Qatar sport COVERMG.indd - Qatar Olympic Committee

ISSUE 19 OCTOBER 2012 $10 

DOHA GOALS: A NEW 

INITIATIVE FOR SPORT 

OLYMPIC SIBLINGS: 

AMONG THE MEDALS 

PERFECT 

SWING 

WHY RORY MCILROY 

CAN’T STOP WINNING 

THE BIG BANG 

ANALYSING THE ART OF SHOOTING 

GAME CHANGER 

PARALYMPIC GAMES BREAKS NEW GROUND 

OLYMPIC MEMORIES 

QATAR MAKES ITS MARK IN LONDON 

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE 

OF THE QATAR 

OLYMPIC COMMITTEE

Enjoy Latino festive table in the heart of Doha! 

LATINO IS BETTER WHEN SHARED

INSIDE 

5 In Focus 

Sporting life through a lens 

14 

10 Global Sports Update 

Insight from around the world 

14 Major in Golf 

Rory McIlroy is a class apart 

18 Coming Up 

Your essential sports event guide 

21 My London 2012 

Olympic memories from Qatar’s best 

18 

21 

24 Fit for Life 

Could shooting be the sport for you? 

26 Leaders 

Comment from FINA President Dr. Julio Cesar Maglione 

and SOP Executive Director Mohammed Issa Al-Fadala 

29 Qatar Stars League 

A new home for global talent 

34 For the Record 

Olympic siblings share the medals 

36 Trends 

The best ever Paralympic Games 

29 

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, 2012. 

www.olympic.qa 

qoc@olympic.qa 

Designed and produced for the Qatar Olympic Committee by 

SportBusiness Group, London. Cover photo: Getty Images

Welcome 

The London 2012 Olympic Games were well organised. The quality of performance, facilities and atmosphere 

created by full houses of passionate fans made it a remarkable event and our congratulations and thanks go to 

both the International Olympic Committee and the London Organising Committee. 

London 2012 also represented another milestone for sports in Qatar as the outstanding performances of Nasser 

Al-Attiyah in the skeet shooting and Mutaz Essa Barshim in the men’s high jump earned bronze medals. 

This was a significant achievement for Qatar’s small but growing team and an indication that the vision and 

policies of our country and the Qatar Olympic Committee are bearing fruit. 

Looking ahead, we are delighted to have been chosen to host the UCI Road Cycling World Championships 

in 2016. It is the first time the event has come to the Middle East and we are determined that it will leave a 

significant legacy for cycling and the people of Qatar. 

Working with the UCI – cycling’s international governing body – we will create a programme designed to get 

the people of Qatar cycling. Cycling is great fun, good for the environment and keeps people active and healthy 

and these are all key messages of the Qatar Olympic Committee. 

The UCI Road Cycling World Championships is the latest in a series of major global sports events which will be 

hosted in Qatar during what promises to be the most exciting period in our nation’s sporting history. 

In 2014 we are proud to have been selected to stage the FINA World Championship (25m). It will be a privilege 

to welcome the world’s leading swimmers to Doha and the following year our door will open to the finest 

handball players as Doha hosts the IHF Men’s World Handball Championship. 

These Championships pave the way for the biggest celebration of the most popular team sport in the world, the 

FIFA World Cup, which we will host in 2022. Although these major events are naturally an important part of 

our mission we are also firmly committed to developing sports from the heart of our community. 

That is why we are delighted to celebrate the sixth edition of the Schools Olympic Programme which has 

become a cornerstone of our activities. The Schools Olympic Programme is designed to inspire young people 

to get involved in sports and adopt healthy lifestyles by creating opportunities and encouragement through 

activity and education. It is a national project which we hope will provide the foundations for future Qatari 

participation and success in the Olympic Games and other world championships. 

During the final months of 2012 we are looking forward to hosting the FINA World Cup Series, the FIVB 

Volleyball World Club Championship for the fourth year – and the Asian Champions Trophy in hockey. In 

addition, Aspire4Sport takes place in November while Doha GOALS, a global platform for creating change by 

connecting the power of sport to health education and social programme runs from December 10-12. You will 

find full details elsewhere in this edition of Qatar Sport. 

Finally, we were extremely proud to have launched ‘Save the Dream’ a project designed to preserve the 

integrity of sport, in conjunction with the International Centre for Sports Security at the Sorbonne in Paris. 

It is a much needed and wide-ranging programme and we are thrilled to have football superstar Alessandro 

Del Piero as our ambassador. 

And we are delighted to announce that the region’s first anti-doping laboratory, a facility which will play an 

important role in the battle against cheating and ensuring fair competition in all sports, will be launched in 

December this year. 

Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani 

Secretary General, Qatar Olympic Committee 

4 | Issue 19 | Qatar Sport

1 

THE SPORTING WORLD 

THROUGH THE LENSES OF 

REUTERS AND ACTION 

IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHERS 

1 SMILE PLEASE 

Jamaica’s Usain Bolt takes pictures with a photographer’s 

camera after the Olympic men’s 200m fi nal, August 9, 2012. 

Photograph by: REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini 

2 EVERYTHING’S GONE GREEN 

Fireworks explode during the London 2012 Opening Ceremony 

at the Olympic Stadium, July 27, 2012. 

Photograph by: REUTERS/Jorge Silva 

2 

Qatar Sport | Issue 19 | 5

IN FOCUS 

3 MOMENT OF TRIUMPH 

The Netherlands’ Marianne Vos crosses the finish line to 

win the Olympic women’s cycling road race, July 29, 2012. 

Photograph by: REUTERS/Paul Hanna 

4 AIR SHOT 

Britain’s Marie Gerbron takes a shot against Brazil in the 

women’s handball at London 2012, August 1, 2012. 

Photograph by: REUTERS/Marko Djurica 

5 IS THAT THE TIME? 

Paul Estermann of Switzerland, riding Castlefield Eclipse, 

performs in the individual jumping final at London 2012, 

August 8, 2012. 

Photograph by: REUTERS/Jorge Silva 

3 

4 


5 


IN FOCUS 

6 IN THE PINK 

Qatar’s Bahiya Al-Hamad takes aim 

during the women’s 10m air rifle at 

London 2012, July 28, 2012. 

Photograph by: REUTERS/Eddie Keogh 

7 LEAP OF FAITH 

Cyclists take to the air during the 

Olympic men’s BMX final at London 

2012, August 10, 2012. 

Photograph by: REUTERS/Paul Hanna 

6 

7 


UPDATE 

Richard Attias and Carl Lewis launch Doha GOALS in London during the Olympic Games. 

DOHA GOALS CALLS FOR ACTION 

SPORT’S POWER FOR GOOD IS THE KEY TO A NEW, DOHA-BASED GLOBAL INITIATIVE 

Doha GOALS, a new initiative designed 

to promote sport as a driver for social 

and economic change, was unveiled at Bayt 

Qatar, the Qatar Olympic Committee’s 

London headquarters, during the 2012 

Olympic Games. Presented by Richard 

Attias, the former producer of the globallyrenowned 

World Economic Forum in 

Davos, and athletics legend Carl Lewis, the 

media launch explained how Doha GOALS 

aims to build a community of hundreds of 

key “influencers” from all spheres of life 

who believe sport is a crucial vehicle for 

social and economic development. 

The initiative, from the Aspire 

Zone Foundation and Richard Attias & 

Associates, under the patronage of His 

Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al 

Thani, the Emir of Qatar, will see the 

first Doha GOALS Forum take place in 

December this year. Below, event producer 

Richard Attias tells Qatar Sport why the 

time is right for Doha GOALS. 

How did you personally get involved 

in setting up Doha GOALS? 

One year ago, I had a conversation with 

the Qatari leadership about how sport 

is part of Qatar’s DNA. We thought that 

launching an initiative which could have a 

real impact in the region and in the world 

could be a great added value. From this 

idea, we moved to the concept and a 

concrete project. 

Why is Doha the right place at the 

right time to host Doha GOALS? 

My first visit in Doha was in 1995 when 

I was working on bringing the World 

Economic Forum summit to Qatar. 

Since then, I have followed how Qatar has 

progressed with a real vision and how sport 

is an important part of that vision. 

Doha has the legitimacy to host the 

Doha GOALS Forum and to be the driving 

force of that initiative. Having hosting the 

Asian Games, the Arab Games, the Tour of 

Qatar, and thanks to the amazing Aspire 

Zone Foundation, Qatar has demonstrated 

its credibility. 

Why is there a need for such an 

international Forum? 

It’s more than a Forum. It’s a call to action 

with the will and the wish to launch several 

initiatives all over the world, for youth 

and in several fields: education, heath, and 

economic development. 

Based on that, there is always a need for 

such an initiative like Doha GOALS. 

How did the international media 

respond to the launch at Bayt Qatar 

in London during the Olympics? 

To be honest, I was very surprised, in a 

positive way, to see the great response. 

More than 45 media leaders came to our 

launch during the Olympic Games and 

we received great support from sporting 

legends like Carl Lewis, Ian Thorpe and 


UPDATE 

Jose-Marie Perec, to name but a few. 

This was a fabulous plus and we could 

not have hoped for better exposure. 

In addition, Bayt Qatar was a first-class 

environment and the great hospitality 

of Sheikh Saoud, added to his personal 

involvement, was the guarantee of success. 

What are your hopes for the 

inaugural Doha Goals Forum, 

December 10-12? 

To make the difference! To create a 

community who shares the same values 

around sport and to give a voice to people 

who never have a chance to do so. But the 

most important thing is to support the 

vision of His Highness the Emir of Qatar 

by launching initiatives, which will have 

a great impact on the youth. I am very 

confident due to the high quality of top 

executives from Qatar who are the driving 

force of the Doha GOALS project. 

What tangible outcomes are you 

hoping to see from Doha GOALS in 

the next five to 10 years? 

Full commitment of the private sector 

to finance initiatives; a change in sports 

policies at government level in some 

countries; the creation of sport academies 

inspired by the Aspire business model; and, 

last but not least, more partnerships built 

thanks to Doha GOALS. 

Would you consider joining forces 

with other like-minded organisations? 

We are open to everyone who can bring 

added value and enhance the mission of 

Doha GOALS. 

I am a strong believer of merging talents, 

ideas, initiatives. Doha GOALS is a catalyst 

and like the Davos Forum or the Clinton 

Global Initiative, which I produced in the 

past, it’s a platform for active and committed 

potential members. 

PROTECTING SPORT’S INTEGRITY 

DEL PIERO JOINS QOC DRIVE 

Just days after he secured his own future 

by signing for Australian football side Sydney 

FC, Italian footballer Alessandro Del Piero 

spoke about the corruption issues facing 

his fellow peers at the 2012 Sorbonne- 

ICSS (International Centre for Sport and 

Security) Sport Integrity Symposium in Paris. 

“To think that football can be associated 

with criminal behaviour is very sad and 

compromises the very credibility of sport,” 

said the former Juventus striker. 

“I am proud and honoured to be able 

to participate in the Qatar Olympic 

Committee (QOC)’s new ‘Save the Dream’ 

initiative, which will aim to raise awareness 

amongst young athletes and children of the 

dangers of match-fixing and inspire a new 

generation of athletes to safeguard 

the integrity of sport.” 

A major part of the ‘Save the Dream’ 

initiative is the creation of a panel 

consisting of 11 high-profile athletes 

from different sports and regions around 

the world, as well as a multidisciplinary 

team composed of world-leading experts 

in education, communications, sport 

management and sport integrity. 

According to Del Piero, who will chair 

the project, “protecting the credibility and 

integrity of sport is essential if we want to 

inspire a new generation of young people 

to take up sport.” Also speaking at 

the symposium was ICSS president 

Alessandro Del Piero speaks at the ICSS Sport Integrity Symposium in Paris. 

Mohammed Hanzab and Chris Eaton, 

FIFA’s former head of security who is now 

director of sport integrity at the ICSS. 

“Alessandro Del Piero is a legend of 

football whose loyalty and integrity makes 

him the ideal ambassador for the Save the 

Dream initiative,” said Hanzab. 

“In addition, the key learnings from 

this year’s symposium will provide major 

sports bodies with a practical framework 

for understanding and handling complex 

integrity issues which will be a major 

step towards eradicating all forms of 

corruption in sport.” 

The 2012 Sorbonne-ICSS Sport Integrity 

Symposium has the official support of the 

United Nations Educational, Scientific and 

Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). 

LAUNCH FOR ANTI-DOPING LAB 

The Anti-Doping Lab Qatar (ADLQ), the 

first specialised facility of its kind in the 

Gulf and the whole of West Asia, is set to 

be opened under the auspices of H.H. the 

Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad 

Al-Thani this December. 

The state-of-the-art laboratory will 

conduct advanced tests and research to 

eliminate the use of illegal performanceenhancing 

drugs in all sports and uphold 

the Olympic ideals of fair play and 

sportsmanship. Located within Aspire 

Zone, the facility will also protect the 

health of the Qatari public through tests 

conducted in its toxicology and research 

laboratories in support of the anti-doping 

and multi-purpose labs. 


UPDATE 

 

 

 

INBRIEF 

TREnTIno TARgETs FoUR 

The draw for the FIVB Club World 

Championships 2012 was completed 

in the host city Doha in September 

with the defending three-time men’s 

champions Trentino PlanetWin365 

(Italy) drawn in Pool A against 

Al-Rayyan (Qatar), Tiger N. Leon 

(Mexcio) and Sada Cruzeiro (Brazil). 

Pool B will see Zenit Kazan (Russia), 

PGE Skra Belchatow (Poalnd), Al- 

Arabi (Qatar) and Zamalek (Egypt) 

compete for two semi-final berths. 

In the women’s event, the title-holders 

Rabita Baku (Azebaijan) will play Bohai 

Bank W. (China) and Sollys/Nestlé 

(Brazil) in Pool C. 

Fenerbahce Universal (Turkey), Kenya 

Prisons (Kenya) and Lancheras de C. 

(Puerto Rico) will compete in Pool D. 

The tournaments will be held from 

October 8-14 at the world famous 

Aspire Dome. 

DohA’s In ThE sADDlE 

The Union Cycliste Internationale 

(UCI) has chosen Qatar to host 

the 2016 World Road Cycling 

Championships. The announcement 

came on the final day of the UCI’s 

World Congress Session in Holland, 

September 15-23. The UCI awarded 

four editions of the Championships at 

one sitting: Florence, Italy will host the 

event in 2013, followed by the Spanish 

city of Ponferrada in 2014. The 

American city of Richmond will host 

the 2015 Championships with Doha in 

the saddle for 2016. Qatar will be the 

first country from the Middle East to 

host such an important cycling event. 

The 2016 Championships joins a 

portfolio of major events to be 

hosted in Qatar, including the 2022 

FIFA World Cup, the 2015 World 

Handball Championships and the 2014 

FINA World Short Course (25m) 

Swimming Championships. 

YoUTh RETAIns CRoWn 

The Qatar’s youth handball team 

have retained their Asian Men’s Youth 

Handball crown, after beating Japan 28- 

24 in the final match held in Manama, 

Bahrain, September 15. 

BAYT QATAR - MORE THAN A HOUSE 

QATAR SET UP A HOME FROM HOME IN THE HEART OF LONDON 

DURING THE OLYMPIC GAMES 

Bayt Qatar, the official residence of the 

Qatar Olympic Committee [QOC] during 

the London 2012 Olympic Games, was not 

just a place to escape the hustle and bustle 

of London in Games-mode. 

Bayt means more than a house, it 

represents hospitality at the heart of the 

family and Bayt Qatar was a place to relax, 

meet with friends, colleagues and enjoy 

Arabic style cuisine. 

Sited at Savoy Place near London’s River 

Thames, Bayt Qatar also provided a unique 

showcase for Qatar’s sporting progress 

and ambitions, highlighting the work of a 

selection of Qatari organisations linked 

to the Aspire Zone Foundation, which 

represent Qatar’s National Vision 2030. 

Along with the presentation of Doha 

GOALS (see pages 10-11), ASPIRE4SPORT, 

the Middle East’s leading annual sport 

business congress and exhibition, invited 

media to preview the third edition of the 

Sports and Business Congress which will 

take place in Qatar’s world-class Aspire 

Dome from November 12-15 this years 

ASPIRE4SPORT Vice President and 

Executive Director Abdulaziz Al-Mahmoud 

revealed that both Liverpool FC and Paris 

Saint-Germain youth academies would 

host a series of football clinics at the event, 

which will also feature the former world 

heavyweight boxing champion, Lennox Lewis. 

Mr Al-Mahmoud further revealed how 

much economic activity Qatar’s hosting of 

the 2022 FIFA World Cup will generate. 

“Over the next 10 years a staggering 

$160 billion is slated to be spent on 

development projects in anticipation of the 

FIFA World Cup in 2022,” he said. 

Three days later, the Aspetar Orthopedic 

and Sports Medicine Hospital, in tandem 

with Sporthealth, presented a discussion 

on the relationship between fasting 

and sports, specifying the latest medical 

recommendations to fasting athletes. 

Among the panel of international experts, 

Dr. Khalifa Al Kuwari, CEO of Aspetar, 

outlined Aspetar’s experience with athletes 

competing in high temperatures, concluding 

that heat stress is not directly correlated to 

environmental conditions. 

In the final week of the Games, the 

Doha-based International Centre for Sport 

Security (ICSS) invited the media to discuss 

the fight against corruption in sport and new 

global integrity initiatives. 

The prestigious speakers were 

Mohammed Hanzab, President of the ICSS, 

Lord John Stevens, Chairman of the ICSS 

Advisory Board and former Chief Constable 

of the Metropolitan Police, and Chris Eaton, 

Director of Sport Integrity of the ICSS. 

Bayt Qatar attracted up to 500 visitors 

per day during the Games, many of whom 

were there to enjoy the unique selection of 

cultural events. 

These included the latest collection from 

Qatari fashion leader Toujouri, a selection of 

new Arab films, and some classic, sportsthemed 

films, such as “Cool Runnings” and 

appropriately enough given the London 

location, “Bend it Like Beckham”. 


14 | Issue 19 | Qatar Sport 

“Your success only makes you 

more motivated to do better. 

I have become a very good 

player, but I still have a lot of 

years to progress and I just 

want to keep improving.”

SUPERSTAR PROFILE 

THE 

MAJOR 

MAN 

As a youngster Rory McIlroy 

was inspired by Tiger Woods. 

Now he has acquired his mantle 

as the sport’s global superstar. 

THERE ARE MANY reasons why sport 

captivates the world. Often it is the 

skill, artistry and bizarre beauty of the 

performance. It can be the raw excitement 

of the blood and thunder, winner-takes-all 

competition. And it is almost always to do 

with the never-ending soap opera which 

provides the context for the battle. 

Like all soap operas, sport has a 

revolving cast. New heroes and villains 

are continually introduced to ensure that 

the plot line never goes stale. Naturally 

enough, heroes occasionally become 

villains and have to be replaced by shiny 

new idols…and that is more or less exactly 

what has happened in the world 

of golf in recent years. 

In golf, this was to be the age of the 

Tiger. For years Tiger Woods swept all 

before him, his sublime ability coupled 

with a charisma which made him a winner 

on the course and in the world of corporate 

endorsements as big brands battled for his 

signature and, in doing so, made him the 

highest earning sportsman in the world. 

This was an athlete whose fame 

transcended golf. In fact it transcended 

sport. He was better recognised than 

Presidents and Sovereigns, respected 

and loved by fans on the fairway and the 

directors of companies whose brands he 

helped to sell. And then it all went wrong. 

The implosion of Tiger Wood is a story 

that has been endlessly told since the 

night his car ‘crashed’ outside his home in 

Florida and his world began to cave in. 

He withdrew from the circuit, leaving a 

massive vacancy and fuelling worries that 

golf could not survive without its guiding 

light. Although the Tiger is back – and 

some would say approaching something 

like his previous form- sport has moved 

on as it always does. 

A vacuum is always filled and this 

one was no exception. Global golf has 

entered a new era and its pin-up boy is a 

tousled-haired 23-year-old from Northern 

Ireland who has been electrifying golf 

tournaments on both sides of the Atlantic 

ocean and leaving massive global TV 

audiences spellbound. 

SECOND MAJOR 

Earlier this year, Rory McIlroy recorded 

an eight stroke victory in the PGA 

Championship to record his second win in 

a Major. The first was last year’s US Open, 

also won by an eight stroke margin. 

After winning the US Open he said: 

“I couldn’t ask for much more, and I’m 

just so happy to be holding this trophy. I 

know how good Tiger was in 2000 to win 

by 15 in Pebble [Beach]. I was trying to 

go out there and emulate him in some 

way. I played great for four days, and I 

couldn’t be happier.” 

His PGA win made him the youngest 

multiple Major winner since Seve 

Ballesteros in 1980 and the sixth youngest 

of all time. In many ways it was a coming 

of age victory, one which marked the 

stellar youngster as a genuine star rather 

than a fast-burning meteorite. 

“It meant an awful lot to me. It was special 

because it was for the second major and 

that validated the first win,” McIlroy 

said. The remarkable thing was that this 

winning run came off the back of one of 

the poorest stretches in his recent career. 

“I had gone through a bad patch, 

missing four out of five cuts in the lead 

up,” explained McIlroy who puts his return 

to winning ways down to his mental 

attitude. But rather than satisfying his 

hunger for success, his second Major has 

simply whetted his appetite. 

“I think this proves I have the hunger 

to win more. I have my second Major, 

now I want my third and fourth,” he said. 

Naturally there is a lot of competition 

out there and notwithstanding the return 

to form of Woods himself, a group of 

players who stand in his way at each and 

every tournament. 

“It is a very competitive era. The gap 

between the first and hundredth ranked 

player in the world is very small,” he said. 

McIlroy finished the 2012 regular 

season with back-to-back wins in the 

PGA BMW and Deutsche Bank events, 

becoming the first European to win four 

PGA Tour events in a single season. His 

list of firsts is truly impressive. 

With 10 professional tournament 

wins to his name he became the youngest 

player to win €10 million on the European 

tour and $10 million on the PGA Tours. 

Perhaps Rory McIlroy was always 


destined to be world number one. Golf 

was more or less in his genes and both his 

father and uncle were scratch players. 

The McIlroy family photo album 

testifies to his fascination for the sport. 

One picture shows him holding a blue 

plastic golf club as a two year old and he 

admits that by the age of seven he was at 

the Holywood Golf Club, where he was 

the youngest member and which remains 

his home course, for up to 12 hours a day. 

A few years later he tasted international 

success for the first time by wining the 

9-10 year-old championship at the Doral 

Golf Resort and Spa in Miami. 

By 15 he was part of Europe’s winning 

Junior Ryder Cup team, and, in 2005, 

he became the youngest winner of both 

the west of Ireland and the Irish Close 

Championships, titles he retained the 

following year. In August 2006 he won 

the European Amateur title in Italy, setting 

himself up for a shot at the following 

year’s Open Championship at Carnoustie 

where he shot five over and took the Silver 

medal as the best placed amateur. 

PRECOCIOUS TALENT 

In interviews he is quick to pay tribute 

to his parents for the role they played 

in making his career possible. Both, he 

recalls, held down two or three jobs 

at a time to pay the bills and 

allow him to develop a 

precocious talent which has seen him 

rocket to the world number one slot. 

While his parents provided the 

foundation for his career, Tiger Woods, 

now a great friend, was a hero and an 

inspiration. In fact, Woods remains a 

point of reference. “Your success only 

makes you more motivated to do better. I 

have become a very good player, but I still 

have a lot of years to progress and I just 

want to keep improving and hopefully one 

day I will be able to compete with Tiger,” 

he said after one win. 

Golf writer Richard Gillis has followed 

McIlroy’s career and its impact on the 

commercial world. “Back home in 

Northern Ireland, they’ve been making 

television programmes about Rory 

McIlroy since he was a schoolboy, when 

he won the World Junior Championship 

aged nine years old,” he said. 

“His swing is a thing of beauty at a 

time when sport science is threatening to 

homogenise the game. The McIlroy 

action balances flawless technique with a 

natural rhythm some have compared to 

legendary American player Sam Snead, 

there is no higher compliment. People 

line up behind him on the driving range, 

just to get a glimpse. 

“Rory is not famous for winning the US 

Open. He’s famous for losing The Masters, 

THEN winning the US Open. It sounds 

like a little thing, but it’s the difference 

between a statistic and a story. Up and 

down, up and down: the ad men love a 

narrative, it’s their favourite new word. 

And he didn’t just lose the Masters in 

2011, he was exposed in the most painful, 

naked way. Golf does that to people. It’s 

why the Majors matter: they keep multimillionaires 

up at night. 

“McIlroy’s commercial value is 

obviously on the rise. He is personable, 

talented and benefits from golf ’s broad 

geographical footprint, making him 

saleable from Beijing to Baltimore. His 

recent deal with the Spanish owned bank 

Santander is a watershed moment: most 

golfers are used to sell clubs, shoes and 

apparel. Only a small elite are trusted to be 

the face of a bank. 

“But there’s a conundrum at the heart 

of Brand Rory. We warm to him because 

he’s talented and normal, a key asset in 

the post-Tiger Woods era. His values as a 

person seem to be those we share ourselves. 

In short, we like him. The problem is that 

famous people, even the nice ones, are not 

normal. It’s just not possible to earn tens of 

millions of pounds, be known around the 

world and live like the rest of us. We, the 

general public won’t let him.” 

IN THE SPOTLIGHT 

Indeed, the public and the media continue 

to make demands on McIlroy and his 

response has shone some light on his 

human side. Even in the wake of his 

second PGA triumph he was dragged into 

a controversy when it was reported that he 

would opt to represent Great Britain rather 


SUPERSTAR PROFILE 

“McIlroy’s commercial value is obviously on the rise. 

He is personable, talented and benefits from golf ’s broad 

geographical footprint, making him saleable from Beijing 

to Baltimore.” 

than Ireland when golf makes its debut in 

the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016. 

Irish sport is a complex arena, partly 

because on the island of Ireland, sport 

cuts across national borders and political 

divides. He turned to Twitter to deliver 

not simply an explanation but an insight 

into some of the things that make him 

tick. “I am a proud product of Irish golf 

and the Golfing Union of Ireland and 

am hugely honoured to have come from 

very rich Irish sporting roots. I am also 

a proud Ulsterman, which is part of the 

United Kingdom. Those are my roots 

and always will be. 

“I receive huge support from both Irish 

and British sports fans alike and that is 

greatly appreciated. Likewise I feel a great 

affinity with American sports fans. As an 

international sportsman I am very lucky to 

be supported by people all over the world, 

many of whom treat me as one of their 

own. That is the way it should be.” 

At only 23 McIlroy is under tremendous 

scrutiny whatever he does. Along 

with former #1 women’s tennis 

player Caroline Wozniacki, he has 

created world sport’s golden couple 

du jour and mass media attention is never 

far away. It’s a burden which all global 

superstars have to bear and it may be that 

McIlroy has let his inexperience show and 

his guard slip on at least one occasion. 

Former pro Jay Townsend, now a media 

pundit, felt his wrath after criticising his 

course management in the early round of a 

tournament only be told, on Twitter, to ‘shut 

up.’ “You are a failed golfer. Your opinion 

means nothing,” McIlroy responded. 

FOLLOW THE LEADER 

For a young man under constant pressure 

to perform and constantly in the harsh 

spotlight of the world’s media the reaction 

was as understandable as his occasional 

shows of frustration on the course. 

He is, above all else, a winner but his 

steeliness mixes with a charm which, say 

the experts, will continue to make him a 

magnet for sponsors. 

In an interview earlier 

this year, Kevin Adler, 

President of Engage 

Sports Marketing of 

the USA said that 

McIlroy was on course 

to emulate 

Woods’ $1 billion endorsement 

earnings. “The golf and sports marketing 

communities are hungering for that 

next golf superstar and want to anoint 

someone right away,” he said. 

“Rory is humble and cracks an easy 

smile without being such a robo-golfer 

about it all. With a few more big wins, 

Rory can easily start monetizing his 

image in huge way by doing more US 

tournaments. He’s the image sponsors 

want for the young end of the luxury 

market,” said Adler. “He’s the leader of the 

young guns influencing the game today.” 

Sponsors, fans and media alike reckon 

there’s much, much more to come from 

Rory McIlroy and he continues to set 

himself tough personal targets. “I know 

I have to keep working hard. If I could 

improve every aspect of my game by one 

per cent every year I would be very, very 

happy,” he said. He would be happy. The 

rest of the Tour might not be rejoicing. 


COMING UP 

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2012 

Sail Qatar 

Doha Sports Club 2-6/10/2012 

FINA Swimming World Cup 

Hamad Aquatic Centre, Doha 6-7/10/ 2012 

Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe 

Paris, France 7/10/2012 

GCC Men’s Bowling Championship 

Qatar Bowling Centre, Doha 13-18/10/2012 

World Volleyball Club Championship 

Ladies Club, Doha 13-19/10/2012 

Qatar International Men’s Handball 

Al-Gharafa Sports Club, Al-Rayyan 31/10-2/11/2012 

World Golf Championship 

Mission Hills, China 1-4/11/2012 

ATP World Tour Finals 

London, England 5-12/11/2012 

Asian Junior Tennis Championship 

Tennis Complex, Doha 12-16/11/2012 

Qatar International Swimming Championship 

Hamad Aquatic Centre, Doha 20-23/11/2012 

Cycling Grand Prix 

Around Qatar 1-6/12/2012 

Hockey Champions Trophy 

Melbourne, Australia 1-9/12/2012 

7/10 Prix de l’Arc 

de Triomphe Can 

any horse surpass 

the record time set 

by German horse 

Danedream at last 

year’s Prix de l’Arc 

de Triomphe? 

GCC Junior Basketball Championship 

Ladies Club, Doha 2-7/12/2012 

World Professional Squash Men’s Championship 

Tennis Complex, Doha 5-14/12/2012 

Asian Champions Trophy Hockey 

Al-Rayyan Sports Club 6-14/12/2012 

FIFA Club World Cup 

Japan 6-16/12/2012 

Golden Jersey Cycling Tour 


International Bowling Championship 

Qatar Bowling Centre, Doha 9-15/12/2012 

FINA World Swimming Championship 

Istanbul, Turkey 12-16/12/2012 

Qatar International Show Jumping Championship 

Federation Venue 20-23/12/2012 

Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race 

Sydney Harbour, Sydney 26/12/2012 

Qatar International Handball Junior Tournament 

Al-Gharafa Sports Club 26-30/12/2012 

GCC Cycling Tour 


Qatar Exxon Mobil Tennis Open 

Tennis Complex, Doha 31/12/2012-5/1/2013 

5-12/11 ATP 

World Tour Finals 

This year’s 

Wimbledon 

champion, Roger 

Federer, will aim 

for back-to-back 

wins at this year’s 

ATP World Tour 

Finals in London. 


COMING UP 

5-14/12 PSA 

World Squash 

Championship 

England’s Nick 

Matthew, the 

reigning PSA 

World Champion, 

is favourite to win 

the second-richest 

event in the 

sport’s history. 

13-19/10 World Volleyball 

Club Championship 

Top men’s and women’s 

clubs compete for the 

prestigious World Volleyball 

Club Championship in Doha. 

1-4/11 World Golf Championship 

Germany’s Martin Kaymer will 

defend his 2012 World Golf 

Championships title at the famous 

Mission Hills Guangdong in China. 

6-7/10 FINA Swimming World Cup 

Sweden’s Therese Alshammar won 

the FINA Swimming World Cup 

crown for an incredible fourth time 

last year. Can she do it again? 

26/12 Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race 

An iconic event in Australia’s 

sporting summer, the Sydney 

Hobart Yacht Race will pass its 

68th edition this year. 

31/12/2012-5/1/2013 

Qatar Open 

France’s Jo-Wilfried 

Tsonga defeated 

countryman Gael 

Monfi ls to win last 

year’s Qatar Open in 

straight sets. 


MY LONDON 

2012 

Team Qatar looks back on an 

inspiring Olympic Games in London 

where dreams came true for at least 

two of the country’s athletes. 


MY LONDON 2012 

“I believe that the female athletes representing Qatar at the 

London Games responded very well to the great challenge of 

competing at the highest level of competition, the Olympic 

Games. They showed great commitment and discipline 

through their attitude towards training and competition.” 

QATAR CELEBRATED ITS best ever 

Olympic Games haul at London 2012 as 

Nasser Al Attiyah and Mutaz Barshim 

finished with a bronze medal each. 

Nasser won bronze in the skeet 

shooting event on Day Seven, while Mutaz 

secured his medal in the men’s high jump 

on Day 14 – doubling the county’s historic 

medal tally since Qatar first entered 

Olympic competition at the Montreal 

Summer Games in 1976. 

Qatar was represented in London 2012 

by 12 athletes: eight men and four women. 

One of the women athletes, 20-year-old 

Bahiya Al-Hamad, carried the flag at the 

Opening Ceremony and came closest to 

reaching the final rounds of competition, 

when she finished 17th out of 56 

competitors in the 10m air rifle. 

Along with the tales of hope and 

glory in London, of course, there were 

moments of disappointment and bad luck. 

Overall, however, London 2012 will be 

remembered with pride by those with a 

passion for sport in Qatar. 

Below, some of the main protagonists 

from Team Qatar tell the story of London 

2012 in their own words. 

TEAM QATAR CHEF DE 

MISSION, KHALEEL AL JABIR 

What were your hopes for Team Qatar 

before the Games began? 

We were hoping to achieve good results in 

at least two sports (shooting and athletics) 

as the preparations of the relevant athletes 

and the results in the lead up to the 

Olympic Games were very encouraging. 

What are your memories of the 

Opening Ceremony? 

Having the chance to parade one more 

time behind my country’s flag in the 

hope of seeing the flag being raised 

at the competition venues for victory 

ceremonies, will last with me for long time 

and I’m sure that the same would apply 

for the other team members. In addition 

to that, the way that the torch was lit, 

with the various youths representing the 

sporting stars, was very different and 

created a unique experience. 

Did the success of Nasser Al-Attiyah and 

Mutaz Barshin exceed your expectations? 

Not really. We had high hopes for these 

two great sportsmen as well as for some 

of the others such as Hamza Driouch, 

who broke the world junior record for 

his distance, 1,500m in athletics, and was 

unlucky in the semi finals of his events, 

and for Rashid Al-Athba, our Trap and 

Double Trap shooter, who was unlucky 

not to win a medal, and ranked 7th in his 

main event, which is a very honourable 

result for him on his first participation. 

We thank God that Nasser and Mutaz 

rose to the occasion and kept their focus 

and determination especially with the 

high expectations from them and the 

pressure that these high expectations 

exercised on them. 

How do you feel Qatar’s female athletes 

responded to the challenge of 

competing at the Olympic Games? 

I believe that the female athletes 

representing Qatar at the London 

Games responded very well 

to the great challenge of 

competing at the highest 

level of competition, the 

Olympic Games. They 

showed great commitment 

and discipline through 

their attitude towards 

training and competition 

and also towards the great 

ambassadorial role that 

they played on behalf of all 

women of Qatar. And apart 

from the unfortunate injury of Nour 

Al-Malki, our 100m competitor, Nada 

Arakji, our swimmer, Aia Mohammed, 

our Table Tennis competitor, and most 

particularly our Shooter, Bahiya Al- 

Hamad did very well and hopefully will 

be role models for all young Qatari 

females to excel in whatever endeavour 

they decide to undertake. 

What were your personal highlights 

of London 2012? 

Without a doubt, the fact of seeing 

Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mutaz Barshim 

on the podium and the flag of Qatar 

raised to glorify their achievements, 

was my personal highlights of London 

2012 hoping that this, being our best 

participation ever in the Olympic Games 

in terms of results, would be the start of a 

bright era for Olympic Sport in Qatar. And 

what makes it more of a personal highlight 

is the fact that I had the honour of leading 

this delegation as the Chef de Mission.

MY LONDON 2012 

“It was my dream to win an Olympic medal and the 

Dakar-Rally. Now I have done both. But it was a 

completely different feeling [in London] because the 

Olympics is every four years and the Dakar Rally can 

be done every year. I learn and take a lot from rallying 

about how to fight and this is what I did here because I 

didn’t have a lot of training. In Athens [2004], I had a 

shoot-off for a bronze medal and lost, but I remembered 

that day and did my best to finish third. I am not ready to 

give up. Hopefully I will be fit and in good form when we 

prepare for the next edition of the Olympic Games.” 

Nasser Al-Attiyah, Men’s Skeet Shooing 

“I enjoyed my debut… and I will improve, I am confident 

of that. I wasn’t nervous at all, it’s just that other shooters 

were better because they had more experience. My best 

[in the 10m air rifle] is 397. I made 395. If I had equalled 

my best, that would have been good enough to qualify 

for the final. However, I am not disappointed. This was a 

great experience, which I will take with me. I am happy 

that I came top among the Arab girls at the Games. I 

need to improve on the mental aspect of my game [but] 

this gives me confidence that I can do better than I have 

here in the future.” 

Bahiya Al-Hamad, Women’s Air Rifle Shooting 

“It was a really tough competition and I was not sure 

[of competing] when I came to London because I was 

injured. My injury was a stress fracture in my spinal 

chord and it was serious. In qualifying I did not do 

very well. It was raining and windy and, to tell you the 

truth, I was afraid. But once I was in the finals, 

I knew my body was responding well. I was talking to the 

coach and getting the right advice at the right time and 

once I was through with my attempts, there was just one 

more athlete remaining. If he failed, I knew I had the 

bronze. Because of everything, this bronze is better than 

a gold medal.” 

Mutaz Barshim, Men’s High Jump 


FIT FOR LIFE 

HITTING THE TARGET 

The Olympic sport of shooting could help you concentrate, get fitter and deal with stress. 

NOT MANY PEOPLE give the sport of 

shooting much thought until the Olympic 

Games comes around and precious 

gold, silver and bronze medals are up 

for grabs. But this tense and demanding 

sport is popular all over the world with 

a committed following at both elite and 

grassroots levels. 

Shooting, of course, has been practiced 

competitively for centuries. It was part of 

the first Olympic Games of the modern era 

in 1896 when seven countries competed 

in three pistol and two high-power rifle 

events. It was men-only competition 

right up until 1968 when three countries 

(Mexico, Poland and Peru) each entered a 

female shooter in the Games. 

In 1984, separate shooting events 

for women were introduced and today, 

Olympic competition features 15 events 

(nine for men and six for women), in the 

disciplines of rifle, pistol and shotgun. 

London 2012 showed just how 

international and inclusive the sport 

really is with medals won by 19 countries. 

Among them was Qatar’s’ Nasser Al 

Attiyah, who was 41-years-old when he 

won Olympic bronze in the skeet event 

this year and he’s already eyeing more 

medal success at Rio 2016. 

This illustrates another side of shooting 

- Olympic shooting appeals to people of all 

ages. American Kim Rhode, for example, 

won the women’s double trap Olympic 

gold aged 17 in 1996 - and her fifth 

shooting gold in London 2012, aged 

33. But she still has some way to go 

to beat the oldest competitor and 

medalist at the Games - a Swede 

called Oscar Swahn, who won a 

gold aged 64 in 1912 and a 

silver aged 72 in 1920. 

Could the sport of 

shooting be for you? To help 

you decide, here’s everything 

you need to know about 

shooting from the different competition 

categories, to the skills required and 

most importantly, where to go in Qatar 

to get involved. 

RIFLE 

Rifle shooting was a staple of shooting 

competitions well before the Olympic 

Games. The National Rifle Association 

of the United Kingdom, for example, was 

founded in 1860 and its more famous 

US counterpart, the National Rifle Association, 

in 1871. At Olympic level, 

competitors aim at a 10-ring stationary 

target from a set distance of 10m, 25m or 

50m. Depending on the event, athletes are 

required to shoot from standing, kneeling 

or prone (lying down) positions. The rifles 

designated for Olympic competition cost 

between $2,000 and $2,5000 and are shot 

from the shoulder using compressed air or 

carbon dioxide to discharge lead pellets. 

PISTOL 

All pistol events involve shooting at a 

paper or electronic target with ten scoring 

rings – the most points going to those that 

hit the bull’s eye. The number of shots and 

the time allowed varies between contests, 

but all shots have to be taken from 

a standing position, with the pistol held 

in one hand only. The pistol is the only 

Olympic firearm to be shot with one hand 

and has a discipline all of it own - the 

25m Rapid Fire. 

SHOTGUN 

In shotgun events, competitors shoot at 

moving clay targets launched above and 

in front of them to simulate the action 

of bird hunting. There are three shot gun 

events: trap, double trap and skeet. Trap, 

named after the device used for launching 

clay targets (or clay pigeons) into the air, 

requires shooters to engage a single moving 

target while Double 

Trap releases two targets 

simultaneously. Then there is skeet 

shooting. In Olympic skeet, there is a 

random delay of between zero to three 

seconds after the shooter has called for the 

target. The shooter must also hold his gun 

so that the gun butt is at mid-torso level 

until the target appears. 

SKILLS 

The key to successful shooting is the 

ability to be as steady as possible to be 

accurate. In order to achieve this, shooters 

use relaxation techniques to drop their 

heartbeat to half its normal rate, fire 

between heartbeats and use blinkers to hit 

a bull’s-eye, which can appear as no more 

than a tiny dot in the distance. 

As Qatar Olympic medalist Nasser Al 

Attiyah explained after London 2012, 

training for elite competition is all 

about controlling the mind – “steadily 

activating the innumerable signals in 

our brain with the right thoughts.” 

A good shooter also needs to be 


Cartridges are released 

from a shotgun during 

the Olympic shooting 

competition in London. 

“Shooting is also considered something of a stress-buster 

because of the energy release generated by the act of shooting.” 

fit in order to maintain body control and 

channel his or her concentration so that 

all exterior stimulation is shut out. In skeet 

shooting, for example, the focus is on 

core strength as it is essential to maintain 

stability when shooting. 

It is not all about sheer will and muscle 

power however. Some practicioners liken 

the concentration required for shooting 

to the more gentle art of meditation: they 

are similar in that you must focus intently, 

draw slow measured breaths, concentrate 

heavily on small muscles, and repeat a 

series of physical actions. 

But there is one big difference. Shooting 

is also considered something of a stressbuster 

because of the energy release 

generated by the act of shooting. 

WHERE TO GO 

The accessibility of a shooting range will 

depend greatly on where you are in the 

world and the regulations operating in 

that country. Pistol shooting, for example, 

is banned in the Olympic host country, 

Great Britain. In Qatar, the Qatar Shooting 

and Archery Federation (QSAA) is 

attached to the state-of-the-art Lusail 

Shooting Club, which opens its clay target 

ranges to the general public for half the 

week from Saturday through Wednesday 

at a cost of QR75. Annual membership 

costs QR15,000. Situated 18km from 

Doha, north of Doha Golf Club and 

besides the motor racing international 

circuit, the state-of-the art facility was 

built for the 2006 Asian Games and was 

upgraded for the 12th Asian Shooting 

Championships earlier this year. 

The six combined trap, double trap 

and skeet layouts are equipped with 

Laporte throwing machines and electronic 

scoreboards – and there is an international 

class indoor arena with spectator seating 

for rifle and pistol competitions. 

The QSAA also welcomes international 

federations to organise shooting training 

camps between November and April at 

the facility when temperatures are very 

pleasant, ranging between 15° and 32°C. 

Entry visas and firearm permits will be 

arranged by the QSAA. 


Leaders: Incisive opinion and lively debate 

CAN INVESTMENT 

IN SPORT MAKE A 

DIFFERENCE FOR 

YOUTH? 

THE 6TH EDITION of Qatar’s ever-expanding Schools Olympic 

Programme (SOP) kicked off in September. Launched in 

2007 with 7,000 students, enrolment reached over 20,000 students 

from 370 independent and international schools in 2012 – and 

we expect this figure to grow over the coming programme. 

If you haven’t heard of the programme before, SOP aims to 

spread a culture of sports throughout Qatar’s schools and to 

engage the entire community in active and healthy lifestyles 

while retaining local values and traditions. Each year, the 

programme has a theme and 2012-2013 will see the SOP explore 

“Sports and Investment” via partner Enterprise Qatar, the 

authority established in 2011 to develop and promote small and 

medium enterprise entities in Qatar. 

POSITIVE IMPACT 

The slogan, “Schools Olympic Program: Investing in Qatar’s 

Youth” will reinforce the importance of sport and related 

investment projects, and the positive social impact resulting from 

an active, healthy community. However it’s not just the investment 

of money that counts, but the investment of people’s time and 

the engagement of the school authorities. In the off-season, 

for example, members of the programme visited a number of 

international schools across the country, including the German 

School Doha, the Philippine School Doha, the Sherborne School, 

Al Khor International School, and The Cambridge School. 

The international school visits are part of an ongoing plan 

to include schools that have not previously participated in the 

programme – and at each of the schools, principals, sports 

directors and physical education teachers turned out to discuss 

opportunities for their students. Engaging both local and 

expatriate student athletes in the programme is a key priority of 

SOP because the international schools and their students are an 

integral part of our community. 

IN BRIEF 

Before becoming the Executive 

Director for the Schools Olympic 

Programme, Mr. Mohammed Issa Al- 

Fadala held many posts in the Qatar 

Swimming Association as well as in 

the Sports Affairs Department at the 

Qatar Olympic Committee. 

He is the Head of Section for Sports 

Events and Activities in the Sports 

Affairs Department, in addition to his 

field activities as Technical Director 

of the Qatar national swimming 

team. From 2000 to 2004, he was 

supervisor of the Qatar programme 

for the promotion of swimming. He 

was coach of the Qatar national 

swimming team from 2004 to 2009. 

“Launched in 2007 with 

7,000 students, enrolment 

reached over 20,000 students 

from 370 independent and 

international schools in 

2012 – and we expect this 

figure to grow over the 

coming programme.” 

NEW LOGO 

WE have found that there is a real enthusiasm to get involved – an enthusiasm that has been spurred no doubt by 

this summer’s wonderful Olympic Games in London. The Olympic movement remains an inspirational touchpoint 

for the programme and this year we have created a new logo inspired by the symbol of the Olympics, with 

its five interlocking rings coloured blue, yellow, black, green, and red on a white field. 

The new SOP logo reinforces the values of the Olympic movement, where the rings are a universal symbol 

of continuity and humanity. We wanted our new logo to reflect these values while expressing the notion of 

people and communities coming together. We think the new logo will appeal to children and adults, and its 

bold colours and form are already inspiring us with fun, new ideas for this year’s activities. 

The SOP is a collaborative effort of the Qatar Olympic Committee, Supreme Education Council, Qatar 

School Sport Federation and Qatar Paralympics Committee and is aligned with the goals of Qatar’s National 

Vision 2030. 


HOW IMPORTANT IS THE 

MIDDLE EAST AS A NEW 

EVENT PARTNER FOR 

WORLD SWIMMING? 

THE WORLD OF Sport, and of aquatics, in particular, has 

discovered a new, attractive location over recent years to hold 

its most prestigious events: the Middle East. 

Unknown to the majority of sport fans 15 to 20 years ago, this 

dynamic region has progressed incredibly in the first decade of 

the 21st century and is today considered a pivotal location for the 

development of elite competition. 

This was made possible thanks to a massive investment by 

the Middle East authorities in sport. They had the vision and the 

expertise to create superb facilities capable of stimulating not only 

the local youth, but also the most renowned athletes from the five 

continents. If these magnificent venues have an essential role in 

development, they are also used to host great events. The 2006 

Asian Games in Doha, Qatar was a memorable example of how 

the synergies between great facilities, proper funding and 

technical know-how are used for the benefit of sport. 

IN BRIEF 

A member of the International 

Swimming Federation (FINA) since 

1984, Dr. Julio Cesar Maglione was 

elected as FINA President in 2009. Dr. 

Maglione has been an IOC Member 

since 1996 and was re-elected for 

a fifth term as Uruguayan National 

Olympic Committee President 

this September. He was a national 

champion and national record holder 

in the 100m and 200m butterfly and 

breaststroke from 1949 to 1954. 

Since that turning point in the history of sport in Middle East, the organisation of world-class events in this 

region has become a distinctive mark of quality and hospitality, gathering thousands of stars and generating 

amazing performances. At the FINA level, we had our great première in 2010, when the 10th FINA World 

Swimming Championships (25m) were held in Dubai (UAE). Benefitting from a superb venue – the Hamdan 

bin Mohamed bin Rashid Sports Complex – this major FINA event was superbly organised by our friends from 

the United Arab Emirates. The atmosphere in this exciting city was fantastic and I am surely not wrong if I say 

that all athletes taking part at these Championships certainly felt at home. 

MOVING FORWARD 

Naturally interested in preserving the legacy of this fabulous facility, and to stimulate its use, the UAE authorities 

immediately proposed the organisation of two other events of the FINA calendar: one leg of the FINA/ARENA 

Swimming World Cup, taking place in October/November each year and one leg of the FINA/MIDEA Diving 

World Series, organised in March/April. With swimming, the first edition was held in 2011, while diving had 

its inaugural meet in Dubai in 2012. In both cases, the organisers did a great job and managed to attract great 

crowds to watch the events. UAE is also known for staging FINA open water events, namely the FINA World 

Open Water Swimming Championships, in 2004. 

Similarly, Doha, Qatar, is a valuable FINA partner. In 2009, in the top-quality facilities used for the Asian 

Games, Doha brilliantly staged one leg of the FINA/MIDEA Diving World Series. 

In December 2014, Qatari people will have the opportunity to cheer the best competitors of the planet at the 

12th edition of the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m), to be held in Doha. 

This event will represent a huge step forward in the enhancement of aquatics in the country, which recently 

sent its first female swimmer to compete at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Moreover, along with these 

Championships, the third edition of the FINA World Aquatics Convention will also take place in Doha. Finally, 

on October 6-7, Doha will host, for the first time, a meet of the FINA/ARENA Swimming World Cup. 

This vitality and will to host great events in the region is accompanied by concrete field actions to develop 

sport in the schools and to generate more participation of the Middle East youth in physical activities. Elite 

competition achieves its full potential when it is able to generate “Sport for All”. 

This is one of FINA’s major goals and the authourities of this region have understood this policy quite 

well. FINA is proud to be associated with this recent development and will maintain its full support to the 

organisation of its prestigious events in the Middle East, a true worldwide hub of Sport in the 21st century! 


QATAR STARS LEAGUE 

LOOK TO 

THE STARS 

This year’s Qatar Stars League will be more start-studded, 

competitive and cosmopolitan than ever. 

THE FIFTH EDITION of the Qatar Stars League 

(QSL), which kicked off September 15, will surely 

be the most competitive in the league’s short history. 

The holders Lekhwiya will defend their title 

against the league’s fastest-rising side, El Jaish, 

pursued by the AFC Champions League holders Al 

Sadd and “El Classico” rivals Al Rayyan. 

Clubs with championship-winning pedigree like 

Al Gahrafa, Qatar Sports Club, Al Arabi and Al 

Wakrah will also have something to say about the 

destination of this year’s championship. 

All these clubs were active in the international 

transfer market in the off-season with world stars 

like Raul, Spain’s record internationanl goal-scorer, 

and Brazilian national team player Nilmar, joining 

the growing band of top-class internationals across 

every team in the league. 

As the name suggests, the Qatar Stars League, 

which replaced the former Q-league in 2008, aims 

to bring a star-studded brand of football to Qatari 

fans in a highly professional game environment. 

Has it lived up to its promise? 

Last year, the Asian Football Confederation 

(AFC) ranked Qatar fourth on the continent in 

terms of its professional management – and as the 

club-by-club guide shows, players are flying in from 

every continent for a slice of the action. 

Under QSL rules, each club is allowed to 

register four non-Qatari professional players (three 

non-Qatari professional players and one Asian 

player) and most of the 12 teams in the league have 

done just that. This summer alone, 19 different 

nationalities have either arrived for the first time or 

moved to new teams within the QSL, reflecting the 

QSL’s ultimate aim, which is to become the Number 

One league in Asia. 

Above: Spanish superstar Raul 

signed for Al Sadd in May. 


QATAR STARS LEAGUE 

1 Lekhwiya 

The champions have signed up Qatari pin-up boy 

Sebastian Soria for the 2012-13 season to link up with 

the South Korean international midfielder Nam Tae-Hee 

(right).The Doha-based side has also been strengthened 

this year with the signing of 21-year-old Tunisia 

playmaker Joseph almsakni and Senegalise winger issiar 

Dia from Fenerbahçe in Turkey. 

3 AL RAyyAN 

2 eL JaiSh SC 

el Jaish, the Qatar armed Forces team, was promoted to the QSL 

for the first time in 2011 and has exceeded expectations. Last year, 

with the Brazilian duo of adriano Martins (above) – the league’s top 

scorer with 18 goals – and midfielder Wagner Ribeiro leading the way, 

the club fell short of the title by just two points. The current squad 

boasts a trio of Brazilian players in key positions. 

Three years ago, Doha staged a friendly international 

between Brazil and England in which Nilmar (below) 

scored the only goal. The 29-year-old Brazilian has 

now returned to the Qatari capital as the star signing 

for Al Rayyan. The former Villarreal striker joins South 

korean international Cho yong-hyung and last year’s 

top scorer Rodrigo Barbosa Tabata (17 goals) of 

Brazil at the club. 

4 aL SaDD 

5 AL KHoR 

The northern club of al khor 

has re-signed the iraq defender 

and club captain Salam Shakir 

for another two years. Shakir, 

who has 40 caps for his country, 

leads the club which surprised 

many by clinching fifth place last 

season inspired by the Brazilian 

front line of Julio Cesar (right) 

and Madsen. 

For star quality, look no further 

than the Spanish striking 

phenomenon Raul (left), who 

scored his first goal for Al Sadd 

on debut in the semi-finals of the 

Sheikh Jassim Cup. a scorer of a 

goal every other game in his 

career, the 35-year-old aims 

to spur the aFC Champions 

League holders into the top spot. 

6 AL GHARAfA 

The championship winners from 2008 

to 2010, al Gharafa have been busy in 

the transfer market with Socceroo 

veteran Mark Bresciano (right) 

and Brazilian ace Alex Meschini, 

the club’s marquee signings. The 

32-year old Bresciano played 

in italian football for 12 

years before joining 

UAE outfit Al Nasr. 

he will line up in 

midfield alongside 

Alex, a major 

cash signing from 

Corinthians in Brazil. 


7 AL WAKRA 

Captain of the iraq national 

football team, younis Mahmood 

(left) was top scorer in the league 

three times in five years between 

2006 and 2011. The 29-year-old 

Mahmood began his goal scoring 

exploits with Al Khor and then 

al Gaharaffa, but now gives his all 

for the port town of al wakrah, 

scoring eights goals last term. 

8 AL-KHARiTiyATH 

Al-Kharitiyath’s Nigeria-born star striker Jaycee John 

will be joined up front this season by the DR Congo 

international alain Dioko (above) who moved from 

relegated al ahly on a season-long loan having scored 

13 times last term. Jaycee John plays international 

football for his adopted country Bahrain. 

10 QATAR SpoRTS CLUB 

9 AL ARABi 

Socceroos defender Matthew Spiranovic (above) exited J-league club 

Urawa Red Diamonds to join Al Arabi over the summer. The club 

means business this season having signed the Moroccan international 

yousif hadji who scored two goals on debut in the Sheikh Jassim Cup. 

hadji joins countryman houcine kharja in the famous red of al-arabi. 

ivory Coast striker Bakari kone (below), the brother 

of arouna kone who plies his trade in england’s 

premier League, joined Qatar SC 

after successful stints 

in France at Lorient, 

Nice and Marseilles. 

Then former Lekhwiya 

striker will work 

hard to fill the boots 

of departing star 

Sebastian Sorra. kone 

has 41 caps for his 

national side scoring 

nine goals. 

11 UMM SaLaL 

australian international 

central defender and 2010 

asian Footballer of the 

year, Saša Ognenovski 

joined Umm Salas from 

the J-League this season. 

in attack, Brazilian striker 

Cabore (left), the league’s 

top scorer when with alarabi 

in 2009-10, will aim to 

improve on his one-in-three 

games goal ratio for the 

orange and blacks. 

(p) aL SaiLiyah 

Dagano Moumouni (above) is an international striker 

from Burkino Faso who scored nine times in 11 

games for al khor last season. a regular of Qatari 

football since 2008, the newly promoted al Sailiyah 

will rely on his goals and those of well-travelled 

ivorian striker aruna Dindane to keep them up. 


PROMOTION 

LOOKING GREAT! 

In the competitive world of sports and entertainment event management, branding 

has never been more important. Qatar Sport discovered The Look Company, which is 

bringing Event Look innovation to Qatar’s world-class sports event portfolio. 

FOOTBALL EVENTS IN Qatar have 

never looked better thanks to the work 

of The Look Company (TLC), a global 

leader in event branding which has based 

its Middle East and North Africa (MENA) 

office in high-flying Doha. The company, 

which delivered exclusive event branding 

solutions for the Qatar-hosted AFC Asian 

Cup in 2011, has a permanent staff of 92 

people in Qatar, which expands to upwards 

of 300 people for large events. 

This in-Qatar infrastructure is capable 

of undertaking any size project throughout 

the MENA region and is therefore perfectly 

suited to serving Qatar’s most popular and 

commercially mature sport at both club 

and national team level – football. 

This year, TLC signed agreements with 

both the Qatar Football Association (QFA) 

and Qatar Stars League (QSL), which will 

see the company undertake the branding, 

signage and wayfinding for each and 

every QFA and QSL event. 

The partnership with the 

QFA, signed in March 

2012, spans two years 

until March 2014 with a three-year 

extension option. In September, TLC 

signed a one-year deal with the Qatar Stars 

League ahead of the 2012/2013 season, 

which kicked off September 15. 

With the 2022 FIFA World Cup on 

the far horizon, the deals make TLC the 

exclusive partners for all the branding 

needs of professional football in Qatar. 

Commenting on the QFA deal, Jacob 

Burke, General Manager, The Look 

Company, said: “As a company that has 

been in-country since 2005 helping to 

develop sports event branding, we are 

very proud to continue to support the 

growth of football in Qatar. 

“Through this exclusive partnership 

with the QFA, we look forward to assisting 

Qatari football in continuing to raise the 

bar in the branding of its events. We foresee 

this as yet another positive stepping stone 

for sport in Qatar as we move towards the 

World Cup in 2022.” 

The agreement with the QSL, which 

organises and manages the professional 

league (see pages 31-33), as well as prestige 

national cup competitions and development 

leagues throughout Qatar, is also of 

great significance for the company. 

“The league has grown substantially 

over the years and with the recent signing 

of international star players it will help 

strengthen the brand of Qatar football,” says 

Burke. “We hope to ride the success of our 

work with QSL last year and look to make 

2012/2013 a memorable season.” 

MULTI-EVENT CAPABILITY 

Burke, who was promoted to his current 

role in March, previously worked closely 

with Qatari sport and event clients on 

such projects as the Qatar Stars League, 

the ATP’s’ QatarExxonMobil Open 2012, 

the WTA’s Qatar Total Open 

2012, Arab Games 2011, 

World Nine Ball 


Championships, Qatar 2016 Olympic Bid 

and the 2010 Muscat Asian Beach Games. 

He has also worked at the pinnacle of world 

mega-events with the 2010 Winter Olympics 

in Vancouver, Canada. 

The secret of the Look Company’s 

Company success, he says, is that “we 

like to keep things simple”. Burke cites 

“Credibility”, “Creativity”, “Professionalism” 

and “Reliability” (on time and on budget) 

as the cornerstones of the company’s 

work. “We are qualified in each of the 

markets we service because of the worldclass 

partners we represent locally and 

the talented team working for The Look 

Company in Qatar,” Burke says. 

“ We are a full service provider from 

project management to design, from 

production through installation and 

everything in between. We are able to 

make the commitment of world-class 

delivery because we have already made the 

commitment to become fully integrated 

here in Qatar.” 

THE EMIR CUP 

A great example of this delivery was shown 

at the Emir Football Cup 2012 in May. TLC 

was asked to handle the complete brand 

management of the most-followed football 

event in the country, which has taken place 

in Qatar since the early 1970s. 

TLC’s design division, “Groop8 

Communications” was challenged with 

developing the event’s existing brand to 

become more relevant with the enthusiastic 

fans of all ages and nationalities that 

support Qatari club football. Mixing 

bold design with cultural sensitivity, 

it was decided that 

the color pallet 

should remain similar to previous years 

based upon an existing brand loyalty, but 

incorporate the flashy gold Emir Cup 

trophy to generate awareness fof the 

event’s trophy icon. 

Meanwhile, the design application was 

upgraded by incorporating the images 

or photos of the “everyday fan” into the 

promotional and advertising materials 

around the key areas in the city as part of 

the total branding package. 

Such reach-out design was featured in 

the city and venue branding activations, on 

TV and within print advertisements. 

CITY BRANDING 

To further highlight and demonstrate the 

significance of the event, the ”City Brand” 

activation programme used six gigantic 3D 

footballs in various city parks, schools and 

Doha international airport. 

Brand awareness was then enhanced by 

more than 800 full-colour street banners 

and 13 information and ticket booth stations. 

To highlight the event location and to 

help with the wayfinding brand elements, 

the largest street banners were placed along 

the two major highways leading to the 

50,000 capacity Khalifa Stadium, a 2022 

World Cup venue. In the venue itself, TLC 

worked with host broadcast company Al 

Kass to ensure the majority of the branding 

would be positioned for all camera angles. 

This included field-of- play graphics 

behind the goal, perimeter board 

placements and over 

1,000 square metres of branding throughout 

the VIP and champion stage area, 

which raised from the ground with the winning 

team in order for the Emir of Qatar to 

present the Emir Cup trophy. 

This is the image that is most often 

seen on the front pages of the newspapers 

the following day – capturing the event’s 

importance for its Qatari stakeholders, 

including potential sponsors. 

The Look Company has provided 

integrated Look solutions for a wide 

spectrum of high profi le national and 

international events since 2000. Its track 

record includes hundreds of projects 

each year and of all events. 

The Look Company has also offered 

turnkey Look solutions to corporate 

brands such as Shell, QNB, Barwa, 

Aspire Academy, Qatar Olympic 

Committee, Qatari Diar, State National 

Day Organizing Committee, Exxon 

Mobil and Woqod. 

In addition, The Look Company has 

provided Interior Decor solutions for 

QNB, Woqod, Vodafone, The Pearl, 

and many 

other offices, 

restaurants and 

retail locations. 


FOR THE RECORD: WHO’S MAKING HEADLINES IN SPORT WORLDWIDE? 

Medal-winning Olympic siblings, London 2012 

Venus and Serena Williams (USA) tennis, doubles and 

individual 

3-0-0 

Bob and Mike Bryan (USA) tennis, doubles 2-0-0 

Peter and Pavol Hochschorner (SLK) canoe slalom, pairs 2-0-0 

Haley and Alyssa Anderson (USA) swimming, women’s 

relay and individual 

1-1-0 

Alistair and Jonny Brownlee (UK) triathlon, individual 1-0-1 

Pau and Marc Gasol (SPA) basketball, team 0-2-0 

Andrei and Aliaksandr Bahdanovich (BLR) kyaking, pairs 0-2-0 

Sporting siblings have made their mark at the Olympic Games 

throughout the modern era and London 2012 was no exception. 

The Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, took home three gold 

medals between them – one each as winners of the doubles 

and another when Serena won the individual women’s tennis 

competition. Compatriots Bob and Mike Bryan performed a 

similar trick in the men’s doubles – enhanced by their left-hand, 

right-hand combination. 

In triathlon, Great Britain’s Alistair and Jonny Brownlee 

captured the hearts of the home crowd by winning gold and 

bronze respectively, while Alyssa and Haley Anderson of the 

United States won respective gold and silver in the women’s 4 x 

200 freestyle relay and women’s 10k open water swim. 

In terms of teamwork however there is nothing quite like 

the synchronization required for rowing, canoeing and kayaking 

events. Although the rowing events saw no sibling medalists 

this year, Slovakia’s Peter and Pavol Hochschorner took gold in 

the canoe slalom, while Andrei and Aliaksandr Bahdanovich of 

Belarus dominated the 1km kayaking pairs. 

But nothing in London quite compares with the exploits of 

the American Lopez family which made history at the 2008 

Beijing Olympic Games by becoming the first three siblings 

since 1904 to make the same Olympic team - and the fi rst three 

siblings in history to win medals at the same Olympics. 

F1 Drivers to have recorded 30 wins 

Michael Schumacher (GER) 1998 

Ayrton Senna (BRA) 1991 

Alain Prost (FRA) 1988 

Nigel Mansell (UK) 1992 

Fernando Alonso (SPA) 2012 

110 races 

115 races 

126 races 

183 races 

188 races 

Fernando Alonso’s German Grand Prix victory in July made him 

the fifth driver in F1 history to reach 30 race wins. 

It was Alonso’s third win at the Hockenheimring, adding to his 

2005 and 2010 victorieas. Only Michael Schumacher – who took 

just 110 races to reach 30 Grand Prix wins – has won more times 

at the German track, with four victories in 1995, 2002, 2004 and 

2006. The F1 drivers currently in with a chance of joining the 30- 

club are Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettell with 22 wins in 92 races and 

Lewis Hamilton with 19 wins in 101 races. 


Winning margins at FIFA World Cup and 

UEFA EURO finals 

Spain v Italy (Euro 2012) 4-0 

Brazil v Sweden (World Cup 1958) 5-2 

Brazil v Italy (World Cup 1970) 4-1 

France v Brazil (World Cup 1998) 3-0 

West Germany v Soviet Union (Euro 1972) 3-0 

Uruguay v Argentina (World Cup 1930) 4-2 

Italy v Hungary (World Cup 1938) 4-2 

England v West Germany (World Cup 1966) 4-2 

Argentina v Netherlands (World Cup 1978) 3-1 

Italy v West Germany (World Cup 1982) 3-1 

Five fi nals have fi nished 2-0 

Spain’s 4-0 win over Italy in the Euro 2012 final is the biggestwinning 

margin ever recorded in a World Cup or European 

Championship fi nal. With goals from David Silva, Ramos Jordi 

Alba, Fernando Torres and Juan Mata, Spain became the first side 

to win by a margin of four goals. 

Spain’s record-breaking tournament didn’t end there. Spain 

became the first European side to win three consecutive major 

tournaments - Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012. 

Spain has also gone unbeaten in its last 12 European 

Championship fi nal matches - nine wins, three draws - a 

competition record. Had they not lost to Switzerland in the 

fi rst group stage of the 2010 World Cup that record would have 

extended to 19 matches across both tournaments. 

Progress of world records in men’s 4 X 100m relay 

Jamaica (Carter, Frater, Blake, Bolt) 36.84 (2012) 

Jamaica (Carter, Frater, Blake, Bolt) 37.04 (2011) 

Jamaica (Carter, Frater, Bolt, Powell) 37.10 (2008) 

USA (Drummond, Cason, Mitchell, Burrell) 37.40 (1993) 

USA (Marsh, Burrell, Mitchell, Lewis) 37.40 (1992) 

USA (Cason, Burrell, Mitchell, Lewis) 37.50 (1991) 

USA (Marsh, Burrell, Mitchell, Lewis) 37.67 (1991) 

USA (Marsh, Burrell, Mitchell; Lewis) 37.79 (1991) 

France (Moriniere, Sangouma, Trouabal, Marie-Rose) 37.79 (1990) 

USA (Graddy, Brown, Smith, Lewis) 37.83 (1984) 

Usain Bolt claimed a third London 2012 gold medal and 

another world record when he anchored the Jamaicans to 

victory in 36.84 seconds on the final night of the athletics at 

the Olympic Stadium, July 12. 

Smashing their own world record set by the same 

foursome at the 2011 World Championships by two tenths 

of a second, the Jamaicans stunned a slick United States team 

which matched the previous record (37.04 secs) in the final. 

Olympic cycling: most gold medals 

Chris Hoy (UK) 2000-2012 6-1-0 

Bradley Wiggins (UK) 2000-2012 4-1-2 

Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel (NED) 2000-2004 4-1-1 

Marcus Hurley (USA) 1904 4-0-1 

Daniel Morelon (FR) 1964-1976 3-1-1 

Jason Kenny (UK) 2008-2012 3-1-0 

Jens Fielder (GER) 1992-2004 3-0-2 

Felica Ballanger (FRA) 1996-2004 3-0-0 

Viatcheslav Ekimov (RUS) 1988-2004 3-0-0 

Burton Downing (USA) 1904 2-3-1 

Anna Meares (AUS) 2004-2012 2-1-1 

While the UK’s Bradley Wiggins became the first cyclist to 

win the Tour de France and Olympic gold in the same year 

this summer, his compatriot Chris Hoy leap-frogged him on 

the all-time list of Olympic cycling greats with gold medals in 

the team sprint and Keirin at London 2012. Hoy, 36, now has 

a grand total of six Olympic gold medals. 


TRENDS 

PARALYMPIC SPORT COMES OF AGE 

Can the Paralympic Games challenge the world’s great sporting events? 

THIS YEAR’S SUMMER Paralympic 

Games in London was the most popular 

and commercially successful in the event’s 

52-year history. Just how far Paralympic 

Sport has come over the last decade can 

be seen in key figures around ticketing, 

broadcast coverage and sponsorship. 

At the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, 

for example, only 400,000 tickets were 

sold. In London, the Paralympic Games 

was a sell-out with 2.7 million tickets 

taken up by the public. 

In terms of television coverage and 

audience, the 2012 Paralympic Games 

exceeded the previous Paralympic Games 

in Beijing, China in terms of both the 

number of territories showing the action 

and the hours of coverage per territory. 

In the UK, for example, the host 

broadcaster Channel 4 scheduled an 

unprecedented 150 hours of coverage 

with the aim of reaching more than 35 

million individual viewers. This compares 

with 13.2 million viewers when the BBC, 

the UK’s public broadcaster, showed 

coverage of Beijing 2008. 

In Australia, ABC showed 100 hours 

of coverage and it was a similar story in 

Germany, where this year’s Paralympics 

generated more than 65 hours of coverage 

on ARD/ZDF compared to just 16 hours 

at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney. 

There were also several hours of live 

coverage per day on CCTV, China’s 

largest national broadcasting network, 

and in Brazil, the host country of the 2016 

Paralympic Games. This ramping up of 

broadcast interest has combined with 

a more engaged and bespoke approach 

from the event’s sponsors. 

In Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 only 

five out of 11 global Olympic partners 

participated in the Paralympics. In Beijing 

2008, 10 out of 12 participated and this 

year in London, all 11 participated with 

varying degrees of intensity. 

As Lucien Boyer, President and Global 

CEO of the sports marketing and media 

company, Havas Sports & Entertainment, 

explains, the Paralympics has a unique 

appeal. “There’s no doubt that the 

Paralympic Games have now succeeded 

in capturing the attention of sponsors 

worldwide thanks to the sincerity 

of its values and ability to surprise.” 

In a study on the effectiveness of 

Olympic Sponsorship led by a Havas 

research team in the UK, the Paralympics 

are most strongly associated with 

the words “World Class” (40%) and 

“Inspiring” (35%). The Paralympics 

are also perceived as more “Amazing”, 

“Modern” and “Emotional” than even the 

Olympics and the FIFA World Cup. 

Boyer continues: “Paralympic 

values such as courage, determination, 

inspiration and equality perfectly fit with 

the values sponsors want to promote and 

highlight inside and outside the company 

– it helps educate their employees and 

customers.” Finally, perhaps the most 

amazing statistic is the increase in 

participation across the globe. 

London 2012 welcomed a recordbreaking 

number of athletes and 

participating countries – 4,200 athletes 

and 166 National Paralympic Committees, 

up from the 148 participating nations at 

Beijing in 2008. 

There were also a record-breaking 

number of women competing in London 

with around 1,500 taking part, more than 

at any of the previous Games and more 

than double the 700 who competed at 

Barcelona 1992.

Qatar sport COVERMG.indd - Qatar Olympic Committee

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