, the 

Olympic Games represents a willingness to embrace a 

spirit of togetherness, where the values of sport and fair 

play are more important than the barriers of nationality 

and politics. 

Those are the values at the heart of the Qatar 

Olympic Committee and which drive our unchanging 

policy to become a welcoming host to the world’s major 

sports events. 

In the spirit of sport I would like to wish the 

Beijing Organising Committee, the Chinese Olympic 

Committee and every participating Olympic Committee 

enjoyable and successful Games. 

Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani 

Secretary General. Qatar Olympic Committee 

4 QatarSport Q3.08

Q3.08.news 

A last ditch win against Iraq 

has given fresh impetus to 

QATAR’s World Cup 2010 

qualifying campaign 

World cup 

campaign 

back on 

track 

Qatar has been drawn in a Group A with Australia, 

Japan, Bahrain and Uzbekistan as the 2010 FIFA World 

Cup Asian Zone qualifying tournament reaches its 

final group stages. 

Qualification for the last 10 was sealed in dramatic 

style on June 22 when the boys in maroon triumphed in 

a must-win preliminary group match against the 2007 

Asian Champions Iraq. 

Held in Dubai as a ‘home’ game for Iraq, striker, 

Saeed Al Bashir scored the only goal of a nerve-jangling 

encounter in the 77th minute, raising Qatar’s points tally 

to 10, to finish in second place behind Australia. 

“It was very tense out there,” admitted Qatar’s 

Uruguayan coach Jorge Fossati after the match. “But 

my players played according to plan. It was extremely 

pleasing to see how they performed with their backs to 

the wall. 

“We [also] managed to defeat our critics - and the 

entire football hierarchy [in Qatar] deserves to celebrate 

this great win.” 

Fossati added that he has faith in his players to 

deliver the goods in the next stage of qualifying. “I am 

very optimistic about our chances because my players 

have shown tremendous spirit in the last few months. 

We have beaten some strong sides this year and have 

learned a lot along the way. Our next target is reach the 

World Cup finals.” 

Commenting on Qatar’s prospects of reaching the 

finals after the draw, President of the Qatar Football 

Association, HE Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Bin Ahmed 

Al-Thani, added: “Group A includes teams of a high 

technical level and great reputation in Asia, but [I 

believe] Qatar will compete strongly to qualify for the 

finals in South Africa.” 

In Group B, South Korea, Iran and Saudi Arabia, 

which all qualified for the last World Cup in 2006, will 

battle North Korea and the United Arab Emirates for the 

right to play in South Africa. 

The first and second places of each group qualify 

directly for the finals, while the third placed teams will 

play-off against each other for the right to take on the 

winner of the Oceania Confederation for the final place. 

The two groups will be contested on a home and away 

basis between September 2008 and June 2009. Qatar will 

face Uzbekistan in Doha on September 6 in the opening 

match. The second encounter will be against Bahrain on 

September 10, in Manama, while their third match will 

be against Australia on November 15, in Australia. 

Qatar’s crucial 1-0 win 

against Iraq sparked 

celebrations among 

Qatari fans in the 

stadium and joyous 

scenes on the pitch as 

manager Jorge Fossati 

congratulated his players 

after the final whistle. 


News 

in Brief 

Young Qatari athletes 

brought home three gold 

medals from the 13th Asian 

Youth Athletics Championship in 

Jakarta, Indonesia, in June. Charles 

Bit Koksh bagged gold in 1500m 

event and then on the closing day, 

added gold in the 5000m. Musab 

Abdulrahman Balah won gold in 

the 800m. The competition saw the 

participation of 600 athletes from 36 

Asian countries 

Qatar’s Abdullah Koni 

has joined the fifth list of 

contenders for the AFC 

Player of the Year. The procedure 

for selecting the best player in Asia 

has been overhauled to inject more 

transparency into the process with the 

big announcement scheduled to be 

made at the awards gala on November 

25 in Shanghai. Thirteen players have 

been short-listed for the award. 

The Qatar Tennis Federation 

(QTF) has held outdoor 

training camps to prepare its 

national team for youth competitions 

in Arab Championships in Tunisia, 

Morocco and Egypt as well as Open 

Championships in Portugal and Spain. 

Khalid Al Khulaifi, the QTF Board 

Member and Head of National Teams 

Committee wants the young players to 

gain more experience abroad. 

The Qatar Basketball 

team will participate in the 

King Abdullah Basketball 

Championship to be held from July 25 

to August 3, 2008 in Amman, Jordan. 

Qatar’s participation in the event will 

come prepare the team for the Asian 

Basketball Championship to be held 

in Kuwait in October and the GCC 

Basketball Championship to be held 

in Oman. 

Qatar’s Bandar Al Shafi 

won the title of 34th Hong 

Kong Bowling Open beating 

China’s Wang Tyn in the final match. 

Al-Shafi defeated compatriots Saeed 

Al-Hajri and Mubarak Al-Muraikhi in 

the opening rounds to set up a semifinal 

with 2006 World Championship 

Masters champion Biboy Rivera. 

Qatar’s new waterpark will feature a slalom course. 

Doha goes to 

the extreme 

It’s one of the fastest growing participation 

sport sectors – and now it looks to get its very 

own venue in Qatar. 

Extreme sports have taken the world by 

storm in recent years, with the exhilarating, 

thrill-seeking athletes taking activities off the 

streets and into the mainstream. 

9-BALL Pool makes STUNNING DEbut 

Ian Anderson, President of the World Pool- 

Billard Association, has hailed the success 

of the Qatar International Open 9-Ball 

Championship, which was organised by the 

Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation (QBSF) 

from June 27 to July 5. 

Anderson thanked the QBSF’s warm 

hospitality and praised its high organisational 

skills in hosting this major event, which saw 

more than 200 cueists from around the world 

descend on Doha to compete for a total prize 

money of $400,000. 

Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al Sahlawi, President of 

the QBSF, added his appreciation of the Qatar 

Olympic Committee for encouraging QBSF 

activities and promoting the game among 

Qatar’s younger generation. 

Arab countries were represented by 88 

players in the preliminary rounds, with the 

hosts Qatar putting forward 30 hopefuls. 

It was the top stars from Europe, the USA 

and the rest of Asia, however which dominated 

events on the blue baize. 

The main round of 32, which took place at 

the Snooker Federation Hall, saw a number of 

international stars make their move. 

Now there are plans afoot to capitalise on 

its rise with a state-of-the-art extreme sports 

complex to be build at the Aspire Sports City. 

Among its features will be a water park and a 

slalom course, ideal for canoeing and kayaking. 

And that’s not all. There are also plans in 

the pipeline for the Middle East’s first indoor 

football dome too. 

Dubbed the Qatar Dome, it is designed to 

create year-round opportunities to stage major 

competitive matches in a bid to boost interest 

and participation levels in the sport. 

According to the Qatar Olympic 

Committee, the plans will meet the long-term 

needs of the community and further advance 

sport in Doha. 

The proposed extreme sports and football 

venues are also part of the QOC’s ambitious 

‘Masterplan for Venue Development’ which is 

designed to ensure Qatar’s sports facilities are 

among the best in the world, attracting major 

events while proving attractive and accessible 

for the local population. 

Other facilities being discussed include a 

new swimming centre at the Al Gharrafa Club 

and a multi-purpose sports complex at the 

Shaffallah Centre 

Double world champion, Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes 

of the Philippines, a legend of the sport, was 

beaten by Germany’s Ralf Souquet in the early 

stages - a defeat that was avenged by fellow 

countryman Dennis Orcollo in the semi-finals. 

In the final, Orcollo took on the Dutchman 

Niels Feijen, and opened up an early lead, 

which he maintained to take the title 13-5. 

According to the hosts, the event had 

been a great learning experience for the local 

players and after the tournament, the QBSF 

announced that a Qatari team will participate 

in the inaugural World 10-Ball Championship 

in Manila, capital of the Philippines, from 

October 6-12, 2008. 


Q3.08.news 

The International Volleyball 

Federation (FIVB) has announced 

that Qatar will play host to the FIVB World 

Club Volleyball Championships in 2009. The top five 

clubs from each continent will participate in the Championship as 

well as the national champion of the host country and two wild card teams, 

which will be agreed by the FIVB before the tournament. 

The World Club Championships will be based upon a unique format in 

Qatar to hold volleyball 

Championships 

which the sport will take on rules that are more favourable to producing longer 

rallies and a more fluid style of play. 

The Volleyball Golden Formula (VGF) is a concept devised by Qatar Volleyball 

Association (QVBA) technical director, Hussein Imam Ali, and approved by the 

FIVB to make the sport more appealing. 

“The most admired scoring points that draw cheers from the fans are those 

featuring lengthy rallies as they are full of action and hold them in tension,” 

said Ali, who is also a member of the FIVB Coaches Commission. “The 

VGF concept will restore equality in the attack and defence, in a sport 

which is presently heavily loaded in favour of attack. 

“The important constituent of this rule is that the opening 

attack is allowed only from the three metre line. Tall players are 

only a small number in the world and are slower in movement 

and agility. The use of the VGF in a match will allow the 

significant number of players of medium height to play a 

bigger role with their skill.” 

Following a recent meeting in Lucerne, 

Switzerland, the FIVB confirmed that the 

World Club Championships should be 

reinstated after a seven-year gap. The 

new tournament style of play is 

expected to usher in a new era of 

volleyball on an international level 

and offer an alternative style of play to 

the traditional discipline currently practiced. The decision to reinstate the Championships was 

based primarily upon test events that were conducted the previous year in Doha in conjunction 

with the national volleyball championships. The test events were held at several local sporting 

venues in Doha including Al Ahli, Al Rayyan, Qatar Sports Club and Al Arabi. Al Ahli Club was 

victorious in the VGF tournament conducted last year where Sandy Steel, President, FIVB Rules 

of the Game Commission, was present to supervise the tournament. 

The dates and venues of the Men’s World Club Championships to be staged in Doha will 

be announced during next month’s FIVB congress when they convene in Dubai, however Al 

Jazeera Sport has already been announced as the host broadcaster. The Women’s World Club 

Championships will be held in the UAE. 


News 

in Brief 

ASPIRE students earn 

their wings at the 

graduation ceremony. 

Qatar’s Nasser Saleh 

Al-Attiyah along with 

Northern Irish co-driver 

Chris Patterson dominated the FIA 

Middle East Rally Championship, 

when they won 12 of the 13 special 

stages of the 8th Syrian International 

Rally. The defending regional 

champions began the final day 

almost four minutes in front of their 

nearest rivals and produced great 

performance over the fast gravel 

stages that make the Syrian event 

one of the most challenging in the 

Middle East. The duo’s winning 

margin was a staggering 5 minutes 

and 20.7 seconds. 

Aspire inspires 

first graduates 

The current men’s 3,000m 

steeplechase world record 

holder, Qatar’s Saif Saeed 

Shaheen secured the silver medal 

at 5000m during a comeback race 

in Belgrade, Serbia in May - his 

first race since September 17, 

2006 when he won the World Cup 

steeplechase. Due to injuries, he was 

not able to run during the whole of 

2007 and missed the Osaka World 

Championships. The athlete will 

compete at the Beijing Olympic 

Games for Qatar. 

Al Ahli on Friday night 

beat Al Sadd, 29-28, in the 

Emir’s Cup handball final 

at Al Gharrafa Hall. Al Sadd were 

aiming to win their eighth Emir’s Cup 

title, but Al Ahli denied them at the 

final hurdle by juts one point. Sheikh 

Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, 

Secretary General of the Qatar 

Olympic Committee, handed over 

the trophies to the winners and the 

runners-up at a spectacular prize 

giving ceremony. 

Q-League champions Al 

Gharaffa have signed a 

two–year contract with 

Fernando Lucio da Costa, a proven 

goal scorer from the Brazilian club 

Internacional. The 30-year-old was 

joint top scorer in the 2006 Copa 

Libertadores and voted Man of the 

Match in the South American final 

which was won by Internacional. 

Qatar’s ASPIRE Academy has celebrated 

a milestone with the graduation of its first 

student intake. 

The graduation ceremony marked a 

historic moment for the Academy, with the 

students - some of who joined at the age of 

thirteen years old - moving on to further 

education, vocational training and even full 

athletic careers. 

In total, 23 successful students graduated 

at the ceremony, the majority of whom joined 

the Academy in 2004 following its launch. 

Experts from ASPIRE’s Quality 

Management, Education and Social Affairs 

Department (QESA) have ensured that the 

young men have been provided with a fullyrounded 

program of learning, both in and out 

of the class room. 

Among the graduates are students who 

have specialised in football, table tennis, 

athletics, swimming and squash. All of them 

have balanced a busy sporting schedule 

with diligent study and education across an 

advanced curriculum. 

Guest of honour at the Graduation 

Ceremony was ASPIRE Ambassador and 

triple world record holder Hicham El 

Guerrouj of Morocco. 

The double Olympic champion, who 

broke world records for the 1,500 meters, the 

mile and 2,000 meters, spoke to the students 

about the importance of study and dedication 

as part of a successful career in athletics. 

“Internationally, ASPIRE is recognised 

as a pioneering project to discover and 

develop world-class athletic talent in 

Qatar,” El Guerrouj said. “The students 

who have graduated today were among 

the first pioneers, and they deserve our 

congratulations and support.” 

ASPIRE’s Career Management 

programmes provide guidance throughout 

students’ time at ASPIRE, ensuring that every 

student athlete leaving the Academy possesses 

a professional or academic career plan 

consistent with his capabilities and interests. 

Many of the successful students have 

developed exceptional aptitude in their 

chosen sporting field. Class valedictorian 

Ahmed Khalil addressed his fellow student 

athletes at the ceremony, and urged them to 

continue to train and develop their skills. 

Ahmed Khalil said: “The graduating 

class of 2008 all look to make the best 

possible contribution to Qatar, whether as 

sportspeople or in our future careers. ASPIRE 

has given us a very strong start by providing 

us with both sporting development and 

education - we now need to ensure that we 

build on this platform.” 

Since its opening, the Academy has 

successfully created an environment that 

supports the student athletes, and the success 

of the graduates is an important benchmark 

for the Academy’s growth. 

Prof. Dr. Dieter Hackfort, Dean of 

ASPIRE said: “Each and every student has 

made remarkable progress during their time 

with us in their personal development and 

in achieving success both academically and 

in their chosen sport. These students will 

be an inspirational example and will induce 

motivation to other students at ASPIRE, and 

to other young athletes in the region.” 

The students, he said, have competed in 

national and international tournaments across 

the world, giving them an understanding of 

competing at the highest level. 


Q3.08.news 

olympic 

support 

wins award 

Former International Olympic 

Committee (IOC) president Juan Antonio 

Samaranch presented one of Qatar’s 

leading sport administrators with a special 

award in May to recognise his and his 

hard-working team’s efforts in supporting 

the Olympic Movement. 

Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman 

Al-Thani, Secretary General of the 

Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), 

was presented with the 2007 IOC 

Award during a recent visit to the IOC’s 

headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. 

The award is presented to individuals 

who have shown continued support 

to the ideals and aims of the Olympic 

organisation and recognises the giant steps 

taken in recent years by the QOC. 

Among its various initiatives and 

programmes it has launched to both 

highlight the key ideals of the Olympic 

Movement and enhance the role the 

QOC plays in society have been schemes 

designed to reach out to the very youngest 

in communities. 

Among those was Schools Olympic 

Day. Launched in 2007, its mission 

HE Sheikh Saoud receives his award from IOC Honorary President Juan Antonio Samaranch. 

statement was to “Create an event to 

educate, engage and influence young 

athletes inspiring them to play an active 

role in the local community”. 

Open to talented young athletes 

from local schools, it showcased the best 

emerging young talent in a range of 

sports including gymnastics, swimming, 

basketball, football and volleyball. 

Hailed a huge success, and culminating 

in a grand finals day where laptops were up 

for grabs for the successful youngsters, it 

proved so popular the IOC has since decided 

it is going to look to introduce it to other 

national Olympic committees elsewhere. 

In addition, physical education in 

schools was upgraded to become an 

obligatory subject in a bid to improve the 

overall health and well-being of the young 

generation. And it was the continuing 

support to other NOCs, which helped 

land the recent IOC Award. 

In particular, was a recent delegation 

sent to Yemen. They were despatched to 

help the Yemen Olympic Committee in 

their preparations up to and including 

the 2012 Olympic Games in London. 

Juan Antonio Samaranch made the 

presentation in his capacity as Honorary 

President of the IOC. 

asian games best FOR MEDIA SERVICES 

Members of the 

media from all over 

the world enjoyed 

unparalleled 

service at the 15th 

Asian Games. 

Media services delivered at the 

15th Asian Games in Doha have been 

voted among the best in the world in 

2006/07 by the International Sport Press 

Association (AIPS). 

The Asian Games were singled out for 

awards along with the Wimbledon Tennis 

Championships and the 11th IAAF World 

Athletics Championships in Osaka, Japan. 

The Asian Games is the second largest 

multi-sports event in world sport with 

more than 8,000 athletes competing in 39 

sports over 15 days presenting a complex 

organisational and delivery challenge for 

the two outsourced companies, contracted 

by the Doha Asian Games Organising 

Committee, to serve the world’s media 

during the event. 


A visiting delegation 

from the Asian Football 

Confederation (AFC) 

has endorsed Qatar’s venues and 

facilities for the 2011 Asian Football 

Cup, said Saoud Al Mohannadi, 

Secretary General of Qatar Football 

Association. “The AFC Competitions 

Committee visited stadiums, training 

fields and the media centre and were 

impressed with the facilities and 

arrangements,” he said. 

Qatari sprinter Thamir 

Nasser and middle 

distance runner Musab 

Abdulrahman Balah won silver 

medals at the 13th Arab Youth 

Athletic Championship held in 

Tunisia. Young Qatari women 

also competed in the event with 

the objective of increasing their 

experience at international arena, 

said Mariam Al Ishaq, Administrator 

of the Qatar Women Athletes team. 

The Qatar military 

taekwondo team won 

three medals - one gold 

and two bronzes - at the 3rd Arab 

Military Taekwondo Championship 

held in Sanaa, Yemen in June. 

Abdullgadir Al Adhami won gold in 

the 84kg event, while Fahad Ahmed 

Ali Mohammed Saad finished with 

bronze the 67kg and 54kg events 

respectively. 

Qatari women’s air rifle 

star Mahbubeh Akhlagi 

won gold medals in both 

the 10m and 50m events during 

the Qatar Shooting and Archery 

Federation’s Cup Championship, 

organised by the QSAF and held at 

the Lusail International Complex. 

More than just 

a match 

This year’s Emir’s Cup Final proved as thrilling off the 

pitch as on it as the Qatar Football Association (QFA) put 

on a range of entertainment to turn the match into a 

community event 

Two-time world pool 

champion, Efren Reyes 

of Philippines, has 

praised the organisation of the 

Qatar International Open 9-Ball 

Championship held at the Qatar 

Billiard and Snooker Federation. 

Reyes 53, said he appreciated the 

technical quality and organisational 

work behind the tournament. 

As fans flocked to watch Al Gharrafa and 

Umm Salal battle it out for victory on the pitch 

- and a place in the AFC Champions League 

for 2009 - the QFA looked to capitalise on the 

sport’s growing interest levels. 

In a bid to boost both the numbers of 

spectators at the match and at future games, 

and to encourage a new generation to 

participate in football, there were more than 

20 activities lined-up to encourage the party 

atmosphere outside Khalifa Stadium in the 

Aspire Zone, Doha. 

Coined the Cup Emiri Festival, fans were 

treated to a host of activities ranging from 

poetry recitals and circus acts to musical 

numbers and magic tricks. 

Ali Al-Nuaimi, the QFA’s Assistant General 

Secretary explained: “It was more than just a 

match. We wanted to share the occasion with as 

many people as possible. We wanted to provide 


Q3.08.news 

“this emir’S cup 

final was one 

of the most 

colourful and 

noisy we have 

ever seen ” 

A day of dramatic action on the pitch 

saw Umm Salal clinch the Emir’s 

Cup, while the entertainment off the 

pitch turned the Cup final into a 

memorable all-day event for the fans. 

a unique flavour to the final. 

“Our strategy was very much around 

community involvement and we spoke at 

length to our sponsors so we could partner 

with them in their promotional activities 

around the event. 

“It was a day to celebrate and unite. 

What we wanted to achieve was that 

everyone who left the stadium came away 

with a fantastic and long lasting impression. 

We put in a lot of hard work to ensure 

this Emir Cup final was one of the most 

colourful and noisy we have ever seen.” 

Among the line-up entertaining the 

crowds were poets such as Mohammad bin 

Fates Al-Marri and Khalil Al-Tamimi. The 

well known Qatari poets gave recitals. 

One of the most popular attractions was 

the chance for fans to win one of 20 Toyota 

vehicles in a special competition. 

The motor manufacturer had models 

such as two Land Cruisers, one Avalon, 

three Camrys and 12 Yaris up for grabs. 

In order for the thousands of fans to 

enjoy the events gates opened at 3pm 

– some four hours before the teams got 

the game underway. And after the game 

finished, there was a colourful laser and 

firework display. 

All of which was the perfect icing on the 

cake, for a game which proved to be a real 

cliff-hanger. 

With Al Gharrafa looking to complete a 

league and cup double, they took the lead, 

only to be pegged back by Umm Salal. 

With the game tied at 1-1 in the first half, 

two more goals before full-time saw the 90 

minutes finish with the scores level at 2-2. 

After extra-time could not separate the 

sides, it went to penalties where Umm Salal 

emerged victorious, scoring four penalties to 

Al Gharrafa's one. 

They were awarded with the golden 

trophy by HH The Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin 

Khalifa Al-Thani. 

QOC HONOURS SPORTING 

PERSONALITIES 

The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) has 

honoured the country’s top sporting talent 

with awards for outstanding achievements 

in the season 2007–2008. 

HE Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al 

Thani, Secretary General of Qatar Olympic 

Committee (QOC) led the awards celebrating 

more than 50 leading sportsmen and 

women, teams, federations and sponsors, 

voted for by members of the national media. 

The ceremony held at the Al Rostah 

Hall in the Diplomatic Club witnessed 

participation of Qatar’s best athletes and 

personalities including Deputy Premier 

and Minister of Energy and Industry – HE 

Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Attiyah who received 

the ‘Pioneers’ award. The Qatar women’s 

basketball team, winners of the gold medal 

at this year’s 11th Pan Arab Games, won the 

‘Appreciation Cup’ for the best sports team. 

For the federations, the Qatar Shooting 

and Archery Federation, received the 

‘Golden Federation Cup’, while the Qatar 

Volleyball Association, was awarded the 

‘Ideal Association Cup’. 

The ‘Best National Coach Cup’ was 

granted to Abdullghadir Mughaiseeb, coach 

of Al Sailiya Sport Club, while the Qatar 

national volleyball team coach, the Croatian 

Igor Arbutina, was selected as the ‘Best 

Foreign Coach’ based on the team’s gold 

medal showing at the last Arab Games in 

Cairo. Qatar National Bank from the public 

sector received the ‘Sport Sponsor Cup’, 

while Al Emmadi Enterprises from the 

private sector received the same accolade. 


o o o o o o o o o 

LIFE - Be 

part of it! 

The Qatar Olympic Committee 

has high hopes for the second 

‘LIFE – Be Part of it!’ sports and 

lifestyle exhibition, which will 

celebrate a range of new Ideas 

and productS FOR ALL ITS PEOPLE 

in Doha this October 

A dynamic lifestyle exhibition aimed at showcasing 

Qatar’s growing reputation as a regional sport hub and 

spreading sports culture throughout the Middle East will 

welcome the sports industry and general public through 

its doors in October this year. 

Under the patronage of the Qatar Olympic Committee, 

the ‘LIFE - Be Part of it’ exhibition is expected to attract at 

least 120 world-class exhibitors and 8,000 visitors to the 

Doha Exhibition Centre over four days [October 15 to 

18] for what has become the region’s largest sports, health 

and fitness show. 

Building on the success of last year’s inaugural event, the 

2008 edition will be run by the QOC in collaboration 

with QatarExpo, an event management group, which aims 

to advance the level of regional and international 

participation in the event. 

“Commenting on the ambition and scope of this year’s 

‘LIFE - Be Part of it!’, QOC Secretary General Sheikh 

Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani told ‘The Peninsula’ 

newspaper. “We want to show the world that Doha is the 

sports capital of the region. Since sport is a way of life for 

us, we would like to take this feeling around Middle East 

and the rest of Asia. “ 

According to Sheikh Saoud the exhibition will spread 

this message in more ways than one. “The QOC’s motto is 

‘Sport for Life’ and we are pleased that we are in a position 

to engage National Olympic Committees in the region 

and other well-established sports associations or federations 

for the exhibition. I hope we will be able to host what 

should be the biggest sports exhibition not just in the 

Middle East but in Asia as well.” 

When asked about international brands and organisations 

likely to take part in the exhibition, Sheikh Saoud added: 

“We will invite all major sports brand names like adidas, 

Nike, Puma - and many others - to our exhibition. This 

exhibition will not only look at companies promoting 

their brand names, but we are also focusing on general 

fitness, equipment and sports medicine.” 

The encouragement of healthy living is another major 

component of the exhibition. “We decided to be part of 

this exhibition knowing how important it is to have a 

healthy generation, which believes in the importance of 

sports in their daily lives,” Sheikh Saoud said. 

Moreover, the organisers believe that this year’s 

exhibition will be even bigger and better than last year’s 

event. Visitors to the exhibition, for example, will 

view a large selection of sports equipment from than 10 

sports equipment providers, discover the latest trends 

SHOWCASE 

FOR THE 

NEXT 

GENERATION 

Child’s play...this year’s 

‘Life - Be Part of it!’ 

exhibition aims to show 

that Doha is the sports 

capital of the region. 


Exhibition Zones 

Sports & Fitness Zone: 

Interactive Zone 

Sports Associations 

Government Bodies 

Sports TV channels 

Sports Magazines 

Sports equipment 

Sportswear 

The Natural 

Health Zone: 

Health food, 

supplements 

and 

beverages 

Herbal and 

natural 

health 

remedies 

Dietary and herbal 

supplements 

Vitamins 

Organic food and 

beverages 

Nutrition Products 

The Tourism Zone: 

Sports Tourism 

Health Tourism 

Agrotourism 

Magazines/Publications 

Tourism Associations 

Chamber of Commerce 

in sportswear, and get to know the benefits of 

spas, beauty products, diets and new ways to 

treat injuries. 

According to Waleed Wahba, Project Manager 

with QatarExpo, there will be many highlights this 

year, but perhaps most important is the increased 

presence from sporting organisations. Around 35 per 

cent of the exhibition floor space, he says, will be 

taken up by Qatar’s federations and sports clubs - 

with international organisations also likely to 

participate. As part of the sports focus, Qatari athletes 

who have excelled in different sports over the last 

decade will also be honoured for their ‘outstanding’ 

achievements at the event. 

The QOC together with the ASPIRE Academy 

will announce the awards during a gala dinner held 

on the opening night. 

Sport and Fitness, however, is just one of six 

exhibitor zones (see box) and the business-to-business 

strand of the exhibition is more focused on the 

Spa and Wellness zone. 

“The exhibitors are targeting both consumers and 

traders, but the health, beauty and sports messages 

are more targeted at consumers. Then we have the 

companies, mostly in the fitness and well-being field, 

which are more interested in business-to-business 

trading with Qatar and the region.” 

But whatever the exhibitor’s target market, Mr 

Whaba is encouraged by their take-up rate this year. 

“Last year, the number of companies was 80; this 

event will have at least 120 companies from 18 

countries. This year, we have three big companies 

from Japan for the first time, as well as a company 

from Italy, the UAE, Egypt, China, the Lebanon and 

many others. Our plan for 2009 and 2010 is to 

convert 60 per cent of exhibitors to those from 

international markets.” 

But any event sponsored by the QOC, ASPIRE 

and the National Health Authority is bound to have 

a more wide-ranging agenda than simply business. 

‘LIFE - Be Part of it!’, he says, is more concerned with 

the promotion of sport, health and well-being. The 

success last year not only gave credibility to the event, 

but has also allowed QatarExpo to work on this 

project with great motivation in order to accomplish 

further success. 

‘LIFE - Be Part of it!’ is the first exhibition to talk 

about health and sport in the region. There’s nothing 

quite like it in the Middle East and we are 

working closely with the QOC in developing new 

ideas and to send the right messages about health, 

sports and lifestyle.” 

QatarExpo will be promoting the event in the 

national media and in Doha’s main shopping malls 

over the coming months and will be going further 

afield in the future to ensure it becomes a truly 

international event. After all, ‘LIFE - Be Part of it!’ is 

a motto that everyone can relate to. 

Spa & Wellness Zone: 

Spa & wellness equipment 

and products 

Medical supplies 

Wellbeing, relaxation & 

beauty items 

Health retreats, beauty & 

wellness centres 

Massage products & 

equipment 

Saunas and Jacuzzis 

Education, publications 

and the latest 

developments 

and enhancements in spa 

techniques and technology 

The Yoga Zone: 

Interactive Zone 

Yoga sessions 

Retreats 

Spiritual music and 

merchandise 

Alternative Medicine Zone: 

Aromatherapy products 

and treatments 

Crystal therapy sessions 

Reiki 

Bach flower essence 

remedies 



beijing 

2008 

GREATEST 

SHOW ON 

EARTH 

From Olympia to Beijing, the story of the 

Olympic Games continues to inspire individuals 

and nations to achieve great things 

When the curtain goes up on the Opening Ceremony of 

the XXIX Olympic Games on August 8, the eyes of the 

world will turn to Beijing. 

The Summer Olympics will be watched by more than 

three billion people across the globe - around half the world’s 

population - and will involve some 10,000 athletes competing 

in 302 events across 28 sports. 

Most of the athletes will have trained for many years in 

preparation for their big moment on the world’s greatest 

sporting stage, living a dream they may well have nurtured 

since childhood. 

And just as individuals are inspired by the Olympics 

Games so are nations. For the hosts, in particular, 

Beijing 2008 is an era-defining moment, which should 

crystalise China’s growing status in the world within a single 

global sports event. 

As the International Olympic Committee President 

Jacques Rogge earlier this year. “We gave the Games to a 

country that represents one fifth of mankind. We gave the 

Games to a country that will change, that is changing.” 

The IOC chief hopes that this year’s Games will again 

demonstrate the power of sport to bring nations and peoples 

together. Indeed, it’s the extraordinary achievement of the 

Olympic movement that it has come to represent some of 

the best aspirations of mankind; to become a unique force 

for good - wherever the event is staged. 

These positive principles are enshrined in the Olympic 

charter, which says that the goal of the Olympic Movement 

is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by 

educating youth through sport, practiced without 

discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit. 

This spirit of athletic endeavour will transfix the world 

during the 16 days of action from the sporting fields and 

arenas of Beijing. But it’s a spirit that has its source in more 

ancient arenas than the hi-tech sporting palaces of Beijing. 

The multi-media extravaganza on show in Beijing 

originated in the athletic spectacles held more than 2,500 

years ago in Olympia, Greece, the site of the ancient 

Olympic Games. 

The atmospheric ruins of Olympia remains a symbolic 


and ceremonial focus of the Olympic movement, but at the 

height of the ancient Olympics, the stadium in Olympia 

could accommodate more than 40,000 spectators, who 

gathered to see the exhibitions of strength and speed that 

were held every four years for more than 12 centuries. 

The ancient Olympics were very different from the 

modern Games. Only ‘free men’ who spoke Greek could 

compete, instead of athletes from any country. Moreover, 

the Games were always held at the same site instead of 

moving around to different venues. 

There were also fewer events. At first there was only one 

competition - a short sprint measuring between 180 and 

240 metres or the length of the stadium. Further foot races 

were added over the years, as were other events, including 

boxing, wrestling, pankration (full-contact fighting), chariot 

racing, as well as a pentathlon which consisted of wrestling, 

running, long jump, javelin throw and discus throw. 

Such was the power of the Games that some archeologists 

believe that wars were halted between the city-states of 

Greece so that the athletes as well as the spectators of the 

Olympics could get there safely. Such a beneficial side-affect 

however did not stop the Romans from banning the Games 

in the 4th century - closing a chapter in the Olympic story 

for more than 1,500 years. 

How the Games were revived more than one hundred 

years ago is far less testing for Olympic historians. 

International interest in the ancient Olympics had been 

growing in the nineteenth century when the French 

educationalist Baron de Courbetin called for a 

return of Olympism. 

The aristocratic founder of the modern Olympic 

movement believed that education was the key to the future 

of society, and on June 23, 1894, he organised an 

international congress at the Sorbonne in Paris, which led to 

the establishing of the International Olympic 

Committee (IOC) with De Coubertin becoming the first 

General Secretary. 

Among the IOC’s early decisions was to stage the fist 

IOC organised Olympics in Athens, Greece in 1986, an 

event which they decided should be held every four years. 

Inset: The Olympic 

Flame is lit in Olympia, 

Greece. Main picture: 

The Olympic Stadium 

in Beijing will 

showcase the world’s 

best athletes. 



beijing 

2008 

The current Olympic Charter too can be traced to the 

principles established by De Courbetin. The first two 

‘Fundamental Principles’ of Olympism exemplify the 

idealism behind the sporting activity. 

Olympism, says the first principle, is “a philosophy of 

life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities 

of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and 

education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life 

based on the joy of effort, the educational value of 

good example and respect for universal fundamental 

ethical principles.” 

The second principle states that the “goal of 

Olympism is to place sport at the service of the 

harmonious development of man, with a view to 

promoting a peaceful society concerned with the 

preservation of human dignity.” 

These ideas and others put forward by the 

founders of the modern Olympic movement have 

not only endured, but spread across the globe. 

Today, 202 National Olympic Committees and 35 

International Federations are part of the Olympic 

Movement. This year’s host nation China, for 

example, formally entered the Olympic stage in 

1936 in Berlin, Germany; the Soviet 

Union entered the Olympics for the 

first time in 1952 in Helsinki, Norway; 

and Qatar first competed at a Summer 

Games in Los Angeles, USA, in 1984. 

New to the rigours of top-level 

international competition, Qatar’s 

initial effort was not an immediate 

sporting success, but at the Barcelona 

Olympic Games in 1992, Qatar won 

its first medal when Mohammed 

Suleiman took home the bronze in the 

men’s 1500 metres. Eight years later at 

Sydney 2000, Qatar’s second medal was secured 

when Said Saad Asaad won the bronze medal in 

the Men’s 105kg weightlifting. 

This year, Qatar will send its strongest ever 

team to compete for medals in Beijing, but for 

Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, 

Secretary General of QOC, the Movement is 

about far more than the number medals won. 

In May, Sheikh Saoud received the 2007 

IOC Award for individuals who support the 

Olympic Movement from Juan Antonio 

Samaranch, Honorary President of the IOC in 

Lausanne. The award was given to the QOC a 

because of its contribution in supporting other 

National Olympic Committees such as the Yemeni Olympic 

Committee. 

The honour also reflects the QOC’s committed strategy 

for sport in line with the directions of the QOC president, 

HH Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani. The QOC’s 

mission is “to become a leading nation in bringing the world 

together through sport”. It is an ambition that will be reenergised 

in the sporting venues of Beijing this August, and 

one that will continue to burn brightly long after the Closing 

Ceremony as Qatar seeks to create its own sporting heroes to 

match the legends of past Olympic Games. 

From the top: 

Cathy Freeman 

wins 400m gold 

for Australia 

in Sydney; Liu 

Xiang powers to 

victory in the 

110m hurdles 

in Athens; Carl 

Lewis wins 

another gold 

medal in Los 

Angeles 1984. 

Qatar at the Olympic Games 

1984 

The 1984 Summer 

Olympics were 

celebrated in Los 

Angeles, USA. Carl Lewis 

made the his first of four 

appearances in the 

Olympics, and equalled 

the performance of 

Jesse Owens of 1936 by 

winning four gold 

medals in the 100m, 

200m, 4x100m relay and 

the Long Jump. In their 

first Olympics, Qatar 

competed in the men’s 

football and athletics 

events. 

1988 


Olympics were hosted by 

Seoul, South Korea. The 

Canadian Ben Johnson 

won the 100m in a new 

world record, but was 

disqualified after testing 

positive for steroids. 

Tennis returned to the 

Olympics after a 64-year 

absence and Steffi Graf 

added to her four Grand 

Slam victories in the 

year by also winning the 

Olympic title. Qatar 

fielded just one 

athlete - in the men’s 

10,000m. 

1992 


Olympic Games were 

held in Barcelona, Spain. 

In basketball, the 

admittance of pro 

players led to the 

American Dream Team, 

led by Michael Jordan, 

which won the gold 

medal with ease. Qatar’s 

football team won the 

Gulf Cup that year and 

competed in the football 

competition, while 

Mohammed Suleiman 

took the bronze medal 

– Qatar’s first Olympic 

prize - in the 1500m. 

1996 


Olympics, known as the 

Centennial Olympics, 

were celebrated in 

Atlanta, United States. 

Cycling professionals 

were admitted to the 

Olympics for the first 

time, with five-time Tour 

de France winner Miguel 

Indurain winning the 

inaugural individual time 

trial event. Qatar sent 

competitors in athletics 

and for the first time in 

shooting. 

2000 


Olympics were 

celebrated in 2000 in 

Sydney, Australia . The 

local star Cathy Freeman 

won the women’s 400m 

final in front of a jubilant 

Sydney crowd at the 

Olympic Stadium. Qatar 

sent competitors in 

athletics, shooting, table 

tennis, and weightlifting 

with Said Saad Asaad 

winning the bronze 

medal in the Men’s 

105kg weightlifting. Bilal 

Saad finished tenth in 

the men’s shot-put. 

2004 


Olympic Games were 

staged in Athens, 

Greece. Liu Xiang 

became the first Chinese 

man to win an Olympic 

track and field gold 

medal when he won the 

110 metres hurdles as 

China came within four 

gold medals of the USA. 

Qatar sent participants 

in athletics, shooting, 

swimming and 

weightlifting with Musa 

Amer coming closest to 

a medal with a fourth in 

the final of the men’s 

3,000m steeplechase. 

16 QatarSport Q3 .08

THE WORLDWIDE OLYMPIC PARTNERS


beijing 

2008 

“As far as I am 

concerned, the 

athletes are the 

VIPs. They deserve 

” 

their place on the 

world stage 

Khalil Al Jabber, Director of Sports Affairs at the Qatar Olympic 

Committee, is also Chef de Mission for the Qatar team at the Beijing 

Olympic Games. He explains his role and ambitions for the olympic 

GAMES and hIghlights how the Games fit with Qatar’s NATIONAL 

‘Sport For Life’ policy 

The Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games 

will be an unforgettable day in the lives of all of those 

involved - athletes, officials and spectators alike. 

There, in Beijing’s innovative Birds Nest Stadium, the 

nations of the world will join forces to celebrate sport and 

the spirit of Olympism, two of the forces at the very 

heart of modern Qatar. 

The moment when the Qatar team’s representatives make 

their way into the stadium for the Opening Ceremony will 

be a particularly proud moment for Khalil Al Jabber, the 

team’s Chef de Mission and Sports Affairs Director of the 

Qatar Olympic Committee. 

The opening ceremony effectively marks the end of one 

phase of the Chef de Mission’s role and the beginning of the 

vitally important second. Here months and years of 

meticulous planning, training and team selection come to 

an end and all attention focuses on the performance of the 

team’s athletes under the glare of the world’s attention. 

18 QatarSport Q3.08 

“There is tremendous public excitement in Qatar and 

huge support for our athletes and my job as Chef de 

Mission is to ensure that they have the ability to focus solely 

on their performance and not worry about any other 

details,” Mr Al Jabber said. 

“As far as I am concerned, the athletes are the VIPs. Our 

role is to serve them and help them produce their best 

possible performances in Beijing. They deserve their place 

on the world stage and we all know that good performances 

can be inspirational for those watching back home in Qatar 

and elsewhere. 

“We have to realise that every athlete is different and has 

very different requirements. Our job is to understand that 

and to make sure they have everything they need to succeed 

to the best of their abilities.” 

It is that mind-set which has helped ensure that no 

previous Qatar team has been better prepared for the 

Olympic Games. Evidence of the detailed planning which

Qatar’s Beijing 2008 

Chef De Mission, 

Khalil Al Jabber, 

understands that 

Qatar’s athletes must 

strive to achieve 

individual goals at 

the Olympic Games. 



beijing 

2008 

“we expect to 

have a team of 

27 athletes 

competing in 

six different 

sports AT 

beijing 2008” 

has gone into making the Road to Beijing 

as smooth as possible can be found in the 

massive free-standing calendar which 

stands outside Khalil Al Jabber’s offices on 

the 20th floor of the Olympic Tower in 

Doha. This is the time-line writ large, a 

clear indication of the tasks to be completed 

each day as the countdown to Beijing 

continues. Next to it are diagrams of the 

accommodation which will be found in 

the Olympic Village, introducing the 

athletes to the realities of Olympic 

life well before they step onto the 

‘plane to China. Khalil Al Jabber 

is determined that he and his 

delegation will be ready and 

absolutely nothing is being left to 

chance. 

Months before the Games, the 

Chef de Mission had accompanied 

federation chiefs and other officials 

on fact finding visits to Beijing in 

order to familiarise themselves 

with the facilities and conditions 

they will face when the team 

arrives from its training camp in Hong Kong a few days 

before the official opening of what it still generally agreed 

to be The Greatest Show On Earth. 

The Qatar delegation will consist of competitors, 

coaches, medical staff and officials, some of whom will 

stay in the Olympic Village. 

“We are expecting to have a team of 27 athletes in six 

different sports in Beijing,” explained Khalil Al Jabber. 

“We will be represented in track and field, shooting, 

fencing, weightlifting, swimming and taekwondo and 

while it is difficult to predict the outcome of events we will 

certainly be looking for progress in every area,” he said. 

Qatar’s strength in shooting disciplines has been well 

established over the years and with Nasser Saleh Al-Attiya 

taking fifth place in the 2000 Sydney Games and fourth in 

Athens four years ago, there are strong hopes that further 

improvement will result in a medal for Qatar. 

Likewise in weightlifting where Jaber Saeed Salem won 

the Bronze medal in Athens, there are high hopes, if not 

expectations, of an even better placing this time around. 

Elsewhere the team will have young competitors taking 

place in their very first Olympic Games in both the 100m 

breast stroke swimming event and in fencing, while in 

Taekwando, Abdulqader Hikmat Sarham will be looking 

to build on the success enjoyed in wining Gold at the 13th 

Asian Games in Doha. 

“Every member of the team will give 100 per cent in 

their events but we are realistic enough to know that not 

all have a realistic medal chance,” Khalil Al Jabber said. 

“But in every case we know that each athlete has their 

own personal goal. For some it would be a triumph simply 

to get into the final of their event.” 

“The performance of the team means a lot to Qatar and 

its people. Over the years we have built a good infrastructure 

for sport and made sport and sports participation central 

to life in the State. We are now gradually beginning to see 

the fruits of the investment that has been made. 

“For example, this is the first time we have been 

represented in Taekwondo which means that the standard 

must be improving thanks to the facilities which are 

available. Fencing is another sport which has taken giant 

steps as the federation was only established 12 year ago 

and now has a representative in the Olympic Games.” 

Today everybody involved in sport in Qatar is focused 

on the Games and helping the competitors achieve 

maximum performance. 

“The Federations and everybody else are being very cooperative. 

Everybody shares the same goal,” Khalil Al 

Jabber said. 

The Beijing Olympic Games provide a global showcase 

for sport in Qatar but the Chef de Mission sees the Games 

not as an end in themselves but as a stepping stone on a 

longer and ultimately more important journey. 

“The Olympic Games provide an opportunity to show 

Qatar and the world what is happening in sport in Qatar. 

Our ultimate goal though is beyond Beijing. It is about 

continually bringing youngsters into sport, identifying 

their talents and providing them with the facilities, 

resources and support they need to achieve their potential,” 

Khalil Al Jabber said. 

“We have to think constantly about the future and 

while our immediate focus may be Beijing 2008, at the 

back of our minds is the task of developing talent for the 

2010 Asian Games in Guanzou and, beyond that, the 

Olympic Games in London in 2012. 

“We have created a sports structure in Qatar in which 

everything comes under the Olympic umbrella. This 

extends from our highly successful Schools Olympic Day 

programme to the Games themselves. 

“For reasons of enjoyment, social fulfilment and health, 

we want to encourage Qataris of all ages to engage in sport 

and it is particularly important to do this by working 

closely and supporting youngsters. 

“Schools Olympic Day succeeded in involving hundreds 

of thousands of young Qataris in sport, some for the first 

time. Many will have enjoyed the experience and been 

encouraged to develop their sporting interests and talents 

as far as they will take them. 

“This, alongside our ongoing talent identification 

programmes, will help us to recognise potential among 

youngsters and develop them for the future. The Youth 

Olympic Games in Singapore may provide a platform for 

some of them but our focus is longer-term. 

“Success in the Olympic Games will be celebrated 

throughout Qatar and provide clear evidence of 

what can be achieved on the world stage. I hope and expect 

that this will inspire youngsters who will want to 

emulate members of the Beijing team at Olympic Games 

in the future. 

Like some members of his team, this will be Khalil Al 

Jabber’s first Olympic games and he is delighted to be a 

part of it. 

“Whether I carry the flag or the country’s name, the 

Opening Ceremony will be a very proud moment for me 

personally and for my country,” he said. 



beijing 

2008 

Samuel Adil Bari Francis 

Athletics : 100m 

Career Highlights 

• Holder of the Qatari, Gulf Arab and Asian 

record in the 100m event, with a time of 9.99 

seconds. Holder of the international military 

100m record. 

• Asian Championship, 100m, Gold Medal, 

Jordan 2007 

• 4th International Military Athletics, 100m, Gold 

Medal, India 2007 

• 2nd Indoor Asian Athletics, 60m, Gold Medal, 

Macao 2007 

• Asian Indoor Championship, 60m, Gold Medal, 

Qatar 2008 

Bound 

for 

beijing 

Mohammed Aaisa Adhawadi 

Athletics: 110 m hurdles 


• Qatar and Gulf record holder 

• Arab Championship, Bronze Medal, Syria 2001 

• 14th Asian Games, 6th place, Korea 2002 

• Arab Championship, Bronze Medal, Jordan 

2003 14.11 sec Bronze 

• Gulf Military Champs, Gold Medal, U.A.E. 2006 

• Gulf Military Champs, Gold Medal, Qatar 2007 

• Arab Championship, Gold Medal, Jordan 2007 

• Asian Champs, Silver Medal, Jordan 2007 

• World Military Athletics Championship, Silver 

medal, 2007 India 

Sultan Khamis Zaman 

Athletics: 5,000m/10,000m 


• Gulf Cross-country Championship 12km, Team 

Gold, Qatar 2005 

• World Military Cross-Country championship 

5km, Gold Medal, Tunisia 2004 

• Arab tournament 10,000m Silver Medal, 2007 

• Arab tournament 5,000m, Silver Medal, 2007 

• 3rd Asian Indoor Championship 3,000m, Gold 

Medal, Qatar 2008 

• World Cross-Country Championship 12km 

Bronze Medal, Scotland 2008 

• World Military Cross-Country Championship 

12km,Team Gold, Switzerland 2008 

• Arab Military Cross-Country Championship 

12km, Team Gold, Tunisia 2008 M 

Thamer Kamal Ali 

Athletics: 3,000m hurdles and 1,500m 

Introducing the qatari 

athletes who will be 

battling for medals at the 

olympic games 



5km, Team Gold, Tunisia 2004 

• Arab Military Cross-Country Championship 

5km, Team Gold, Algeria 2008 


5km, Team Gold, Switzerland 2008. 

• Asian Indoor Championship 3,000m, Gold 


• World Cross-Country Championship 5km, 5th 

Place, Kenya 2007 

• Arab Athletics Championship, 3,000m, Silver 

Medal, Jordan 


B 

A 

C 

D 

E 

Rashid Shafi Bital Adusri 

Athletics: Discus 

Ahmed Hasan Abdullah 

Athletics: Long distance 

Zakaria Ali Kamil 



• Qatari record holder 

• 8th Asian Youth Games, Gold Medal, Singapore 

1999 

• 11th Arab Championship, Gold Medal, 

Lebanon 1999 

• GCC Championships, Gold Medal, Kuwait 2000 

• Arab Military Championships, Gold Medal, 


• Grand Prix, 62.77m Qatari record, Qatar 2001 

• World Military Championship, Silver Medal 

Lebanon 2001 

• 1Arab championships, Gold Medal, Syria 2001 

• Asian Championships, Gold Medal, Malaysia 

2002 

• Asian Athletics Championship, 4th place, 

Korea 2002 

Aaisa Ismail Rashid 




(long distance), Team Gold Tunisia 2004 


(long distance), Team Gold Tunisia 2008 


(long distance), Team Gold, Switzerland 2008 

Felix Kikway Kipur 



• Asian Champs, 5,000m, Gold Medal, Jordan 2007 

• Arab Military Cross-Country Championship 5km, 

Team and Individual Gold Medals, Algeria 2008 


12km, Team Gold, Switzerland 2008 

• World Cross-Country Championship 12km, Team 

and Individual Bronze Medals, Scotland, 2008 


• Holder of the Qatari, Gulf and Asian 10,000m 

records 


Individual Bronze and Team Silver, Belgium 

2004 


12 km, Team Gold, Tunisia 2004 


Team Bronze, France 2004 

• World Half-Marathon Championship, Bronze 

Medal, India 2005 

• Asian Championships, 10,000m, Gold Medal, 

Jordan 2007 

• Asian Championships, 5,000m, Silver Medal, 

Jordan 2007 

• World Cross-Country Championship, 8th place 

for individual and Team Bronze, Scotland 2008 



Jamal Bilal Salim 




• Long distance Cross-Country, Team Gold 2004 

• Asiana athletics tournament 3,000m hurdles, 

Bronze Medal, Qatar 2006 

• Arab Athletics Championship 5,000m, Silver 

Medal, Jordan 2007 


12 km, Team Gold, Switzerland 2008 

• Arab Military Cross-Country Championships, 

Team Gold, Algeria 2008 Algeria 

• World Cross-Country Championship, Team 

Bronze, Scotland 2008 


• Asian Athletics Championship, Silver Medal, 

Jordan 2007 

• IAAF World Championship, Qualifier, Japan, 

2007 

Mubarak Hasan Shami 

Athletics: Marathon 


• Holder of the Qatari Marathon record. 


12km, Team Gold, Tunisia 2004 

• World Half-Marathon Championship, Silver 

Medal, Canada 2005 

• Gulf Championship Half marathon, Gold Medal, 

Bahrian 2005 

• World Military Marathon Championship 12km, 

Individual and Team Gold, Italy 2005 

• World Athletics Championship Marathon, Silver 

Medal, Japan 2007 

• 15th Asian Games Marathon, Gold Medal, Qatar 

2006 

• World Cross-Country Championship, Individual 

and Team Bronze, Scotland 2008 



• Arab Military Cross-Country Championships, 

Team Gold, Algeria 2008 Algeria 

Yousif Uthman Qadir 

Athletics: Marathon 


• Gulf Cross-Country Championship 12km, 

Team Gold, Qatar 2005 

• Gulf Athletics Championship, Half-marathon, 

Bronze Medal, U.A.E 2005 

• Hamburg International Marathon 

Championship Marathon Qualifying record + 

personal record, Germany 2007 


F 

I 

G 

H 

J 

K 

Daham Najim Bashir 

Athletics: Middle distance 

Khalid Aaisa Alhamadi 

Fencing 

Usama Mohammed Alaaraj 

Swimming: Breaststroke 


• Qatar record holder over 1500m and The Mile 

• Bislett Games (Mile), Gold Medal, Norway 2005 

• Madrid Grand Prix 3000 m, Gold Medal, Spain 

2005 

• Van Damme Memorial 1500m, 4th Place, 

Belgium 2005 

• Athens Super Grand Prix, 1500m, Silver Medal, 

Greece, 2005 

• 15th Asian Games 1,500m, Gold Medal, Qatar 

2006 

• Madrid Grand Prix 1,500m, Silver Medal, Spain 

2007 

Ibrahim Babekr Mahmedin 

Athletics: Triple jump 


• Qatar and Arab record holder. 

• 10th Arab Championship, Bronze Medal, Taif 

1997 

• Junior World Championship (triple jump), Gold 

Medal, Poland 1999 

• Asian Youth Games (triple jump, Bronze 

Medal, Singapore 1999 

• GCC Youth Championships (long jump) Doha 

Gold Medal, Qatar 1999 

• GCC Youth Championships (triple jump) Doha 

Silver Medal, Qatar 1999 

• GCC Youth Championships (triple jump) Doha 

Gold Medal, Muscat 2001 

• His Highness the Emir’s Championship, Gold 


• His Highness the Emir’s Cup, 17.15 metres 

and new Arab and Qatari record, Gold medal, 


• Olympic Games 16.71 metres Heats, Greece 

2004 

Abdulqader Hikmat Sarhan 

Taekwondo under 80kg 


• 15th Asian Games, Gold Medal, Qatar 2006 

• WTF Asian Taekwondo Qualification 

Tournament, Silver Medal, Vietnam 2007 


• Champion of Qatar at youth, junior and open 

levels 

• First place at the youth and junior levels in the 

2004 Gulf fencing championship 

• Second place at the individual junior level in the 

2004 Arab fencing championship 

• First place (team) in the 2007 Arab junior fencing 

championship 

• Third place for the teams at the 2007 Asian 

Junior Championship 

• He has taken part in a number of international 

championships and advanced to the later rounds. 

Masoud Saleh Hamad Al-Athba 

Shooting: 


• Two Gold Medals (individual and team) from 

14th Asian Games 2002 in Busan, Korea 

• Silver Medal of Asian Clay Shooting 

Championships 2007 (Manila, Philippines); 

• Silver Medal in Afro-Asian Games 2003 (Haider 

Abad, India) 

• He is a repeated winner and medallist of 

various GCC and Arab Championships in 

individual and team events. 

Nasser Saleh Al-Attiya 

Shooting: Skeet 


• 4th place : 2004 Olympic Games, also participated 

in Olympic Games in Sydney and Atlanta. 

• World Cup, Bronze Medal, Italy 1997 

• World Cup, Silver Medal, Italy, 2001 

• Asian Championships, Silver Medal, Indonesia 

1995. 

• Asian Championships, Gold Medal, Thailand 2001. 

• Asian Championship. Silver Medal, India 2003 

• Asian Championship Gold Medal, Singapore 2006. 

• Winner and medalist of various GCC and Arab 

Championships in individual and team events. 


• Gold Medal in the 100m and 200m breast 

stroke in the 2004 Gulf championship. 

• Gold Medal in the open-water team race, and 

silver medal in the open-water individual race, 

in Doha in 2005. 

• Gold Medal in the 100 m and 200m short-lane 

breast stroke in Kuwait in 2006. 

• Gold Medal in the 100m and 200m short-lane 

breaststroke in Kuwait in 2008. 

Jabber Saeed Saleh 

Weightlifting: 105kg 


• World Weightlifting Championships, Bronze 

Medal, Thailand, 2007 

• Asian Championships, Gold Medal, China, 2007 

• World Championships, Bronze Medal, Qatar, 

2005 

• World Weightlifting Championship Gold Medal, 

Canada, 2003 

• Asian Games, Gold Medal, Busan, Korea, 2002 

• Asian Championships ,Gold Medal, Japan, 2001 

• 4th place at the Sydney Olympic Games 2000 

Nasser Saeed Al Sehouti 

Paralympian 

Ali Abdulla Mohsen 

Paralympian 

Picture captions 

A - Mubarak Hasan Shami; B -Usama 

Mohammed Alaaraj; C - Samuel Adil Bari 

Francis; D - Daham Najim Bashir; E - Ibrahim 

Babekr Mahmedin; F -Rashid Shafi Bital 

Adusri; G -Jabber Saeed Saleh; H -Nasser 

Saleh Al-Attiya; I - Zakaria Ali Kamil; J - Ahmed 

Hasan Abdullah; K -Abubekr Ali Kamal 



STARS 

IN QATAR 

WHEN IRISH 

EYES ARE 

SMILING 

Denis Lynch took the show 

jumping world by storm when he 

won he won the Global Champions 

Tour Grand Prix in Doha. Now, he 

just can’t stop winning 

Show Jumper Denis Lynch is riding on the crest of a 

wave. In April, the Irishman, then placed 90th in the 

International Equestrian Federation rankings, astonished 

the equine world when he guided his 10-year-old wonder 

horse ‘Lantinus 3’ to victory in the Global Champions 

Tour Grand Prix event in Doha. 

Lynch and Lantinus have since recorded an impressive 

series of wins, taking the Grand Prix at La Baule, France 

and the Grand Prix at Rome, where he recorded the only 

double clear round of the competition. 

But it’s the Doha win in the first leg of the prestigious 

Global Champions Tour, which really made his rivals sit 

up and take notice. 

The unassuming 32-year-old is not one to blow his own 

trumpet, but the big prize money win was all the more 

remarkable since the horse and rider have only worked 

together since October 2007. 

Last year, the Swiss industrialist Thomas Straumann 

bought the gelding from Jan Tops, the driving force behind 

the Global Champions Tour. It was Tops who invited the 

Germany-based Lynch to take part in the event. 

Lynch responded to the challenge by resting Lantinus 

for six weeks ahead of the competition – and the rest is 

history. “It’s been a dream come true finding this horse and 

having this success has been brilliant,” says Lynch. “ It was 

my first time in Doha, but it was a fantastic experience - 

there was a great atmosphere and the course and facilities 

were first class.” 

Arriving in Doha on the Wednesday before the 

competition for a day of ‘schooling’ around the unique, 

oval Qatar Equestrian Federation arena, Lynch and 

Lantinus had time to adjust and observe their new 

environment. “The stables were air-conditioned and you 

couldn’t get any better anywhere in the world,” 

says Lynch. “For the grooms that go with 


the horses, it’s very important that there are permanent 

stables and air conditioning, just as there will be in Hong 

Kong, China for the Olympic Games. On the competition 

nights, the air temperature was quite warm, but that was 

no problem for Lantinus.” 

In fact, nothing appeared to unsettle the horse in Doha 

and for those looking for clues to the Grand Prix final on 

Saturday, Lynch and Lantinus signaled their potential 

when coming second in the 1.50m jump-off class. “On 

the Friday, I wasn’t trying to win,” Lynch confides. “I 

wanted to keep some speed and power for Saturday.” 

On the night of the final - with €100,000 at stake for 

the winner - Lynch used this reserve power to stunning 

affect. After two clear rounds, Lynch qualified for a third 

round jump off against four other riders. Riding second of 

the five, he calculated that another clear round would put 

him in a medal position. 

“If you get a clear round, you’re always in with chance of 

getting in the top three. You need to think realistically, so 

be quick, but don’t be headstrong. On the last run I was 

quick and thought I’d done a good job, but I wasn’t 

at all sure I was going to win. I went into the jump-off 

with the intention of just leaving all the fences up. But the 

horse is naturally quick, and his finishing time put the 

rest under pressure. That’s my tactic but I guess everyone 

knows it by now!” 

Germany’s Alois Pollman-Schweckhorst on Lord Luis 

also put in a clear round, but Lynch came home almost 

half a second faster to secure his biggest prize to date. 

If Doha proved he has the right stuff to succeed under 

pressure, Lynch is also quick to give praise to Lantinus. 

“This horse is so special,” he says. “He has the scope and 

the strength and a brilliant temperament. At first, in a lot 

of situations he was ‘overbrave’ and went more quickly 

than I wanted, which was a handicap. My job is to keep 

him under control and believe in the way he believes in 

himself. He’s a big horse – 1.80 metres – and he really 

wants to run.” 

This positive impression was evidently shared by equine 

admirers in Qatar. After the race, a tempting offer of over 

€5 million was put before the horse’s owner. However, 

according to Lynch, Mr Straumann bought Lantinus for 

sport, not for profit. “Lantinus was bought to jump and 

Thomas loves him,” says Lynch. 

Indeed, a real possibility exists that the duo could 

represent Ireland at the Beijing Olympics – an act of 

generosity from the Swiss owner, which would be wellreceived 

in Tipperary, the rural Irish county where Lynch 

was brought up. 

The same rider and horse combination should also 

return to Doha for next year’s final of the Global 

Champions Tour when a staggering €2.5 million will be 

on offer to the 25 qualifiers. The choice of Doha for the 

final, which was announced after the Grand Prix in Doha, 

demonstrated just how well the Qatar Equestrian 

Federation organised the event but also the keen equine 

interest of Qatar’s ruling family and the Qatari people. 

“The development of show 

jumping in the Middle east is 

fantastic. It’s the way forward... 

not just because I won in Doha!” 

Left: Irishman Denis Lynch, 

riding Lantinus, clears 

another hurdle at the Global 

Champions Tour Grand 

Prix in Doha. Right: Lynch 

celebrates victory in the 

local style. 

Lynch himself is enthusiastic about the sport’s 

development in the region and looks forward his return to 

Doha next year. “The development of show jumping in the 

Middle East is fantastic. It’s the way forward and good for 

our sport in general - not just because I won in Doha! 

“The Middle East brings purchasing power to the 

industry, which keeps the bloodstock prices up, which is 

good for the sport. 

“But it also brings a great hospitality and positive 

mentality to the sport. The racing world has been in the 

Middle East for some time and now show jumping has 

arrived. I really like it and others riders feel the same.” 

As for the skills of the local riders, Lynch is impressed. “I 

was quite amazed by the riding standards. In general, 

they have the same competitive minds that we do. It 

makes no difference what country you’re from – everyone 

has an individual style, and the best of them believe 

in their style.” 

In the light of his Doha performance, Lynch has every 

right to be confident about the future with Lantinus. 

“There will definitely be more big wins. Since April last 

year, he has won more than €500,000. He is one of best 

horses in world.” 



PARTNERS 

IN SPORT 

Qatar National Bank has been sponsoring 

sports events FOR two decades and is now a 

key supporter OF QATAR’S NATIONAL STRATEGY 

It’s not unusual for blue-chip brands to support their 

local sports industry through sponsorship and official 

supplier agreements. 

But you definitely get the sense with Qatar’s leading 

companies that they like to go the extra mile. Over and 

above their commercial objectives, there seems to be a 

genuine desire to participate in Qatar’s great nationbuilding 

agenda. 

A great case in point is QNB – the Qatar National 

Bank which has been sponsoring set-piece sports events 

for the best part of two decades. Whether it is football, 

tennis, motorsports, traditional sports or flagship events 

like the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, it’s a given that QNB 

will have played a pivotal role. 

In recent years, the driving force behind the bank’s 

emphasis on sports sponsorship has been QNB chief 

executive Ali Shareef Al Emadi. And he has made it clear 

on numerous occasions that QNB’s commercial success 

goes hand in hand with Qatar’s prosperity as a nation. For 

Leading from t 

him, sports sponsorship is not just about articulating the 

bank’s core values, it’s about fulfilling its responsibility to 

the wider Qatari community. 

Aside from QNB’s commitment to achieving its own 

commercial objectives, Mr Al Emadi’s approach to sports 

sponsorship consists of three main elements. Firstly, a 

desire to put Qatar on the international map by sponsoring 

iconic events. Secondly, a commitment to developing 

young Qatari talent. And thirdly, an attempt to keep the 

local population healthy and active by supporting local 

community sporting events. 

The classic example of how to achieve all three of these 

goals at the same time was QNB’s support for the 

2006 Asian Games. A brilliantly-executed event, QNB’s 

36.5 million Riyal (US $10 million) financial contribution 

was undoubtedly a key element of Doha’s success. 

But just as important to the smooth running of the overall 

planning process were the bank’s logistical expertise and 

sponsorship experience. 

For QNB, active involvement with the Asian Games 

actually began in early 2005 when it signed its deal with 

the local organising committee [DAGOC]. Straightaway, 

Mr Al Emadi set up a permanent supervising committee 

to manage the bank’s preparations for the Games. By 

overseeing the committee himself, Mr Al Emadi sent out 

two messages. Firstly, that the bank’s sponsorship strategy 

would not be executed in a way which would affect its core 

banking services. And secondly, that the Games really 

Above: QNB was at the 

heart of the action during 

the 2006 Asian Games. 

Below: QNB Chief Executive 

Ali Shareef Al Emadi awards 

Maria Sharapova with the 

Qatar Open trophy. 

mattered to the bank (something he also demonstrated by 

taking part in the Doha torch relay). 

Indeed, QNB made sure its involvement with the 

Games touched the bank at every level. For example, it 

issued a special credit card to commemorate the Asian 

Games - donating part of the card’s revenues to the Reach 

Out To Asia campaign. It also worked with DAGOC to 

create an Information Emergency Centre – equipped with 

state-of-the-art technology to help tackle any emergency. 

As the Games approached, QNB employees became part 

of a vast field force of volunteers which ensured the Games 

ran smoothly. 

In terms of maximising exposure for both the bank and 

the event itself, QNB sponsored the official uniforms of 

10,000 volunteers from 93 nations. 

The bank’s commitment to the success of the event also 

required a lot of activity around arrivals from abroad. 

Temporary bank branches within the Athletes’ Village, 

the temporary airport and the main media centre were all 

built to serve QNB clients and to promote the Bank’s 

products and services. QNB also ran a well-organised 

corporate hospitality programme. This played a key role in 

showcasing the capabilities of both the bank and Qatar to 

partners. 

Of course, it would be wrong to suppose that QNB’s 

interest in sport was limited to a few weeks at the end of 

2006. Mr. Al Emadi has often stressed that the bank’s role 

in supporting the 2006 Doha Asian Games was not an 


he front 

isolated one-off - but an integral part of its wider strategic 

efforts to bolster Qatar’s sports sector. 

For many years, QNB has been a key supporter of the 

Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) – a partnership which 

was re-affirmed in 2006 when the bank signed an 

agreement to became the exclusive sponsor of Qatar’s 

major championships in football, basketball, volleyball 

and handball (a deal which factors in existing support for 

leading Qatari soccer events - the Emir Cup and the Heir 

Apparent Cup). 

Worth QR 25 million over three years, the deal is the 

first time a single Qatari institution has undertaken an 

initiative of this magnitude. And it couldn’t have come at 

a better time – providing local athletes with the kind of 

stable support they need in the run up to Beijing 2008. 

Not only that, but QNB’s Olympic link has allowed it 

to reach out and engage with Qatari consumers once more. 

For the first half of the year, it ran a credit card 

promotion with Visa (an IOC TOP sponsor), which will 

enable six lucky winners to attend the Beijing Olympics. 

In doing so, it found a way to keep up the momentum 

created by Doha 2006. 

Often, investment in a new area of sponsorship leads to 

cutbacks in existing commitments. But QNB has been 

careful not to turn its back on long-established 

arrangements. It continues to sponsor the Qatar’s Men 

and Women Tennis Championships – ATP and WTAendorsed 

events which attract world-class talent. 

QNB’s commitment to tennis is part of a long-standing 

partnership with the Qatar Tennis Federation, which 

dates back to the early 1990s. Explaining the rationale for 

the sponsorship, Mr Al Emadi said: “Our focus has been 

on giving Qatar the boost it deserves in order to receive 

international recognition, and we truly believe that 

supporting Tennis will help achieve this objective. 

We have been partners with QTF for 14 years, during 

which time this relationship has blossomed to a stage 

where Qatar’s tennis tournaments are recognised all 

over the world.” QNB has also played its part in the 

motorsports revolution sweeping across the Middle East. 

Through its partnership with the Qatar Motor and 

Motorcycle Federation (QMMF), it is the sponsor of both 

the QNB Losail Motorbike Race and the Qatari Middle 

East Rally Champion, Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah. 

Once again, Mr Al Emadi is keen for QNB to lead 

from the front: “This agreement falls in line with QNB’s 

plan to be actively involved in sponsoring and supporting 

local sport in Qatar. It allows us to strengthen our 

involvement in the development of motorsports, which 

enjoys widespread popularity in Doha. 

“This last comment is a reminder of how important 

the local population is to QNB’s strategy. QNB, for 

example, has stayed loyal to traditional favourites such as 

horse racing and camel racing. As Mr Al Emadi concludes, 

“Maintaining a strong link with the past will enable the 

country to move forward with confidence.” 



HEALTH 

AND SOCIETY 

Aspetar delivers best-in-class 

ORTHOPAEDIC treatment 

Aspetar’s reputation for orthopaedic surgery is growing in the Gulf 

as it leads the region in ground-breaking surgical procedures 

iStock 

Aspetar, Qatar’s Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine 

Hospital, is to stage a world-class conference on 

orthopaedic surgery in the Aspetar Auditorium on 

19-20 November 2008. 

The 1st Annual Aspetar Arabian Gulf Sports Medicine 

Meeting will be organised by Peter Fowler and Craig 

Bottoni, Aspetar’s chief medical officer and chief of surgery 

respectively, and is supported by ISAKOS – the International 

Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopaedic 

Sports Medicine. 

Camera (arthroscope) surgery is a key procedure in the 

treatment of sporting injures, in particular those affecting 

an athlete’s knee and shoulder, and Aspetar is now a 

leading regional centre for this careersaving 

surgery. 

In April, Aspetar 

become the first hospital in Qatar to carry out a 

‘double bundle arthroscopic posterior cruciate ligament 

(PCL)’ reconstruction. PCL injures are less common 

than those affecting the anterior cruciate ligament 

(ACL), but can be equally destructive. 

The operation was led by Dr Bottoni, who developed 

this new surgical technique in 2003 and has used it in 

over 100 operations before joining Aspetar. “This is a 

relatively new technique but we believe it makes a 

difficult operation slightly less challenging,” said Dr 

Bottoni. “It is our intention at Aspetar to become a 

PCL referral centre for the region.” 

Dr Bottoni was involved in another landmark 

procedure this year, when, with the assistance of Dr 

Mohammed Al Ateeq, he performed the ‘first double 

row, arthroscopic rotator cuff repair’ at Aspetar. 

The arthroscopic technique allows the shoulder injury 

to be repaired through very small skin incisions through 

which a camera (arthroscope) and surgical instruments 

are passed. 

Dr Bottoni has received several international awards for 

his sports medicine research in knee and shoulder injuries 

and their surgical repairs. Among his many accolades, is 

the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine 

(AOSSM) Excellence in Research Award, which he won in 

2005 for research on arthroscopic shoulder surgery. 

In 2007, he won AOSSM the O’Donohue Sports 

Injury Research Award for research into optimal 

timing of ACL surgery. 

He is the programme director 

for this November’s 

conference and 

along with Peter Fowler, a world leader in all 

areas of orthopaedic sports medicine, patient 

care, research and teaching, will host a group of 

prominent sports medicine specialists. 

These will include Dr Richard Hawkins, 

the former team physician for the 1998 and 

1999 Super Bowl Champions, the Denver 

Broncos, and co-founder of the Steadman 

Hawkins Clinic; Dr Charlie Brown, a knee 

specialist from the Harvard Combined 

Orthopaedic Services and Dr Peter Pascal, a 

US-based orthopaedic surgeon and sports 

medicine specialist. 

The meeting will include expert lectures and 

live surgery demonstrations within the brand 

new Aspetar facility. 

Above: Dr Craig Bottoni 

performed the first ‘double 

bundle arthroscopic 

posterior cruciate ligament 

reconstruction’ surgery in a 

Qatari Hospital. 

Special 

achievements 

A SPECIAL PAralympic FESTIVAL 

iN doha CONFIRMED THE GULF 

STATE’S COMMITMENT TO sport 

for all its people AHEAD OF 

THE 2008 BEIJING GAMEs 

The Sport Affairs Department of the Qatar Olympic 

Committee (QOC), in association with the Qatar Sport 

Federation (QSF) for Special Needs, has held its first 

paralympic sports festival at the Qatar Sports Club. 

“We want to bring these people closer to the society 

and make the society accept them,” said Khalil Al Jaber, 

Director of QOC Sport Affairs Department. “There is an 

active participation from people in paralympic sport these 

days - and two of our athletes will be competing in javelin 

and weightlifting at the Beijing Paralympics this year.” 

Dr Hassan Mohammed Al Ansari, Secretary General, 

QSF for Special Needs stressed that those with special 

needs are provided with training by specialist coaches. 



HEALTH 

AND SOCIETY 

“We have about 300 people with special needs who are 

active in sports,” he said. “Our aim is to promote sports 

among these people and give them an opportunity to live 

a normal life. 

“The federation facilitates are not only for the adults: 

we have children from the age of 12 years from other 

schools who are given training,” he added 

The festival featured a number of events and saw wide 

participation from both the disabled and others. It began 

with a friendly football match between two teams 

comprising people with mental disabilities. 

Goal ball, a special game for the blind using perforated 

balls with a bell inside also attracted much attention. The 

players had to prevent goals being scored by tracking the 

ball’s movement by sound. Cultural events, and other 

games for people with different kinds of disabilities, 

besides cultural events, were also held. “Qatar gives great 

importance to these kinds of activities, ” said Mr Al Jabber. 

“We have a number of organisations for people with 

special needs which are actively involved with QOC and 

are supporting all our activities.” 

Paralympic athletes took centre stage at the Qatar Sports Club. 

GSF WARNS TEENS 

AGAINST drug use 

THE united natioNS AND Qatar’s 

olympic authorities are 

SHOWING the SPORTING world 

NEW WAYS TO RESPOND TO drug 

use AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE 

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 

(UNODC) and several Qatar-based organisations put 

together a series of awareness programmes in Doha to 

mark the ‘International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit 

Trafficking’ on June 26. 

The campaign was first launched by the United Nations 

General Assembly in 1987 and this year, as in the past, was 

targeted towards youth and students, under the theme, 

“Do drugs control your life? Your life. Your community. 

No place for drugs”. 

In response to the global problem, the Global Sport 

Fund (GSF), the Qatari fund set up by the QOC 

and UNODC to encourage young people to lead a healthy 

lifestyle, is also launching a unique attempt at drug 

use prevention to support youth-in-sport projects in 

several countries. 

Young people will be encouraged to take up amateur 

sports to promote healthy lifestyles that include being part 

of a coaching programme in which they practice fair play 

on the field and essential social values and related life skills 

off it. For this, a number of camps with participants taking 

part from over 30 countries are set to take place in Africa, 

Asia and South America by the end of 2008. 

QOC became the first sports entity in the world to join 

hands with UNODC in establishing the Global Sport 

Fund (GSF) in 2005. “QOC is the only national Olympic 

committee in the world to join UNODC for such a 

venture,” said Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, 

Secretary General of QOC. 

“We started the Schools Olympic Day, a feat lauded by 

the IOC, and we feel equally satisfied by backing a 

programme, which is exclusively devised to supporting the 

youth of the world.” 

Among the events that took place on June 26, the 

Permanent Committee on Drugs and Alcohol Affairs, on 

behalf of the Qatar government, conducted exhibitions, 

presentations and lectures to raise awareness among the 

public on the dangers of using drugs, while a campaign by 

the Indian Anti-Smoking Society raised awareness of the 

dangers of smoking in their community. 

Public lectures on the dangers 

of drug-abuse formed part 

of the International Day 

against Drug Abuse and 

Illicit Trafficking on June 26. 


Asian Optimist Sailing Championship 

Qatar Squash Classic 

Arab Shooting Championship 

Sony Ericsson Championships 

The Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe France 05/10/08 

IAAF World Road Running Championships Brazil 12/10/08 

Japanese Grand Prix Japan 12/10/08 

Madrid Masters spain 13/10/08 

MLB World Series USA 22/10/08 

Asian Optimist Sailing Championship doha Sailing Club 24/10/08 

Rugby League World Cup australia 26/10/08 

MotoGP final race of season spain 26/10/08 

World Superbikes final race of season Portugal 26/10/08 

Qatar Squash Classic Championship Khalifa Tennis Complex 27/10/08 

F1 GP final race of season Brazil 02/11/08 

U-14 Int. Tennis Championship Khalifa Tennis Complex 03/11/08 

Sony Ericsson Tennis Championships Khalifa Tennis Complex 04/11/08 

Int. Car Endurance Rally Losail Int. Circuit 06/11/08 

The 8th Arab Shooting Championship Lusail Shooting Range 10/11/08 

World Touring Car Championship Macau 16/11/08 

Davis Cup final tBD 21/11/08 

The 4th Asian Technical Gymnastic Championship aspire Zone 23/11/08 

Omega Mission Hills World Cup China 7/11/08 

European Short Course Swimming Championships Finland 07/12/08 

Gulf Sailing Trophy doha Sailing Club 08/12/08 

Qatar Int. Bowling Open Championship Qatar Bowling Center 04/12/08 

The 2nd. Cycling Golden Shirt Open Championship around Qatar 18/12/08 

Doha U-16 Handball Int. Championship al Gharrafa Club 18/12/08 

End of NFL regular season USA 28/12/08 

Events diary - International and Qatar 


www.globalsportfund.com 

Youth in sport— 

Create a world 

of motion! 

Imagine what would happen if the 

1.7 billion youth — more than a 

quarter of the world’s population 

under 25 years of age — took part in 

a sport. What a world of motion that 

would be. The Global Sport Fund 

(GSF) is working to help young people 

do just that. It is an initiative of the 

United Nations Office on Drugs and 

Crime and the Qatar Olympic 

Committee to aid youth to develop 

their potential, live healthy lifestyles, 

and stay away from drugs.

World sports 

rankings 

Clockwise from the top: 

Women’s tennis No. 1 Ana 

Ivanovic; South African 

star Bryan Habana; the 

peerless Tiger Woods; and 

FIFA’s top 2 soccer nations. 

the best of the best in sport… at a glance 

FIFA – at 11/06/08 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

83 

84 

85 

86 

87 

Argentina 

Brazil 

Italy 

Spain 

Germany 

Czech Republic 

France 

Greece 

England 

Netherlands 

Portugal 

Romania 

Cameroon 

Mexico 

Croatia 

Ghana 

Scotland 

Bulgaria 

Colombia 

Turkey 

-- 

Qatar 

Libya 

Iceland 

Zimbabwe 

Trinidad and Tobago 

1559 

1513 

1424 

1303 

1274 

1246 

1143 

1133 

1123 

1111 

1094 

1069 

1041 

1020 

1017 

986 

978 

949 

904 

877 

-- 

373 

369 

367 

367 

365 

IRB - at 11/06/08 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

South Africa 

New Zealand 

Argentina 

Australia 

England 

Wales 

France 

Ireland 

Fiji 

Scotland 

90.81 

89.59 

87.42 

84.20 

83.36 

80.12 

79.61 

77.18 

76.29 

74.92 

World Golf - at 12/06/08 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

Tiger Woods (USA) 

Phil Mickelson (USA) 

Adam Scott (Australia) 

Ernie Els (South Africa) 

Geoff Ogilvy (Australia) 

Justin Rose (England) 

Sergio Garcia (Spain) 

Steve Stricker (USA) 

Vijay Singh (Fiji) 

Jim Furyk (USA) 

19.44 

10.21 

5.86 

5.72 

5.62 

5.44 

5.22 

5.21 

5.14 

5.09 

ATP Tour - at 11/06/08 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

Roger Federer (Switzerland) 

Rafael Nadal (Spain) 

Novak Djokovic (Serbia) 

Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) 

David Ferrer (Spain) 

Andy Roddick (USA) 

James Blake (USA) 

David Nalbandian (Argentina) 

Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) 

Richard Gasquet (France) 

6675 

5585 

5225 

3050 

2905 

2405 

2015 

2000 

1615 

1595 

FIH ABN-AMRO - at 12/06/08 

Sony Ericsson WTA Tour - at 11/06/08 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

Germany 

Australia 

Netherlands 

Spain 

Korea 

Pakistan 

Argentina 

England 

India 

New Zealand 

1921 

1898 

1743 

1689 

1435 

1353 

1115 

1092 

1078 

1020 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) 

Maria Sharapova (Russia) 

Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) 

Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) 

Elena Dementieva (Russia) 

Serena Williams (USA) 

Venus Williams (USA) 

Anna Chakvetadze (Russia) 

Dinara Safina (Russia) 

Marion Bartoli (France) 

4222 

3806 

3755 

3565 

2750 

2676 

2606 

2541 

2222 

2035 


O’Grady 

looks 

east 

for 

growth 


The PGA European Tour Chief 

Executive George O’Grady sees 

the future in the new golfing 

destinations of the Middle 

East and Asia 

George O’Grady’s office is tucked away behind the first 

tee of Wentworth’s famous west course, which for the 

last 25 years or so has been the centre of the PGA 

European Tour’s world. How long this remains the case is 

open to question. 

For now, this is European golf’s headquarters, situated 

deep in the London stockbroker belt, surrounded by some 

of the most expensive real estate in Europe. Every May, 

golf fans come in their thousands to watch the BMW 

PGA Championship, and to peek through the hedgerows 

of the estate’s famous residents. 

Where once the stucco-fronted mansions were occupied 

by old school bankers from the City of London and stars of 

the British entertainment industry, they have been largely 

replaced by an international elite: the stars of private 

equity and the Premier League, Andriy Shevchenko has 

spent his Chelsea sojourn here and Boris Berekovsky, the 

secretive exiled Russian oligarch, lives in one of the estate’s 

many tree line roads. 

In many ways the PGA at Wentworth is a throwback, 

to the days when the Tour’s big dates were the national 

open championships of Europe, held in Ireland, France, 

Italy, Spain and Portugal. But those days are gone and 

they’re not coming back. 

George O’Grady has overseen a revolution, one that 

started more than 25 years ago, when the European Tour 

broke out of Europe. Along with former Tour Chief 

Executive Ken Schofield from whom he took over in 2004, 

O’Grady has steered a new course, one that has led to a 

power and influence shift from Wentworth to golf’s new 

playground in the Gulf. 

The Dubai Desert Classic led the way, followed in 1998, 

by the Commercialbank Qatar Masters, which has grown 

into one of the key events of the early season schedule. 

With a $2.5million purse on offer, the Qatar event has 

been won by some of the game’s most illustrious players. 

Australian Adam Scott negotiated the 7,355 yard Doha 

Golf Club course to win the 2008 tournament, thereby 

adding his name to those of Retief Goosen, Henrik 

Stenson and Ernie Els among others on the trophy. 

From his perspective as Chief Executive of the European 

Tour, George O’Grady draws parallels between the Dubai’s 

explosive golfing growth and the potential of Qatar. 

“The big move will happen when they build the second 

golf course,” he says, noting how quickly the Doha 

coastline has developed since his first visit. “They have 

many hotels now. But at first they only had one, which 

is now the Doha Sheridan. As they develop the coastline, 

the same growth of the game in Qatar will occur as it 

has in Dubai.” 

The importance of the relationships between the Tour 

and countries in the region are obvious. Golf’s traditional 

sponsorship model is coming under pressure. The banks 

and car-makers, who have long supported the sport 

are facing uncertain economic times. The oil wealth of 

Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, along with the respective 

governments’ tourism agenda, provides a welcome source 

of income. 

For Qatar in particular, O’Grady says golf, along with 

other sporting events, has helped establish the country on 

the world map. “A camera at a tennis event just shows 

a tennis court. The camera at a golf tournament shows 

the whole area, they are feature golf courses, which are 

then discussed by the commentary teams. In Qatar golf 

has helped attract investment into the region, and people 

certainly know where it is.” 

This year saw the second Abu Dhabi Championship 

and further events in the region are sure to follow. The 

Tour has recently gone into partnership with Axem Sports, 

a company operating out of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. It 

seems likely then that Saudi Arabia will soon be added to 

the Gulf Swing. 

O’Grady’s view of sports marketing was handed down 

to him by John Jacobs, a former chief of the tour. Jacobs 

was asked in the early 1970s what he was going to do to 

attract the interest of sponsors. He replied: “I won’t, I’ll be 

trying to create an image so sponsors will come looking 

for me.” This approach reached a zenith late last year with 

an announcement that stunned seasoned observers of the 

game. From 2009 the Tour’s money list will be renamed the 

Race to Dubai and the season will culminate in The Dubai 

World Championship held at the Jumeirah Golf Estates, 

the richest event ever staged anywhere in the world. 

the big interview 

Above: Last year’s Qatar 

Open Masters winner, 

Adam Scott. Following 

page: O’Grady relaxes 

with golf star Padraig 

Harrington as the 

European Tour visits the 

Middle East. 

“The big move will happen when 

they build the second golf 

course [in Doha]. In Qatar, golf 

has helped attract investment 

into the region” 


the big interview 

GEORGe O’Grady – continued from previous page 

“In China, there are masses 

of people being groomed and 

coached in golf because... it is the 

done thing in business” 

Players will be ranked according to their earnings from 

all events on The European Tour international schedule, 

including all European Tour tournaments, the Major 

Championships and the World Golf Championships. 

Players ranked from 1 to 60 in The Race to Dubai then 

compete in the season’s climax, the $10 million Dubai 

World Championship. Following this tournament, the 

season’s 15 top-ranked players by earnings share a Bonus 

Pool of $10 million. The Number One player will receive 

$2 million, the runner-up $1.5 million and the thirdplaced 

player $1 million, with prizes down to the 15th 

player, who will earn $250,000. 

“With the combined prize funds of The Dubai World 

Championship and The Race to Dubai, we have the 

prospect of a player standing over a putt for $3,666,660,” 

said O’Grady, when the announcement was made. 

The scale and ambition of the event is a direct assault 

on the PGA Tour, which for the first time is showing signs 

of status anxiety. American golf’s hierarchy has watched 

on as O’Grady has spread in to the Middle East and Asia, 

adding lucrative new commercial partners and opening up 

new markets, most notably in China and India. All four 

World Golf Championship events, controlled by the PGA 

Tour are this year held in America. The Road to Dubai 

comes a year after Tim Finchem, O’Grady’s American 

counterpart, launched the FedEx series, itself a response 

to falling TV ratings and concerns that the game stateside 

is over dependent on Tiger Woods. 

Underpinning this anxiety is the thought of losing their 

trump card to an international tour, a seemingly distant 

prospect despite the riches on offer. Woods has said he 

doubts he will be in Dubai next November, saying the 

rigours of maintaining his European Tour card, a prerequisite 

of entry, will be too much. 

Woods’ absence would undermine the Dubai event’s 

World Championship claims, and it remains to be seen 

if the Tour will accommodate his schedule to get him in. 

Such is his pulling power that even mega-rich events can 

look pedestrian without him. For example, HSBC pulled 

out of its sponsorship of the World Matchplay, also at 

Wentworth, after five years of a ten-year deal, originally 

set to run to 2012. Woods played just once during the 

bank’s sponsorship of the event, losing in the first round 

to Shaun Micheel in 2006. 

“We are unashamedly about business,” says O’Grady, 

who was a former executive with oil company Esso. “We 

follow the money.” He has noted a significant change in 

the objectives of the Tour’s international partners. “In the 

early days it was about big global companies trying to 

break in to the China market. Now it is as much about 

Chinese course developments and companies promoting 

themselves to the world. Governments around the world 

have decided that golf is a good role model for its citizens, 

because of all the accompanying virtues of character 

building, leadership and etiquette that go with it”. 

The next step for Qatar, China and the other golf 

destinations is to increase participation among their own 

people, allowing the sport to move from something they 

watch to something they do. 

“In China, there are masses of people being coached 

and groomed in golf because they deem it to be 

acceptable and it is the done thing in business. You have 

to be careful who you invite to play in a Pro-Am because 

they always say yes”. 

Viewing figures play a major part in the decision making 

process of the new generation of tour sponsors says O’Grady. 

“They are very much more research driven. Whatever the 

euphoria they feel on the Sunday of a tournament, the 

chairman’s whim is no longer as important. But it is worth 

noting that it is still important, he or she signs it off, but 

now it has to be backed up with pages of figures”. 

The key to providing sponsors with this evidence 

lies in the television contracts negotiated centrally by 

O’Grady and his team. The European Tour is available 

in 80 million homes via a deal with The Golf Channel in 

the US, ensuring events such as the Qatar Masters is seen 

around the world. 

“It starts with having quality pictures,” says O’Grady, 

referring to the broadcast service provided by European 

Tour Productions, a joint venture between the tour and 

IMG Media. “We are able to guarantee high class pictures 

anywhere in the world. It means we are selling quality and 

certainty rather than hope”. 

As the golfing economy of Qatar grows, this sounds 

like good news.

EYES ON CHINA GOLD - Qatar Olympic Committee

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