Sheikh Joaan chairs meeting of GCC Olympic Committees’ presidents

HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), chaired the 36th meeting of the Council of the Presidents of the Olympic Committees of the Gulf Co-operation Council countries, which was held on Wednesday in Doha.
Sheikh Joaan opened the meeting with a speech in which he welcomed the attendees and conveyed to them the greetings of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the Amir of Qatar. He expressed his thanks and appreciation to Sheikh Khalid bin Mohamed al-Zubair, President of the Oman Olympic Committee, for the sincere efforts made by the Oman Olympic Committee under his chairmanship during the previous session, which had a significant impact on strengthening the course of joint Gulf sports work.
Sheikh Joaan praised the great efforts made by the national Olympic committees in the Gulf Co-operation Council countries, which have been positively reflected in the development of the Olympic and sports movement in the Gulf countries. He also congratulated the United Arab Emirates on the distinguished hosting of the first edition of the Gulf Youth Games, which achieved great success and constituted an important tributary for the preparation of new generations of athletes.
In the meeting, the presidents of the Olympic Committees in the GCC countries, were also briefed on the recommendations on joint Gulf sports work, where the Secretariat received requests to host 13 Gulf sports championships for the year 2024. The presidents appreciated the efforts made by the Olympic committees and sports federations for various sports in order to strengthen joint Gulf sports activity.
It was agreed that the national Olympic committees in the GCC countries should provide the General Secretariat with the Gulf sports tournaments and championships that the Olympic committees and sports federations intend to host during the next year 2025.
The council reviewed the memorandum of the General Secretariat on the meeting of the Working Group on studying the conditions of the committees and working groups affiliated with the council, and the recommendations that emerged from the meeting. It was decided to form a planning, co-ordination and follow-up committee consisting of nominees from the member states who have experience and competence in the sports field. The tasks and responsibilities of the committee were also approved, and the Executive Board was tasked with following up, supervising and approving the results of the outputs of the committees and working groups affiliated with the Council of Presidents of the Olympic Committees.
The presidents of the Olympic Committees in the GCC countries, were also briefed on the recommendations of the Executive Board and the memorandum of the General Secretariat on international cooperation and partnerships regionally and internationally, in addition to other international organisations in the sports field, and on the current state of joint Gulf sports activity, which focuses only on organizing the Gulf multi sports events, where a sports tournament is held every year represented in the General Sports Games, the Youth Sports Games, the Beach Sports Games, and the Indoor and Martial Arts Sports Games, with varying activity in holding sports tournaments and specialized workshops in the sports field. The council recommended that the Planning, Co-ordination and Follow-up Committee study the most appropriate forms of international cooperation in the coming period.
The 37th meeting of the Council of the Presidents of the Olympic Committees of the GCC countries will be held on May 6, 2025 in Kuwait.