The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced in a statement issued that Aspetar, orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital, has been re-accredited within the network of Research Centres for the next 4 years. IOC nominated Aspetar as one of the few hospitals in the world to be a Research Centre for the Prevention of Injury and Protection of Athlete Health for the third time in a row since their initial inspection in 2014.
Guided by its Medical and Scientific Commission, the IOC has reaffirmed its commitment to protecting athletes’ health by naming just 11 specialist organisations around the world as IOC Research Centres for 2023-2026, continuing a highly successful initiative that launched in 2009.
As an IOC Research Centre for 2023-2026, Aspetar will work to research, develop, and implement effective preventive and treatment methods for sports-related injuries and illnesses.
Chair of the IOC Medical and Scientific Commission Professor Ugur Erdener welcomed the announcement of the new IOC Research Centres: “I am delighted that we will once more be working with many of the world’s leading experts in sports medicine through these partnerships.”
“These 11 IOC Research Centres are conducting vital research into athletes’ health and the prevention of sports injuries. The IOC’s desire to keep athletes at the heart of the Olympic Movement includes a robust commitment to athlete welfare, and we look forward to partnering with these Centres as they explore new ways to prevent injury in athletes.”
Director General of Aspetar Mohamed Khalifa al-Suwaidi expressed: “This renewed recognition by the International Olympic Committee confirms Aspetar’s excellence in the scientific and research field in parallel with its successes in the medical field and even settles the hospital’s continuation of the approach it has outlined in providing distinguished and quality medical services to the elite athletes, we are proud of the trust that Aspetar has gained from major sports bodies, which strengthens Aspetar’s leadership position.”
Aspetar is the only Research Centre in the Mena region nominated by IOC, and one of only two Asian medical centres to be amongst the 11 IOC Research Centres worldwide, joining other Centres from Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, UK, and the USA.
Commenting about the achievement, Aspetar CEO Dr Abdulaziz Jaham al-Kuwari said: “Through this scientific collaboration, Aspetar as one of the leading centres in sports medicine and sports science continues to work closely with IOC. Aspetar has established a leading programme to protect athletes’ health and prevent injuries and illnesses in sports and the IOC promotes injury and disease prevention and the improvement of athletes’ physical and mental health. As such, we are delighted to gain the trust of the biggest sports institutions in the world, which motivates us more to work for the benefit of athletes and sports worldwide.”
The IOC has long supported the work of established Research Centres that have demonstrated research, and educational and clinical expertise in elite sports. Since 2014 Aspetar has worked in partnership with IOC, supporting research in sports medicine while simultaneously building an international network of expert scientists and clinicians in sports injury and illness prevention research.
Aspetar has a recognised track record in screening athletes and is pursuing an ambitious research programme including their Sports Cardiology project, a programme entirely dedicated to injury prevention, and numerous studies on environmental factors affecting athletes’ health and performance (e.g. exercising in the heat). Through the National Sports Medicine Programme, Aspetar provides care to all athletes in Qatar, offering unique opportunities for research on and implementation of prevention initiatives.