RECORD BREAKERS - Qatar Olympic Committee

QatarSport
Q2.2008
the official magazine of the qatar olympic committee
record
breakers
world stars shine in DOHA
SHOOTING STAR
MAHBUBEH STRIKES GOLD
SCHOOLS OLYMPIC DAY
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
THE BIG INTERVIEW
LARRY SCOTT

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qatarsport.Q2.08.contents
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Silver Metalic
04 QOC comment Message from the Secretary General
05 News Doha stages show jumping classic
10 Event Focus IAAF GP sets the pace
12 Stars in Qatar MotoGP’s Rossi and Stoner
16 Women in Sport Getting amongst the medals
18 Schools Olympic Day The Grand Finale
22 Sports Development The Aspire Academy
24 Partners in Sport On board with Qatar Airways
26 Flying the Flag Mahbubeh Akhlaghi targets gold
24 Sports Clubs Al-Sadd shines a light
30 Football in Qatar A new direction for Qatari football
33 Sports Calendar Highlights of the sporting season
34 The Big Interview WTA Tour President Larry Scott
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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Grey
Silver Me
Cover photo: PA Photos
Q2.08 QatarSport 3

Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Secretary General, Qatar Olympic Committee
Welcome...
...to the second edition of Qatar Sport, the official
magazine of the Qatar Olympic Committee.
In many ways a nation’s youth is its most important
asset. They hold the future in their hands and it is the
responsibility of those of our generation to do everything
we can to prepare them in the best possible way.
Naturally, we firmly believe that sport has a vital role
to play in this process.
On March 14 Qatar celebrated its first Schools
Olympic Day [see pages 18-20], the climax of a
programme which had run for four months and involved
more than 100,000 youngsters.
We were delighted with the success of an event which
was conceived not only as a means of introducing
youngsters to the fun they can have through sport, but
“Sport is not just for elite athletes,
it is not just for the young and it is
not just for those with money.
We believe in Sport for Life.”
of introducing them to the values which are so closely
associated with sports participation.
We face a significant challenge because throughout the
world participation in sport is falling and, in some sports,
crowds at all but the biggest events are lower than before.
The reality of life in the 21st century is that sport has to
compete with television, movies, computer games and so
many other leisure pursuits.
As a result, the world is becoming less and less active
and the consequence is a growing epidemic of heart
disease and other illnesses whose root cause is lack of
exercise and poor dietary choice.
This is a problem in Qatar as it is much of the rest of
the world.
We are convinced that the solution lies in introducing
youngsters to sport and the benefits of a healthy active
lifestyle at an early age and forming good habits which
they will, in turn, pass on to the next generation.
Schools Olympic Day is an important part of our
strategy to engage youth. The finals were held at Aspire
Dome amid a festival atmosphere, enjoyed by the
participants and their families alike. It was a day that
many will never forget and one which has inspired us to
do even more in the future. Yet Schools Olympic Day
was about far more than the finals. Over the course of
the programme youngsters not only had an opportunity
to participate and compete in a range of activities but
sport was embedded into the school timetable.
Sport is also the best tool for teaching youngsters about
being on a team. That’s really important because it relates
to being a part of society. The key lesson is that while
only one person can score the winning goal, the whole
team is responsible for getting the result. Everybody is
working towards the same objective.
Our overriding objective for the inaugural Schools
Olympic Day is illustrated by its slogan: Sport For Health.
While we want children to enjoy the competitive element
of sport and learning new skills, we firmly believe that
developing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is more
important than the result of a race or a game.
Of course, Schools Olympic Day also provided a
showcase for talent emerging from Qatar’s schools from
the first to the twelfth grade. It provides our coaches with
an opportunity to identity those who have the potential
to develop into first class competitors and that is another
positive factor as Qatar builds its sporting capability.
After all, nothing does more to encourage participation in
sport than the desire to emulate an athlete who becomes
a hero as a result of their success on the national and
international stage.
The Qatar Olympic Committee’s determination to
take steps to re-engage youth in sport are shared by
the International Olympic Committee itself and we
were delighted when IOC President Jacques Rogge
announced the introduction of the Youth Olympic
Games initiative.
We like to think that one day young Qatari athletes
will take their place on the medial podium at the Youth
Olympic games and that Schools Olympic Day will be
recognised as a stepping stone to their success.
Yet results are not everything. If Schools Olympic Day
plays a role in producing a generation of healthier, more
socially aware and responsible young people it will have
succeeded.
Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani
Secretary General. Qatar Olympic Committee
4 QatarSport Q2.08

Q2.08.news
jumping
ahead
World-class riders from
across the globe were in
action in Qatar at the Global
Champions Tour IN April
The biggest equestrian event ever to hit the peninsula
saw 82 of the world best riders take part in the prestigious
Global Tour Championship, presented by CN and CN
WorldWide in Doha.
The three-day event was organised by the Qatar
Equestrian Federation and saw the top 30 riders compete
on the final night for a purse of 300,000 euros, with the
winner taking home 100,000 euros.
The atmosphere in the round arena was electric when
the Irish show jumper Denis Lynch, riding the 10-year
old Lantinus 3, stopped the clock at 49.49 seconds to
set what proved to be an unbeatable time in the final
jump off.
Coincidently, Lantinus 3 had been bought from the
Global Tour Championship President, Jan Tops, only
last year, but the 31-year old Irishman and the flexible
gelding made the perfect team, turning sharply to each
fence to record a sub 50-second time.
Under the artificial lights, Alois Pollmann-
Schweckhorst from Germany rode hard to beat Lynch’s
time, but had to settle for a second place in 49.95
seconds. The Swiss Steve Guerdat was placed third with
Jolisca Solier.
Having staged a brilliant event, which was broadcast
live to 60 million viewers via Eurosport and Al Jazeera,
there was even better news to follow for the QEF, when
QEF President HE Sheikh Hamad Bin Ali Al Thani,
president of the organising committee, announced that
next year’s Global Tour Championship final will be held
in Doha.
As Jan Tops explained the QEF facilities are second to
none. “The facilities here are as good as the best in the
world,” Tops said. “The stables are also fantastic and the
other facilities too are world class.”
Jessica Kurten, the most successful female rider in the
2007 Global Champions Tour, with a second place overall
ranking, was amazed at the facilities in Doha. “The venue
is exceptional. It is a super big arena and has wonderful
stables for the horses. It is very exciting to be here,” she
said. In the presence of HE Sheikh Mich-al Bin Hamad
Al-Thani, President of Arab Equestrian Federation, the
event also saw the Qatari riders Yousef Al Rumaihi and
HE Sheikh Ali Bin Khalid Al-Thani put in impressive
displays over the jumps.
Talking about the Qatari riders, Tops said, “The last
time I was here, a Qatari rider [Al-Rumaihi] won the
Asian Games [individual show jumping] gold.
“They have made good progress over the last three years
and I think being made to compete against the best riders
will help them improve. The future is bright for Qatari
riders and in the near future we could see them winning
some medals in the world championships or even in the
Olympic Games.”
Qatar’s HE Sheikh Ali
Bin Khalid Al-Thani
competed against the
world’s best in Doha.
Q2.08 QatarSport 5

News
in Brief
Al Gharrafa Sport Club was
crowned champions of the
Qatar Football League for
season 2007-08 by HE Sheikh Hamad
Bin Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al Thani,
President of Qatar Football Association.
Al Gharrafa have now won the title
five times in their history. Their great
rivals Al Sadd finished in the runners
up spot, while Umm Slal SC managed
third overall. In Qatar's Second Division
Football League, Army SC took the
title and were promoted along with the
second placed club, Al Kharaitiyat SC.
Russian tennis star Dinara
Safina rallied to beat
compatriot Elena Dementieva
in three sets to win the title at the $1.34
million Qatar Telecom German Open in
Berlin. It was the first career Tier I title
for the 22-year-old Safina, who took
home her sixth career WTA title, and
her first since winning at Gold Coast
in 2007. She also earned $196,900
and the prestigious trophy presented
by Abdulrahman Saad Al Shathri –
President of Qatar Tennis Federation.
Qatar’s veteran shooter
Rashid Hamad Al Azbah
took gold in the double
trap men’s event in HH the Emir Cup
Shooting Championship, which took
place at Losail shooting complex in
April. The championship tested Qatar
shooters who were set to take part
in the GCC shooting championship in
Qatar from April 25 until May 5, 2008.
The tournament was organised by
Qatar Shooting and Archery Federation
(QSAF) and featured 120 shooters from
Qatar’s national shooting team.
Qatar’s athletics team
clinched third place at the
36th edition of World Cross
Country Championships in Edinburgh,
Scotland. They bagged 144 points
behind the Kenyans who finished first
with 39 points and the Ethiopians who
secured second with 105 points. Two
of the six Qatari runners made the top
ten. Filex Kibore secured sixth place
in 34.15 minutes, while his compatriot
Ahmad Hassan Abdullah clinched the
eighth place in 35.18 minutes. Mubarak
Hassan Shami finished in 25th place.
qatar kick
starts world
cup campaign
Qatar got its World Cup 2010 qualifying
campaign up and running with a 2-0 victory
over the Asian Cup champions Iraq.
Watched by a capacity crowd of 18,000
at Al-Sadd Sports Club’s Sheikh Jassim Bin
Hamad Stadium, Qatar’s Uruguayan coach,
Jorge Fossati, was rewarded for his bold
decision to name an attacking 4-3-3 formation
with Sebastian Soria, Marcio Emerson and
Hussain Yasser up front.
In a dream start, Qatar raced to 1-0 lead in
the first minute when the unmarked midfielder
Montesin grabbed a loose ball on the right
flank and quickly chipped in a neat swerving
pass to Soria, who managed the gentlest of
touches on the ball which went inside Iraq’s
far goalpost.
Qatar doubled their lead through Fabio
in the 67th minute. Marcio Emerson’s freekick
from the edge of the box was blocked
by an Iraqi defender, but the ball rolled
to the unmarked Fabio, who swiveled and
smartly flicked the ball through the hands of
goalkeeper Noor Hassan.
After the final whistle, Qatar fans celebrated
a famous win that puts the World Cup
qualifying campaign right back on track.
It was Qatar’s first win since their 3-0 loss to
Australia in February.
Qatar’s next qualifier is against China away
on June 2. Australia currently top the group
with four points. Qatar are second with three
points, China have two and Iraq one.
record breaking asian indoor
championship wins plaudits
Doha witnessed 19 championship records,
including two from the host nation, at the
Third Asian Indoor Athletics meet at the Aspire
Zone in February.
Organised by the Qatar Athletic Association,
the three-day event saw 300 of Asia’s best
athletes, representing 31 countries, rewrite the
record books for the championship.
In the showcase event of the championship,
the 60 metre men’s final, local star Samuel
Francis lived up this reputation as Asia’s fastest
man with a commanding win in 6.62 seconds.
In the men’s 1500m final, Qatar’s Ali
Thamer led the pack of six runners from start
to finish and won the second gold medal for
the hosts with a record time of 3:40.86.
The hosts finished an impressive fourth
in the medal table, with three golds (Sultan
Zaman took gold in the 3000m) and four
bronzes. Overall, India topped the table ahead
of China and Kazakhstan.
6 QatarSport Q2.08

Q2.08.news
China’s gymnasts dominated the First Doha Artistic
Gymnastics World Cup, the category ‘A’ championship, held at the
Aspire Hall from March 4 - 6.
China led the way with nine medals - five gold medals, three
silver medals and one bronze medal - confirming the country’s
readiness for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Chinese women won three gold medals, two
silver and one bronze. Deng Linlin was the
star performer, winning one medal of each
colour. Jiang Yuyuan won two medals
(gold and silver) while He Kexin took
home one gold medal. Jiang and Kexin
have just turned 16 and are potential medal
hopes for China in Beijing this summer.
Meanwhile, China’s men collected two
golds and one silver. Feng Zhe took gold
in the parallel bars and Guo Weiyang was
supreme on the horizontal bar.
The three-day mega-event was organised by the Qatar Gymnastics
Federation (QGF) under the aegis of the International Gymnastics
Federation for the first time in Qatar. “The organisation of such
a world sport event in Qatar is a great achievement, because the
event is classified as one of the most important Artistic Gymnastic
Championships at world level,” said HE Sheikh Saoud Bin
Abdulrahman Al Thani, QOC Secretary General.
Doha also received accolades from FIG Vice President Michael
Leglisle, who said that Qatar had done an impressive job with its
young and dynamic team.
“It has the ability to host this event in future but the decision
will be taken by the FIG board,” he said.
QGF President Abdulrahman Saad Al Shathri concluded that the
federation had crossed the first hurdle with ease but still had higher
targets. The first will be to send a 2009 event bid file to the FIG,
but Al Shathri added that the QGF’s main task is to groom Qatari
youngsters in the sport. “Events like the Artistic Gymnastics
World Cup will boost their interest in the sport,” he said.
World cup gymnasticS set
nEW standards
Q2.08 QatarSport 7

News
in Brief
The Qatar Swimming
Federation (QSF) has been
awarded the rights to
host a leg of the FINA Diving World
Series 2009. QSF president Yousif
Al Sae said that the QSF will host
the Middle East tour - the first Arab
federation to do so. FINA responded
positively to Qatar’s request during
meetings in Lausanne, Switzerland,
in February.
Qatar’s ace bowler Bandar
Al Shafi was crowned the
prestigious HH Emir Cup
Bowling Tournament champion at
the Qatar Bowling Centre in March.
The veteran left-hander beat Naif
Oqab of the United Arab Emirates
in two games for the title and claim
the QAR 75,000 first prize. Al Shafi,
the 2005 West Asian Games gold
medalist overpowered seventh-seed
Prince Mohammed Sultan of Saudi
Arabia, in the quarterfinals and
fifth-seed Kuwaiti Khalid Dubayan
to earn a spot in the final. Last year
the tournament was won by Qatar’s
Mubarak Al Muraikhi.
Al Ein chess club of UAE
signed a professional
contract with Qatar’s
chess leader, Asaad Mohammed Al
Mudaihiki, allowing him to compete
for the club in the UAE federation’s
cup competitions which ended in
March. This agreement allowed Al
Mudaihiki to gain his first experience
of playing for one of the Gulf clubs in
a local championship.
Qatar’s women’s basketball
team emerged victorious
from the inaugural GCC
Women’s Championship held in
Kuwait. On returning to Doha, the
team received a grand reception
at Doha International Airport from
Qatar Basketball Federation officials.
Dr. Aneesa Al Hitmi, headed the
Qatar delegation which competed
against national teams from Bahrain,
the UAE, Oman and Kuwait during
the week-long event. As well as
basketball, Qatari women competed
in table-tennis, taekwondo, athletics
and shooting.
Sharapova claims
second Qatar title
Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova
captured her second Qatar title when she beat
compatriot Vera Zvonareva in the final of Tier
I Qatar Total Open 2008 to take home a first
prize of $414,000.
Playing in a packed 5,000-seat Khalifa
International Stadium, fourth-seeded
Sharapova scored a rollercoaster 6-1, 2-6, 6-0
victory over Zvonareva on the centre court of
the Khalifa International Tennis Complex.
Sharapova’s victory meant that a Russian
was crowned champion of the WTA Qatar
tournament for the fifth time in its eight
year history. The sensation from Sochi had
previously won this tournament in 2005 and
joins Anastasia Myskina, winner of backto-back
titles in 2003 and 2004, and Nadia
Petrova (2006) on Russia’s Doha honour list.
The 20-year-old Sharapova reeled off six
straight games to win the first set before
crumbling in the second, Zvonareva
eventually taking it at the fifth opportunity.
“I had a really slow start,” Sharapova
admitted. “I was kind of sleeping in the
beginning of the match. I had to get myself
going somehow and I did, and I played really,
really well.”
The pendulum swung again in the final
set, as a determined Sharapova raised her
level once more, taking control from the first
game and surrendering just eight points in the
remainder of the match.
“I had so many opportunities in the
beginning of the second set but I didn’t take
them, and she’s the type of opponent that’s
going to play her best tennis when she’s
playing from behind and has nothing to lose,”
said Sharapova.
“Her level just comes up, and mine
dropped. I felt like my energy was going
down. I wasn’t moving or hitting the same
way, and I think that first game of the third
set was very important. It gave me a lot of
confidence for the rest of the match.”
It is the 18th career title for Sharapova and
second of the year following her Grand Slam
triumph at Melbourne Park in January.
Sharapova’s improvement since last year has
come not only from overcoming her shoulder
problems but careful attention to injuryavoiding
detail, as the way she worked her
way carefully into this match suggested.
“I don’t play nearly as much as the majority
of girls because physically I don’t think I can
withstand it. I have to be smart about my
scheduling,” said Sharapova.
The WTA Qatar Open was this year
elevated to Tier 1 status, with a total prize
pool of $2.5 million. Sharapova’s paycheck
was the richest on the Sony Ericsson WTA
Tour outside the Grand Slams. Zvonareva
picked up the runner-up purse of $211,000.
And there could be more bounty to
come for the Russians. In November,
Qatar stages the $4,450,000 Sony Ericsson
Championships Doha 2008.
The season-ending spectacular features the
top eight singles players WTA tour and is
most prestigious tournament in professional
women’s tennis. If Sharapova extends her
current run of form, she’ll be back to grace
the centre court in Doha once again.
8 QatarSport Q2.08

Q2.08.news
HE Sheikh Saoud joins GCC leaders to affirm anti-doping
strategies in the Gulf.
GCC Summit backs
anti-doping project
The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC)
Secretary General HE Sheikh Saoud Bin
Abdulrahman Al-Thani has initiated
a major anti-doping project following
resolutions reached at the 28th GCC
Summit held in Doha in December.
During the Summit, the Supreme
Council of the six Gulf countries expressed
their support for Qatar’s desire to host
the GCC laboratory for detecting doping
among athletes.
The council also agreed that all GCC
countries must sign the United Nations
Educational Scientific and Cultural
Organisation’s (UNESCO) international
agreement on anti–doping.
“The establishment of a regional anti–
doping laboratory in Doha is of enormous
importance and reflects the desire of Qatar
and the GCC to exercise fair and clean
sporting activity,” said HE Sheikh Saoud.
Just days after the GCC summit, the
QOC Secretary General signed a deal with
the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)
to construct the anti-doping centre which
will be built in the Aspire Zone.
HE Sheikh Saoud said that the
move prepared the ground for a lasting
agreement between both sides.
Representing WADA, Director General
David Howman applauded Qatar for
the initiative and said it was the first
time that he had witnessed full political
support regarding the anti-doping issue.
The centre is scheduled to be built within
18 to 24 months and the project plan has
already taken some giant steps forward.
Executive manager of the Qatar Anti-
Doping laboratory Mohammad Al Sereifi,
presented the work plans and benefits
of the project during a meeting of GCC
Olympic Committees Presidents held in
Doha in March, where the GCC National
Olympic Committee’s further backed the
innovative project.
The main mission of the laboratory, said
Al Sereifi, is to eradicate doping in sport
and protect athletes health - a goal that
will be achieved not only through strategic
cooperation between the QOC, the Qatar
Anti-Doping Committee and WADA, but
through close ties with the GCC National
Olympic Committees.
As for the work plan, Al Sereifi said the
laboratory will put scientific research at
the core of its programme and an annual
budget will be allocated for research into
banned drugs.
According to Chairman of the Qatari
Anti-Doping Committee Dr. Mohammad
Ghanem, the deal signed between WADA
and QOC will provide a base for the
specialised practice of anti-doping tests,
which will make the facility unique among
those currently operating anti-doping
procedures in the Gulf.
Ma Lin scores
Qatar Open double
China’s Ma Lin (pictured) won the
men’s singles title at the Erke Qatar
Open in Doha in March, retaining the
title he had won twelve months ago
when beating Wang Liqin in the final.
This year he defeated Wang Hao in the
world-ranking event. In the women’s
section, China’s Zhang Yining won her
second consecutive singles title of the
year, beating compatriot, Guo Yan, in
the final. The event was organised by
the Qatar Table Tennis Federation,
which is bidding to host the World
Table Tennis Championships in 2013.
Q2.08 QatarSport 9

Martina Strutz (Germany)
doha applauds
Olympic Day
Runners
Around 1,200 Qatari residents, including
locals and expatriates, participated in the
Olympic Day Run event held at the Aspire
Zone sports precinct on May 3.
The eleventh annual Olympic Day Run
was sponsored by McDonald’s restaurant
under the aegis of the Qatar Olympic
Committee (QOC) and highlighted the
governing body’s commitment to the
concept of ‘Sport for All’.
“The overwhelming participation of about
1,200 residents is a message that reveals
how people are making sports an essential
part of their lives in Qatar,” said HE Sheikh
Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, QOC
Secretary General.
The participants were divided in various
categories such as 6-9 years, 10-16 years,
17-27 years, 27-39 years, above 39, 12-16
years (girls) and above 16 years (girls).
Junior participants ran a total distance
ranging from 1-2 km, while seniors
competed for the medals during a 3km run
around the sports complex.
The winners received cash awards and
medals by the QOC, while McDonald’s gave
away medals, gift vouchers, mobiles and
other items.
Every participant who completed the run
was given a T- shirt and cap.
“This is the fifth consecutive year that we
have partnered with QOC, “ an official from
McDonald’s said. “Our relationship with the
sports body goes much beyond sponsoring
of this event.”
The positive impact of McDonald’s sports
sponsorships in the Gulf Cooperation
Council markets have been further boosted
by McDonald’s role as a proud partner
of this year’s Summer Olympic Games
in Beijing, China - and the renewal of its
sponsorship through to the 2012 Olympic
Games in London, UK.
Launched by the Olympic Movement
in 1987, around 168 National Olympic
Committees take part in the Olympic Day
Run every year.
RECORDS FALL AS STARS
LIGHT UP THE NIGHT
Five new meet records were set when Doha
hosted the IAAF Super Grand Prix as the build-up
to the Beijing Olympic Games continues
Many of the world’s leading track
and field stars lit up the night with
dazzling performances as the Suheim Bin
Hamad Stadium hosted the 2008 Qatar
Athletic Grand Prix, a key fixture on
the International Association of Athletic
Federations’ Super Grand Prix circuit.
And with Qatari athletes successfully
using the event to continue their
preparations for Olympic qualification
against world-class opposition, Brigadier
Dahlan Al Hamad, President of the Qatar
Association of Athletic Federation (QAAF),
concluded that the event had “met all our
expectations.”
“It was one of the best events in IAAF
calendar this year. Our athletes were
competing against worlds best, we couldn’t
have asked for anything better,” he said.
The Qatar Super Grand Prix took on a
fresh importance as the countdown to the
Beijing continued. The event saw five meet
records broken with Americans Allyson Felix
and David Oliver among those making
the headlines.
Felix recorded an impressive double,
winning both the 100m and 400m events,
winning both with meet records and the
world's best time of the year to date. She
recorded 10.93 seconds for the 100m and
49.83 for the 400m.
This was Felix’s fourth appearance in
Doha, a fixture which she views as the start
of her competitive season.
"I was keen to repeat my performances of
last year and I was able to do that," she said.
"I feel good having the world's best time
in both events."
David Oliver became only the 11th
man to go under 13 seconds in the 110m
Hurdles, with his victory by over five metres
in a 12.95 personal best. And, he says, it
could have been even better. "The race
was awesome. I didn't get a good start. If I
would have gotten away better, I could have
broken the world record!”
“It will come though. I am happy that I
was again able to better my Personal Best in
Doha like last year. My goal is the final at
the Olympics in Beijing."
Blanka Vlasic had three attempts at a new
record of 2.10m in the High Jump. But after
watching the best of her would-be rivals –
Anna Chicherova of Russia – stall at 1.96m,
Vlasic eased over 1.98m, 2.01m and 2.03m,
but came up short at 2.05m.
In the shot, Reese Hoffa kept up his
impressive form, hitting 21.01m with both
first and second put, was three centimetres
shy on his third, but on his fourth and final,
hit 21.48m for a world lead.
Jaysuma Saidy Ndure of Norway
recorded a personal best 10.01 with what
expert observers fell was perhaps his most
impressive 100m victory over a field which
included World indoor champion, and
twice African champ, Olusoji Fasuba, who
finished sixth.
A second Norwegian victory of the
night was rather more expected, Olympic
champion, Andreas Thorkildsen dominating
the Javelin with his opener of 87.59m. He
10 QatarSport Q2.08

Q2.08.news
Middle: David Oliver (USA)
Jaysuma Saidy (Norway)
Action from the 3,000m Steeplechase
threw 87.58m for good measure on his
last attempt, but victory was already his.
Saidy Ndure withdrew from the 200m,
following his short sprint win, and Jeremy
Wariner also pulled a muscle in the warmup,
leaving the field to Lashawn Merritt to
demolish in 20.08.
Ehsan Hadadi of Iran was a popular
winner of the Discus Throw, the Asian
champion winning with his final toss
off 67.20m. While Randy Lewis leapt
17.44m to win the Triple Jump.
North-west Africa took the top three
spots in a close run 1500m. Former world
junior champ, Abdelati Iguider (3:33.27)
beat his Moroccan colleague, Mohamed
Moustaoui (3:33.31) into second, with
Algerian Antar Zerguelaine (3:33.32)
taking third.
Kamila Skolimowska won the battle of
the Olympic hammer champs, the Pole
winning with 72.96m, from her colleague,
Anita Wlodarczyk, with Athens champ,
Olga Kuzenkova of Russia back in fifth.
Kenyans demonstrated their
prowess with victories in the 800,
3000 and 3000m Steeplechase. World
Championship bronze medalist, Richard
Mateelong's recorded 8.07.64 -another
world lead - while David Rudisha outmanouevred
his colleagues with a 1.44.36
win in the 800m.
The final event, the 3000m went to
Augustine Kiprono Choge who won in
7.32.01, defeating Eliud Kipchoge and
Isaac Songok.
Results
Men's 100m
1. Jaysuma Saidy (Norway) 10.01 secs
2. Darrel Brown (Trinidad and Tobago) 10.02
3. Michael Frater (Jamaica) 10.08
Men's 800m
1. David Lekuta Rudisha (Kenya) 1 min 44.36 secs
2. Abraham Chepkirwok (Uganda) 1:44.66
3. Ahmed Ismael (Sudan) 1:44.82
Allyson Felix (USA)
Men's 1500m
1. Abdelati Iguider (Morocco) 3
mins 33.27 secs
2. Mohamed Moustaoui
(Morocco) 3:33.31
3. Antar Zerguelaine
(Algeria) 3:33.32
Men's 110m Hurdles
1. David Oliver (US) 12.95 secs
2. Joel Brown (US) 13.38
3. Andy Turner (Britain) 13.41
Men's 400m Hurdles
1. Louis Van Zyl
(South Africa) 49.03 secs
2. Danny McFarlane (Jamaica) 49.10
3. Isa Phillips (Jamaica) 49.71
Men's 3000m Steeplechase
1. Richard Kipkemboi Mateelong (Kenya) 8 mins
07.64 secs
2. Collins Kosgei (Kenya) 8:13.87
3. Michael Kipyego (Kenya) 8:15.74
Men's Triple Jump
1. Randy Lewis (Grenada) 17 m 44 cm
2. Leevan Sands (Bahamas) 16.88
3. Aarik Wilson (US) 16.86
Men's Shot Put
1. Reese Hoffa (US) 21 m 48 cm
2. Tomasz Majewski (Poland) 20.71
3. Garrett Johnson (US) 20.65
Men's Discus Throw
1. Ehsan Hadadi (Iran) 67 m 20 cm
2. Piotr Malachowski (Poland) 66.26
3. Zoltan Koevago (Hungary) 64.70
Women's 100m
1. Allyson Felix (US) 10.93 secs
2. Sherone Simpson
(Jamaica) 11.09
3. Sheri-Ann Brooks
(Jamaica) 11.14
Women's 1500m
1. Liliana Popescu (Romania) 4
mins 05.52 secs
2. Viola Kibiwot (Kenya) 4:07.08
3. Ibtissam Lakhouad
(Morocco) 4:07.93
Women's 100m Hurdles
1. Brigitte Foster-Hylton
(Jamaica) 12.56 secs
2. Lolo Jones (US) 12.65
3. Virginia Powell (US) 12.77
Women's 3000m Steeplechase
1. Donna MacFarlane (Australia)
9 mins 31.47 secs
2. Ruth Bisibori Nyangau (Kenya) 9:32.15
3. Eunice Jepkorir (Kenya) 9:36.23
Women's Pole Vault
1. Silke Spiegelburg (Germany) 4 m 50 cm
2. Yuliya Golubchikova (Russia) 4.40
3. Carolin Hingst (Germany) 4.20
Women's Hammer Throw
1. Kamila Skolimowska (Poland) 72 m 96 cm
2. Anita Wlodarczyk (Poland) 70.66
3. Ester Balassini (Italy) 69.65
Q2.08 QatarSport 11

STONER
SHINES
UNDER
LIGHTS
Australia’s Casey
Stoner won this year’s
Qatar MotoGP Grand
Prix, the world’s first
ever night-time
motorsports event
World Champion Casey Stoner made it
two-in-a-row when he won the historic
2008 Qatar MotoGP Grand Prix at the
Losail Circuit on the outskirts of Doha.
Stoner, the new superstar of MotoGP,
became the first rider to take the chequered
flag in a night race held under the lights.
The world’s biggest sports lighting project
had been developed to light the Losail
Circuit in a move which is likely to herald
many more night-time motorsports events
around the world.
Stoner, riding a Ducati, crossed the line
ahead of Spanish debutant Jorge Lorenzo
on a Yamaha, with Honda’s Dani Pedrosa in
third. Stoner was fourth on the grid and
took the lead on the straight on lap eight
and did not look back as he raced to victory
in 42 minutes 36.58 seconds. Lorenzo
started in pole position, but finished over
five seconds in arrears with Pedrosa nearly
five seconds further back in third.
“This is an amazing win for me,” Stoner
said. “I am very happy to start the new
season in this fashion. We didn’t have a great
time in the pre-season. But I enjoyed the
race. It was crazy in the first few laps.”
The 22-lap race (118.36km) turned out
to be a four-man battle until half way
through, with Stoner, Lorenzo, Pedrosa and
Italy’s former World Champion Valentino
Rossi fighting for supremacy. But it became
a two-man race as Stoner took a handy lead
with Lorenzo his closest challenger.
Pedrosa, who started from eighth place
on the grid, sneaked through the frontrunners
and took a surprising early lead but
Rossi narrowed the gap steadily and forged
ahead in the fifth lap with Lorenzo and
Stoner chasing the front duo. But by the
eighth lap the equations changed drastically
as Stoner moved ahead. Both Rossi and
Lorenzo challenged him for some time, but
as the race progressed it became clear that
the battle for the win was between Stoner
and Lorenzo.
Mattia Pasini of Italy and Hector Barbara
of Spain had earlier made it a 1-2 for Aprilia
in the 250cc. The 125cc race went to
Spaniard Sergio Gadea of Aprilia with
Derbi’s Joan Olive of Spain finishing in
second place.
12 QatarSport Q2.08

o o o o o o o o o
STARS IN
QATAR
CASEY STONER
Casey Stoner came from
a motor cycling family in
Australia and displayed his
passion and talent from a
remarkably early age. He
was only four years of age
when he competed in his
first race and by the age
of six he had won his first
Australian title. After
enjoying tremendous
success in Australia between the ages of six and 14 the family
moved to England where Casey was old enough to hold a race
license. He attracted sponsorship after just one race and took
the English 125cc Aprilia Championship in 2000, his first year
of road racing.
From 2001 through 2005 Casey raced primarily for the
Safilo Oxydo LCR team, taking his first race win in Valencia,
Spain, aged just 17, in the 125cc GP series. In 2004, he moved
to KTM for one season and that year took KTM’s first ever win
in a GP class.
Returning to the Safilo Oxydo LCR team, this time riding an
official 250cc Aprilia, he spent 2005 battling it out with Dani
Pedrosa for the championship, visiting the podium ten times
in the process and taking wins in Portugal, Shanghai, Qatar,
Sepang, and Istanbul.
Finally in 2006, aged 20, Casey accomplished his long held
ambition of racing in MotoGP, the fastest and most prestigious
of the classes. In 2007 Casey Stoner has joined the Ducati
MotoGP Team alongside Loris Capirossi, and on March 10, at
the Losail International Circuit recorded his first win in
MotoGP class.
That victory was followed by another nine wins, four
further podium finishes and five pole positions. On September
23, in Japan, Stoner secured Ducati’s first MotoGP World
Championship becoming the first rider in over 30 years to win
the MotoGP title on a European made bike and the second
youngest premier-class World Champion.
THE STONER FILE
QS: How did you enjoy the experience of racing under lights
for the first time?
CS: It was good fun and something a little bit different. They’ve
done a great job, the visibility was different to daylight but
very good.
What are the main ways in which it differs from
daylight racing?
It wasn’t too different, I mean the first few laps maybe took
some time to get used to, but you start to run some decent lap
times and you completely block it out.
How did your race tactics differ – if at all – because of
the lighting?
It actually makes you focus on the circuit a little bit more,
rather than everything else going on around you. You start to
concentrate more on where your lines are rather than traffic
around you, and generally you just focus more.
How do you rate the Qatar circuit and why?
It’s not the most exciting track because it’s very flat, but I like
it because it is good for racing, you normally get a nice little
battle up front.
How was the Qatar experience in terms of welcome
and hospitality?
Very good, everybody is highly professional and makes you feel
very welcome.
Is there anything in particular which makes racing in Qatar
special in your eyes?
It is the place were I got my first MotoGP victory and my first
with Ducati. It will always be special to me.
What are your hopes and expectations for the rest of the
season and who do you expect to be your major rivals
this year?
I don’t think the first race predicts how the rest of the season
will go. A lot of people have got a chance of winning this year,
there are not any particular names we can really point out.
We still don’t know what to expect coming to the next few
circuits, and we are all going to have to try and stay on top, we
are just going to have to see how it goes.
Q2.08 QatarSport 13

o o o o o o o o o
STARS IN
QATAR
VALENTINO ROSSI
Five-time MotoGP World
Champion Valentino Rossi,
known as ‘The Doctor’,
started his fifth season
with Yamaha at the Qatar
GP in an unusual position.
In 2007 he took four race
wins, but his prodigious
talents were limited by
technical and tyre
problems as well as plain
bad luck. His third place finish was his lowest championship
finish since his rookie year in 1996.
Born in Urbino, Italy on February 16, 1979, Rossi was riding
bikes from an early age thanks to the influence of his father
Graziano, himself a former Grand Prix winner. Rossi`s World
Championship debut came at the Malaysian Grand Prix in 1996
and he finished his first international season in ninth place
with one race win.
The following year he became the youngest ever rider to
win the 125cc World Championship, winning eleven races
along the way with Aprilia. The pattern continued when he
moved into the 250cc class, taking second place in his first
year before becoming World Champion in 1999 with Aprilia.
In 2000 he entered a new phase of his career when he
joined forces with Honda in the 500cc class. He proved his
worth once again by finishing second, before becoming the last
ever 500cc World Champion in 2001.
Rossi subsequently took the MotoGP world title in 2002 and
2003, before moving to Yamaha and winning it again in 2004
and 2005.
Rossi dominated the 2005 season, winning eleven races in
total. In doing he became one of only five riders in the history
of the sport to win the premier class title on five occasions.
2006 saw him finish World Champion runner-up for only
the second time in his premier class career, but Rossi still
took five race wins and five pole positions in 2006 - more than
any other rider.
THE ROSSI FILE
QS: How did you enjoy the experience of racing under lights
for the first time?
VR: “I had great fun racing under the lights. It was something
really different, great for the fans and also fun for the riders. I
especially liked it because it meant I could stay sleeping in the
morning for longer, which is very important for me!”
What are the main ways in which it differs from
daylight racing?
“In reality, after a short time the difference was almost
nothing, it was exactly the same as racing in day time. After
you’ve become used to seeing the odd shadow, you really
forget about it. The biggest difference was the temperature of
the track, which was much, much cooler than usual and
therefore it was quite difficult for the tyres.”
How did your race tactics differ – if at all – because of
the lighting?
“In no way, tactics were exactly the same”
How do you rate the Qatar circuit and why?
“I like it a lot, it’s a great track and you can have fun on it. Also
I’ve had some good wins here in 2005 and 2006.”
How was the Qatar experience in terms of welcome
and hospitality?
“Very good, we’re always made to feel very welcome in Qatar
and it seems to be a great country.”
Is there anything in particular which makes racing in Qatar
special in your eyes?
“I like it because it’s quite different to anywhere else we go, but
of course now the biggest special thing is the racing at night!”
What are your hopes and expectations for the rest of the
season and who do you expect to be your major rivals
this year?
“My hope is to be fighting for the championship and race wins
at every race this season. I think it’s going to be a very exciting
and close championship, with many riders who are very fast.
Of course Stoner and Pedrosa, but also my team-mate Jorge
Lorenzo, then the other two Yamaha riders, Dovizioso,
Hopkins...it’s going to be a great show!”
14 QatarSport Q2.08

THE WORLDWIDE OLYMPIC PARTNERS

o o o o o o o o o
Women
in sport
QATAR’S
WOMEN ARE
GOING FOR
GLORY
Dr Anisa Al Hitmi, President of the
Qatar Women’s Sports Committee, is
raising awareness of sport among
Qatari women
Above and opposite:
Qatari women compete in
gymnastics, shooting and
archery at the 15th Asian
Games Doha 2006.
Earlier this year, Qatar teams won gold medals in
basketball and taekwando competitions at the GCC
Women’s Games, while there was also a first place finish in
the 800 metres.
These celebrated triumphs have a broader significance
for sport in Qatar as an indicator of how far women’s sport
has developed in a relatively short space of time.
Dr Anisa Al Hitmi, President of the Qatar Women’s
Sports Committee is a driving force behind programmes
to encourage Qatari women to become involved in sports
and points to the fact that teams in table tennis and
shooting also made the trip to Kuwait for the GCC Games
as evidence of significant progress.
Dr Al Hitmi is a significant figure on the world stage
and was part of an IOC conference on women’s sport in
February. As a result, her take on the issues facing women
in sport in Qatar itself, the Middle East and the world in
general help set and move the agenda world-wide.
On meeting her, she makes one thing crystal clear. The
issues facing women in sport are different from one
country to another.
“Some have economic problems, other have broader
social problems of which sport is just a part. Many face
significant gender issues,” she said.
“Women have been involved in sport in the Middle East
since the 1960s and those who have enjoyed success have
become celebrated.
“Generally, throughout the Middle East, men experience
few difficulties in their relationship with sport. But it is
different for women in some respects because of a range of
social and traditional issues.”
Even within the Middle East the challenges faced by
women in their relationship with sport differ hugely from
state to state.
“In some Middle Eastern countries the need is for the
finance and leadership necessary to establish the facilities,
infrastructure and support required to establish sports
opportunities for women. These are countries where there
are no significant social issues but a lack of facilities and
financial support,” Dr Al Hitmi said.
“In the GCC countries we are lucky to enjoy significant
financial support - that is not an issue. However, here we
find that social issues can still be a barrier to women
competing in and enjoying the benefits of sport.”
One factor, which cannot be overstated, is the role of
the family in influencing whether a daughter develops an
interest in sport.
“It is very important in the Middle East that when you
have women athletes that there are other women to work
with them. That means female coaches and medical
specialists for example. That will be important in stopping
families from rejecting sport as an option for their
daughters,” Dr Al Hitmi explained.
Ultimately though, she believes that education is the
key issue. “In Qatar over the last 10 years the focus of
education has shifted to include physical education. It is
introducing sport to a new generation of girls as well as
boys. PE is a central subject on the school syllabus and
sport is at the forefront of Qatar’s development policies.
“Education is the most important element. The
involvement of schools encourages families to be supportive
and Schools Olympic Day was an example of the massive
support for sport. It is to do with sharing, co-operating
and teaching.”
16 QatarSport Q2.08

SPORT FOR SOCIAL
CHANGE
Qatar’s female athletes were represented
at the IOC World Conference on Women and
Sport in Jordan
Because of their influence within the family set-up,
women are central to Qatar’s strategies to promote activity
and active lifestyles. And while the education system may
give direct access to young women, the 25-40 years-old
group are traditionally far more difficult to engage.
That’s why a special programme has been developed for
women in this age group at a special Women’s Zone at
Aspire. There, in an exclusively female environment,
Qatari women are able to take part in a range of fitness
activities designed to introduce them to the benefits of
keeping fit and healthy.
“We are trying to create awareness of the importance of
sport in women’s lives and that of their families. Women
have tremendous influence both on their immediate and
extended families,” Dr Al Hitmi said.
“The programme has been very popular and is just so
very important for health. The women who go to Aspire
are involved for the health benefits rather than competition
and, of course, we realise that if you take care of women of
this age there is a chance that their engagement will be
transferred to their children. “
“In years to come I would like to be associated with the
movement to ensure that everybody in Qatar is aware of
the importance of sport and to see more leaders of sport
from Qatar,” Dr Al Hitmi reflects.
“My goal is to see the people of Qatar fulfilling the
ambitions of HH The Emir and his wife who have been so
important in determining the policies which ensure that
there are sports opportunities for all in Qatar.
“They have sown the seed for our sporting future and I
hope that all the wishes of their Highnesses come true for
the benefit of Qatar.”
The fourth annual IOC World Conference on Women and Sport took
place in the Middle East for the first time, when Jordan staged the
event on the shores of the Dead Sea in March.
Highlighting the crucial role women play in sport, but also the
numerous barriers women face because of gender discrimination,
the Conference provided the Qatari delegation with the perfect
opportunity to listen and learn from the people at the top of
women’s sport. At the conference’s opening ceremony, timed to
coincide with International Women’s Day, President of Qatar’s
Women in Sport Commission, Dr Anisa Al-Hitmi, set out Qatar’s
agenda. “Qatar is actively encouraging women in the country to
participate in sport,” she said. “The importance and social
significance of women participating in sport in the Gulf region,
especially in Qatar, cannot be overstated. Sport is providing new
paths of excellence, pride and self expression for young women all
across the region, and Qatar is at the forefront of this change.”
Under the motto ‘Sport as a vehicle for social change’, the
conference participants debated how women athletes can serve as
role models for young girls, how more women might take part in
coaching and officiating, how to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic
through sport, and how culture determines women’s access to
sport. Keynote speakers at the conference included former top
athletes, representatives from governments, businesses, UN
agencies, media and academics.
Speaking before the conference, Qatar’s Laila Hussain, a
competitive rifle shooter who competed in the 2006 Asian Games in
Doha, said: ”Sport has always celebrated inclusion and
participation among cultures, nations and genders. The Asian
Games demonstrated that sport in Qatar is for men and women
alike.” Her comments were echoed by the archer and rally driver
Nada Zeidan. “Women in Qatar have more and more opportunities
to take part in sports of every kind,” said Zeidan. As a result, there
has been a big increase in the number of Qatari women competing
at high levels.”
Zeidan is the perfect role model for young Qatari women - she
represented Qatar in archery at the last two Asian Games and is
equally accomplished behind the wheel of her rally car, winning
three Ladies Cups in Dubai, Syria and Lebanon in 2004/05.
Q2.08 QatarSport 17

o o o o o o o o o
SCHOOLS
OLYMPIC DAY
THE SUCCESS OF THE
inaugural Schools Olympic
Day means THAT THE youth
development concept will
become an annual fixture
SCHOOLS OLYMPIC DAY :
Schools Olympic Day is here to stay. Launched in November
last year by the Qatar Olympic Committee, the competitions
in eight sports ran through the winter until the dramatic
conclusion of the events for boys and girls on March 14 and
15 respectively at the Aspire Zone.
The two-day concluding competitions saw 1,000 to
1,200 students competing for the top honours in the team
and individual events after five months of sporting endeavour
to reach the finals.
This special project is the brainchild of HH the Heir
Apparent and QOC President Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad
Al-Thani and was launched with students from government,
private and expatriate schools competing in eight sport
disciplines - football, volleyball, handball, athletics,
swimming, basketball, fencing and gymnastics, in addition
to educational and cultural activities.
At QOC, it is believed that sport plays a key role in
developing the next generation of youth, says HE Sheikh
Saoud Bin Abdulrahaman Al-Thani, QOC Secretary
General and President of Schools Olympic Day Organising
Committee. And the response to the project from teachers,
students, parents and families has been little short of
extraordinary.
“Schools Olympic Day will continue next year,” affirmed
Sheikh Saoud. “Most of the objectives and goals which the
programme had set out to achieve at the start of the Schools
Olympic Day have been realised….Teach the kids at a
young age and whatever they learn stays with them
throughout their life.”
With over 250 schools taking part, some 100,000
students participated in the scheme, which aims to raise
student awareness about sporting ethics, instil sporting
values and show that the spirit of Olympism is not just
about winning but about a chance to gain life skills, learning
the benefits of teamwork and the value of leading a
healthy lifestyle.
Under the motto ‘Sport for Health,’ the Schools Olympic
Day Organising Committee also places a special emphasis
on family values, reflecting Qatar's deep concern over
building healthy families.
18 QatarSport Q2.08

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
Qatar is the first country in the world to pilot such an event
and the QOC co-ordinated with the Ministry of Education,
Qatar University, Supreme Education Council and Supreme
Health Council to set up Schools Olympic Day.
The initiative has also identified young talent for Qatar’s
growing elite sports programmes. “We have been able to
spot a few promising athletes for the different federations
and clubs,” said Sheikh Saoud.
One of Qatar’s former champions, the 1992 Barcelona
Olympic Games bronze medalist Mohamed Sulaiman, took
on the role of Ambassador for the sport day and he too was
impressed by the outcome of the inaugural event.
“Events of this kind will certainly boost interest among
youth and attract them to sports. Myself and (fellow
ambassador) Talal Mansour are really privileged to be part
of this event,” he said. “I would like to dedicate this tribute
to all those who have retired as an athlete and have served
Qatar during their career.”
Speaking about the facilities in Qatar, Sulaiman added:
“It is very important for children at this age to get acquainted
with the world-class sports infrastructure that is available at
Aspire and other venues in Qatar. During our athletic career,
we were limited with the facilities. It definitely enhances the
prospects for our national teams not only in athletics but
also in different other disciplines.”
Morocco's Said Aouita completed the line up of male
ambassadors while Egypt's Rania Ulwani represented the
women. Indeed, there can be no doubt that the event will
have a positive impact on women’s sport in Qatar. After the
finals of the Schools Olympic Day for girls, which took
place on March 15, Mrs Najala Al Zawadi, headmistress of
Qatar secondary school for girls, explained. “The School
Olympic Day’s great value for our female athletes is that
they will learn lessons in cooperation with each other,
accepting sport results with good spirit, and acting with
flexibility and in a sport manner.’
Meanwhile, Limya Al Salihi, QAAF's trainer, said that
the event would help attract more female students and
teachers to participate in individual and team sports. “The
competition was very tough between schools during the
Above: School football
teams from the
youngest age group in
the Schools Olympic
Day compete for the
gold medals at the
Aspire Indoor Hall.
Q2.08 QatarSport 19

Top: HE Sheikh Saoud
(second from right) and
former FIFA President
Joao Havelange
(middle) award medals
on the final day of the
Schools Olympic Day
programme, which saw
the places decided in
eight sports, including
basketball (right).
Schools Olympic Day, which raised cooperative spirit
among female students,” she said.
Zainab Al Rayashi, Deputy Headmistress of Qatar
Independent Preparatory School said that School Olympic
Day would “strengthen relations between school sports
and sport clubs and help provide national sport with
capable athletes who are able to achieve good results.”
As for the feedback from Qatar’s potential champions
of the future - the schoolchildren themselves - the
enthusiasm was clear.
Fatima Al Khulaifi, a schoolgirl from Qatar Preparatory
School said that Schools Olympic Day was a tremendous
day for her as she played at the Aspire Academy for the
first time - and secured a gold medal. Fatima expressed her
gratitude towards her school administration for giving her
the opportunity to acquire more experience in sport.
As for next year, Sheikh Saoud is looking forward to
more schools participating in the event and even greater
participation from the girls, who competed in four events
at this year’s event – fencing, handball, gymnastics and
basketball.
The QOC also plans to write to all expatriate schools to
confirm their participation in next year’s event so that no
social group is left out.
“We want everyone staying here to feel this is their
country and participate whole heartedly,” Sheikh Saoud
revealed. Moreover, the QOC plans to increase the number
of disciplines in the competition with hockey, in particular,
tipped for inclusion next year.
Sheikh Saoud acknowledges that there is more work to
be done to make the format even more inclusive, but after
the first Schools Olympic Day ended with a memorable
Closing Ceremony, the QOC could say, for this year, at
least, ‘Mission Accomplished’.
20 QatarSport Q2.08

ASPIRING
TO SUCCEED
The Aspire Academy’s dual focus oN sporting excellence and Sport for All is
producing great results. as QATARiS GET FITTER, YOUNG ATHLETES ARE EMERGING
WITH THE SPORTING AND ACADEMIC SKILLS TO BECOME ‘CHAMPIONS IN LIFE’
Dieter Hackfort thinks he has one of the best jobs in the
world. As President of the International Society for Sports
Psychology he had won the respect of his peers, published
some of the most respected books ever written on his
specialist subject and taught at some renowned institutions
all over the world.
But when he was asked to become Dean of the Aspire
Academy, Dr Hackfort simply couldn’t say no.
Aspire Academy is a unique sports academy within Doha’s
Aspire Zone which offers some of the finest sports facilities,
resources and services to be found anywhere in the world.
“Our vision at Aspire Academy is to create the champions
for Qatar and other countries and to make a key contribution
to pursuing a Sport for All agenda,” Dr Hackfort explains.
“We aim to establish the Aspire Academy as an elite sports
academy on a global scale through our work in sports science
and education.” In addition to developing the talents of
youngsters who will, hopefully, make their mark in the
wide-world of sport, Aspire Academy is at the heart of one
of Qatar’s most important Sport For All initiatives. Launched
last year, Aspire Active attracts some 4,000 people a week
who all take advantage of a range of professionally delivered
health, fitness and well-being courses.
“This is a very important initiative for Qatari society and
is making a real contribution in achieving the country’s
objectives of encouraging people to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
The overall programme includes special courses for mothers
and toddlers, for diabetics and for obese people.”
Admission to the Aspire Academy is highly prized and
only one or two per cent of those who are considered are
offered a place. Those who succeed are given the chance to
develop both sporting and academic skills in the company
22 QatarSport Q2.08

o o o o o o o o o
SPORTS
DEVELOPMENT
of like-minded youngsters and under the watchful eye of
some of the world’s leading coaches, educators and
supporting staff like sports scientists, sports psychologists
and career managers.
“Our Champions Education Programme is linked directly
to creating the champions of the future. It involves personal
development and team building features and is linked to a
classical educational programme as well as the sports
element,” said Dr Hackfort.
But Dr Hackfort doesn’t believe that a sports champion
needs necessarily be an elite athlete.
“A champion should be an expert in sport and might be a
high level athlete whose expertise is in providing the skills
for other people as a coach, for example. Our view is that
they should be Champions In Life, through their personality,
their ability as a team player and ability to cope with stress.
These are all qualities which are developed through sport
but can be used in other areas of life. They are
qualities which have a lot to do
with leadership skills and the
ability to cope with the
challenges of life.
“The Champions Education
Programme for Qatar produces
ambassadors for sport and for
the country. It has much more
to offer than a lot of people
realise,” he said.
Aspire Academy’s Classical
Education Programme is both
wide-ranging and focused on the
genuine 21st century needs of its students. The core subjects
include English, Arabic and Information Technology along
with sports science and sports culture.
Sport, says Dr Hackfort, is naturally at the heart of every
activity. “We deal with a broad range of issues through sport.
As part of our science studies we will look at the technical
aspects of sport and teach the students to understand and
use sports equipment.
“We will examine sciences through sports issues such as
the impact of altitude on the body, dietary issues and, of
course, sports psychology, while our cultural programme
emphasises the social aspects of sport, of fair play and
learning to work as part of a team.”
Depending on their age, the students board at Aspire for
different periods, starting with one or two days each week
and building up to full weekly boarding.
“Boarding allows the students to maintain their focus and
orientation,” he explained. “Naturally we work in close cooperation
with the parents and we run a parents forum to
ensure that they are always in touch with what the Academy
is doing.” The students’ schedule makes for long but
carefully structured and activity-packed days with
educational classes arranged around two, one-and-a-half
hour sports training sessions.
A typical day starts at around 7.30am with a light breakfast
followed by the first training session. School work gets
under way at 9.30 with three pre-lunch classroom sessions.
In the afternoon a further two academic sessions are followed
by the day’s second training session. Then, after dinner,
there’s a chance to wind-down and relax, although even
then their time is structured. “We like to encourage
meaningful play so that leisure time is well used. We may
use this time to arrange visits, perhaps from a sports icon, an
elite athlete whose achievements are respected and whose
views will be instructive.” Dr Hackfort said.
Being selected for a place at Aspire is an honour in itself
and only those with the most talent and potential will get
the call. A talent recognition programme operates
throughout Qatar, aiming to identify students a year ahead
of their enrolment date. It is a stringent process, which
involves potential students qualifying through bronze, silver
and gold standards before being offered a place.
“We initially look for a number of indicators of potential,
including body mass index, anthropomorphic data and
motor skills,” Dr Hackfort explained.
“The next step involves testing endurance, strength, speed
and acceleration until we have identified those with specific
skills or the potential to develop
skills. Our students, therefore,
fall into two groups. The first
consists of those who are talented
in a specific sport. They will be
further assessed in competition
by highly qualified coaches who
will look at their ability, speed of
learning and ambition to
succeed. The second group are
those whose tests have shown
they have talent and potential
but who have not yet begun to
specialise in a particular sport.
They go into a multi-sports group and it will be our role to
work with them to discover which sport best suits their
mental and physical skills sets.”
While one of the key objectives of the Aspire Academy is,
of course, to produce champions for Qatar, this remarkable
facility is being shared with the world.
Thirty per cent of the places at the Academy are reserved
for scholarships, which are awarded to talented youngsters
from around overseas. “It is part of our mission to offer
opportunities to people from around the world and we have
launched programmes to identify that talent in Africa and
elsewhere,” said Dr Hackfort.
Indeed, there is a significant international dimension to
Aspire’s activities. Many overseas teams visit Aspire to use its
facilities and provide competition for the students in a range
of sports. In recent times there have been visits from the
Brazilian under-15 and under-17 football teams while a
number of leading club sides have also formed partnerships
with the Academy.
“These partnerships work very well. They will come here
for maybe four or five days and our students will get a lot
from the competition. In the summer break we visit them
and run training camps,” Dr Hackfort said.
Looking back, he has no regrets over his decision to join
the team at Aspire. “I had to ask myself what brings more
value - to write another book or take an opportunity to
make what I have written about over the years actually
happen. I feel lucky to be part of Aspire. On a daily basis
you can see the students improve and I am very optimistic
about their future.”
Above: Inside the
state-of-the-art Aspire
Sports Hall.
Opposite page: Students
are put through their
paces on the football
fields, in the classroom
and on the running
track.
Q2.08 QatarSport 23

o o o o o o o o o
partners
in sport
BLUE SKY
The growth of sport in Qatar and that of its
national airline have ALMOST run in
parallel. Both are central to the
development of the state and to realising
the ambitions of the Emir HH Sheikh Hamad
bin Khalifa al-Thani
Wherever sport is played in Qatar, Qatar Airways is unlikely
to be far away, as a sponsor, supporter or simply providing
the essential transport links that all major events require.
Yet the man who has built the airline from almost nothing
in 12 years, Akbar Al Baker, says he is so busy he simply has
no time for watching sport. That shouldn’t come as much of
a surprise to anybody who has studied the rise of
the airline.
“When I was appointed to run Qatar Airways we couldn’t
even really be considered a regional carrier,” said Akbar Al
Baker from his office atop the company’s headquarters
overlooking Doha International Airport.
“At the time we operated only five ‘vintage’ aeroplanes,
which in no way reflected what my country is all about.
Qatar today is about quality and doing everything to the
highest level. The airline simply didn’t reflect that or fit into
the role which HH The Emir had in mind for it,” he said.
“In just six months we were able to relaunch as a top
quality upper end airline. We took modern aeroplanes into
the fleet and upgraded and re-branded the entire airline.”
The results speak for themselves. In 1996 Qatar Airways
carried fewer than 400,000 passengers. Today the figure is
10 million and the airline is carrying passengers through
Doha to all parts of the world including the United States,
Europe, Russia and a vast number of Asian destinations. In
just 12 years, Akbar Al Baker has turned Qatar Airways into
a true flag carrier for the country and one of the most
successful airlines in the world.
While he may have little time to enjoy sport, Mr Al Baker
is acutely aware of the role it plays in the Qatar government’s
plans for development and of the role the airline has
to play.
“Sport is important because it helps generate visitors
which helps the airline and helps the country. Consequently,
we are involved as sponsors and partners of many of the
international sports events which take place in Qatar,
including the European Tour Golf tournament and both
the WTA and ATP tennis tournaments.
“But we are also involved in many other events and
initiatives run by the Qatar Olympic Committee. It is
important to support these initiatives as they help build
Qatar’s position as a leading destination for sport in
the world.”
The airline’s biggest -and certainly best known -
involvement in sport was its sponsorship of the 2006 Asian
Games, a tremendously tough and logistically challenging
event whose planning, organisation and facilities helped put
Qatar firmly on the sporting map of the world.
“As a sponsor we were involved in many ways, however
our main involvement was as certainly the biggest advertiser
of the Games through the branding on our planes,” Mr Al
Baker explained.
A number of Qatar Airways plans were creatively branded
with the Games mascots and logos, acting as ambassadors
for the Games, the nation and, of course, the airline’s role as
a sponsor, every time they landed at an overseas airport.
So why was the airline so anxious to become involved in
the Asian Games?
“Qatar Airways is a very important tool in the national
economy. We are the facilitators of people coming in and
out of the country. Sports is also one of the main attractions
24 QatarSport Q2.08

THINKINGBelow: Qatar
of Qatar, which is in the forefront of sports activity in the
region and internationally,” Akbar Al Baker said.
“As sport attracts travellers into my country this is an
important business for the airline.
“We also sponsor many sports activities in our country
because the country is known for having world class sports
facilities. Nowhere else in the region has the same level of
sophisticated, top quality venues. After all, Qatar has been
investing in sport infrastructure for the last two decades.
“It is only natural that Qatar Airways will be active in
promoting institutions and activities which are part and
parcel of our culture and economy.”
The Asian Games provided some dramatic examples of
the importance of the relationship with the airline.
Thousands of athletes, officials and spectators arrived in
Doha in a very short time and in one single day Qatar
Airways carried 40,000 passengers.
Akbar Al Baker put that achievement into perspective
when he said: “At the time, that number was equivalent to
five per cent of the population of the country.”
He is content that his company’s sponsorship strategy
delivers the best value for both the airline and the State of
Qatar. Unlike other Middle Eastern carriers, whose
sponsorship portfolio extends into international events and
European football clubs, he believes that focusing on
supporting sport in Qatar itself generates the best
possible results.
“When you look at what other airlines are doing in terms
of sports sponsorship you realise that they are investing in
other economies. Qatar Airways invests in sports internally
and delivers a very different economic benefit. We are
promoting our internal economy. That explains why Qatar
Airways has not joined the airlines anxious to invest in
football around the world.
“Qatar Airways has a very limited marketing budget and
we look for the maximum exposure. We can get more value
from sponsoring the weather - which we do on many
television channels - than from being involved in football
The weather is something that viewers will watch all day and
that gives us a huge exposure for a reasonable amount of
money. It is highly cost effective and, for example, we get 26
spots each day on Sky News,” he said.
As Qatar’s portfolio of international sports events
continues to grow, it is highly likely that Qatar Airways’ role
as the country’s sporting ambassador will continue
to develop.
Certainly, the plans to grow the airline and the country’s
sports infrastructure are both remarkable and will inevitably
run, to some extent, in tandem. The fact is that if Qatar
wants to be able to ship tens of thousands of people to major
sports events at its ever-growing stock of world-class
facilities, it needs an airline capable of doing the job.
“We have a very aggressive development plan,” said Akbar
Al Baker.
“We operate 62 aircraft at the moment but have on order
200 new planes over the next 10 years. These will be used to
keep the Qatar Airways fleet very modern, with the age of
aeroplanes not exceeding five years-old.”
The new deliveries for the national carrier will include at
least five giant Airbus 380s, while the first Boeing aircraft
have already been added to what was previously and
exclusively an Airbus supplied fleet.
“We will be operating to more than 120 destinations by
the early part of the next decade and to fuel this growth we
need the right infrastructure,” Mr Al Baker said.
“That’s why the country is building a major international
airport with a capacity for 24 million passengers. It will be
an ultra-modern gateway.”
That will be another significant step in the short history of
an airline which has continuously set new standards, like the
opening of the world’s first dedicated Premium Terminal for
business and first class passengers at Doha International,
which has consistently won awards for service. It is currently
one of only five airlines with a Five Star ranking for service
from Skytrax, the aviation industry monitoring agency.
Airways
CEO Akbar Al Baker
invests in domestic
sport to promote the
national economy.
“Qatar Airways is a very important
tool in the economy. As sport attracts
travellers into my country this is an
important business for the airline”

A bright new talent has her eyes
set on breaking records and
winning medals in the Olympic
sport of shooting
Teenage sensation Mahbubeh Akhlaghi is a shooting star on
Qatar’s sporting horizon.
In the last year, the 18-year-old has broken her own Qatar
record in the 10-metre air rifle, bagged two gold medals and
one silver medal at the 11th Pan-Arab Games in Cairo, plus
another 10m air rifle gold on home territory at the HH Heir
Apparent Shooting Championship.
In between her gold medals, she travelled to Denmark,
where she won bronze (10m air rifle) and silver (50m 3
positions) at the Baltic Cup, before flying to Germany to
compete against world champions in Munich’s International
Air Gun Competition, where she was the only Arab women
in an international field of over 100 women’s shooters in the
rifle competition alone.
That’s quite a schedule. Fortunately, Mahbubeh is blessed
with a temperament to enjoy the international travel and
sporting challenges, and the ambition to set her eyes on even
bigger targets.
“I would love to be the best shooter in the world and break
the 50m [3 position] record,” she tells Qatar Sport. “I’m
getting into the professional world and it’s a whole new
experience for me. I love flying and seeing new places.
Sometimes it’s a bit stressful for myself and people expect a
lot from me. But my coach and my family don’t make
expectations of me because they know what I can do.”
In fact, if she eventually beats the 594-point 50m rifle
record, currently held by Germany’s Sonja Pfeilschifter, her
inner circle of family and trainers will deserve a special
expression of thanks from Qatar’s sports authorities.
It was her father, Muhebatullah, who first spotted her
shooting talent when he took the 12-year-old Mahbubeh to
a carnival in Doha where the youngster showed surprising
skill on a shooting game. Her mother, Farozan, took the next
step when she contacted the Qatar Shooting Federation,
which decided to oversee her development.
Since the age of 13, Mahbubeh has trained almost every
day, except Thursdays and Fridays, at the Lusail Shooting
Complex under the skilled tutelage of the Bulgarian husband
and wife coaching team of Nicolay and Katarina Lechev, the
parents of five-time women’s shooting world champion
Vesella Lecheva.
Although Mahbubeh has yet to meet Vesella, who now
heads Bulgaria’s State Agency for Youth and Sports, the two
exchange messages and the support of Lechev’s famous
daughter is clearly an inspiration to the Qatari shooting ace.
26 QatarSport Q2.08

o o o o o o o o o
flying
THE FLAG
Ultimately, however, it’s self-belief that counts in a sport
like shooting, which requires enormous levels of concentration
and discipline. And Mahbubeh has proved she can hold her
nerve in competition. She won her first international gold
medal at the Arab Junior championships in Egypt in 2005.
Then, as a 16-year-old she won a bronze medal at the
DAGOC Challenge at Lusail Shooting Complex, a test event
for the 15th Asian Games, which indicated she could compete
with the best. “It was a real honour to participate in the event
and very exciting for me,” she says. “There were two Iranian
women who were more experienced than me who took gold
and silver but I was very proud of myself that day. I learnt
that I have a lot of talent for shooting and a lot of potential.
During the Games period Mahbubeh set her first Qatari
record by shooting 389 in the 10-metre air rifle. She may not
have gone home with a medal, but the experience, she says,
was the ‘best time of my life’. “I was in the Athletes’ Village
for 30 days, meeting different athletes and learning a lot
about sport. There were all kinds of food in the restaurant
and the whole village was a memorable experience.
“I saw the pictures of the gold medal winners hanging
from banners in the Village and thought to myself, ‘I would
like that to be me.”
So what are the qualities that Mahbubeh brings to air rifle
shooting that makes her excel in her chosen sport? Remember,
today’s air rifles are highly sophisticated with consistent
accuracy from shot to shot. They all have adjustable,
finely set two stage triggers and aperture sights with the
ability to make tiny adjustments. The qualities of the
shooter need to be similarly finely tuned.
“My qualities are learnt qualities. I should be calm, still,
in control, and nothing should affect me,”
she says. “Concentration comes with
training. Physical training for shooting
is also important. I’m a bit thin and I
have to be physically stronger
so I play basketball and
swim. I love sport of all kinds and at Lusail Shooting Complex,
we have a gym, swimming pool and Jacuzzi right here. We
also have all kinds of electronic equipment for shooting so it’s
a great place to train and compete.”
Shooting, she says, also depends on personality. “Some
people are better when they are nervous. I shoot better when
I’m calm. There’s a lot of difference from person to person.”
Another personality trait is the determination to succeed.
In November last year she made up a 12-point difference on
the leader to win the 50m Air Rifle 3 position in Cairo. “It
was really important to me because it was in the 50m
competition and it was an Arab games. But all the medals
I’ve won are important for me and have taught
me something.”
Looking forward, of course, there is the ultimate challenge
of the Olympic Games on the horizon. Her mentor Vesella
Lecheva won two silver medals at the 1988 Games in Seoul
and at the 1992 Games in Barcelona, but the gold medal
eluded the Bulgarian. “Nothing is impossible,” says
Mahbubeh of her own chances. “I will come to know in May
if I am going to Beijing 2008, but if not this one, then
definitely London 2012. If I don’t go [to Beijing], God is
sending me a message. I will concentrate on the next one. I
still have my whole life ahead of me.”
Right: Mahbubeh
accepts the gold
medal at the 11th
Pan-Arab Games in
Cairo, Egypt.
TOP GUNS
qatari women excel
in shooting
Shooting has, so far, proved the most
successful competitive sport for Qatari
women. Qatar’s Laila Hussain was part of
the GCC’s first-ever women’s competitive
shooting team in 2000. She won her first
medals, silver for the 10-metre and bronze
for the 50-metre, at the Third Muslim
Women’s Games in Tehran in 2001. She
also represented Arabic women from the
GCC for the first time at the 2002 Asian
Games in Seoul, Korea. At the 15th Asian
Games Doha 2006 there were 43 women
in Qatar’s national team, of which 20
participated in the shooting competitions.
Anisa and Samsam Jama, together with
their teammate Amal Mhamud famously
won Qatar’s first medal of the Games
in the Women’s 10m Running Target
Shooting Team. Alongside the support
of the Qatar Women’s Sports Committee
(QWSC), the progress of Qatari women
shooters has been supported by the Qatar
Shooting and Archery Federation, which
has its headquarters at the state-of-theart
Lusail Shooting Complex.
Q2.08 QatarSport 27

World class
Al-Sadd
AL-sadD SPORTS CLUB IS BEST KNOWN FOR ITS TITLE-WINNING FOOTBALL TEAM,
WHICH IS KNOWN LOCALLY AS ‘THE BOSS’. but THE sports club plays A MUCH
WIDER ROLE IN THE sporting life of the community it serves. FOUNDED NEARLY
FORTY YEARS AGO, THE CLUB OFFERS FIRST CLASS SPORT FOR ALL
Next year the Al-Sadd Sports Club will celebrate its
fortieth anniversary.
That represent a remarkable milestone for a club
which, while best known for its renowned football team
- nicknamed The Boss - plays a key role at the heart of its
community on the outskirts of Doha.
Al-Sadd was the first Arab football team to win the
AFC Champions League, back in 1988, and has won
12 national championships and many cup competitions,
including the 2007/08 season’s Qatar Crown Prince Cup.
Al-Sadd’s footballers are rightly renowned throughout
the Gulf and beyond, but the club’s importance goes far
beyond the performances of the players chosen to wear
their famous white shirts.
The Al-Sadd Sports Club, like others throughout the
country, is one of the places where Qatar’s national
sporting vision is brought to life.
It is where investment in state-of-the-art facilities and
equipment is providing the opportunity for generations
of Qatar citizens and residents to realise their personal
sporting dreams.
The club’s roots go deep and its members and supporters
have a famously strong allegiance to Al-Sadd. Among
them is Jassim Al-Mahi, who has been General Secretary
since 2001.
As a midfielder of note, he played for the club until 1979
and it has been a central part of his life ever since. He held
a number of key roles at Al-Sadd, including youth team
manager and head of the accounts department, before
returning to the club after a period working as Office
Manager to HH The Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim Bin
Hamad Al-Thani. “Whatever I may give to this club, it
can be nothing compared to what the club has given to
me,” he said, reflecting on his long-term involvement.
In March, Al-Sadd’s hugely impressive Sheikh Jassim Bin
Hamad stadium was the stage for one of the Qatar national
team’s greatest ever triumphs, a 2-0 World Cup qualifying
group victory against reigning Asian Champions Iraq.
28 QatarSport Q2.08

o o o o o o o o o
sports
clubs
Above: Fans of Al-
Sadd football team
show their passion
for the club.
Right: General
Secretary Jassim
Al-Mahi (top) is
proud of the club’s
achievements in a
number of sports.
That evening more than 18,000 fans celebrated as the
national team completed its lap of honour.
Yet just 24 hours earlier, the scene at Al-Sadd had been
very different.
Late afternoons and early evenings are among the
busiest times at the club. It is then that it becomes the
focal point for local participant sports with its practice
football pitches, handball, basketball ands volleyball
facilities in constant use among youngsters and more
senior players.
The facilities are simply breathtaking and available free
of charge to its 920 registered players. In addition to the
training pitches, stadium and multi-purpose indoor sports
hall, the club offers an Olympic standard swimming pool
and athletics track.
“The buildings and facilities are of the best quality
because that is the environment we want to offer our
players, whatever level they are at,” said Jassim Al-Mahi.
But it is not simply the facilities which are world class.
Even a brief visit clearly illustrates that the commitment
to quality goes way beyond bricks and mortar, extending
also to the coaching resource.
Out on the training pitches, groups of younger Qataris
are being put through their paces by local coaches
while older boys, in need of greater technical input, are
coached by specialists brought in from Europe, Brazil and
elsewhere as well as the local team.
The coaches are all employed by the Qatar Olympic
Committee and represent best of breed in their different
sports. In volleyball, for example, a team of coaches has
been recruited from Egypt, where the sport is particularly
strong. In basketball, Eastern European expertise is much
more in evidence.
The key point is that the local community is being
encouraged to get involved in sport and develop their
talents as far as possible through free access to the finest
facilities and coaching support available.
It’s a situation which would be the envy of communities
worldwide and General Secretary Jassim Al Maha is
determined that his club should extend its community
reach still further.
“Our aim is to target the younger generation by visiting
local schools to explain what we offer and encourage the
youngsters to get involved.
The facilities are already used by some schools and we
aim to introduce kindergartens to encourage more women
to visit the club,” he said.
In this way Al-Sadd, like other clubs throughout Qatar,
becomes the interface between the government’s sportorientated
policies, and the public.
By aligning world class publicly available facilities to
the country’s champion football team, Al-Sadd presents a
highly inspiring environment for the community to take
part in sport.
In this way Al-Sadd is at the heart of a virtuous circle -
the home of tomorrow’s champions, of the Qatari athletes
whose endeavours will motivate successive generations to
take sport to their heart.
Q2.08 QatarSport 29

o o o o o o o o o
football
in qatar
setting new goals
The Qatar Football League is undergoing a major programme of change
to maximise the professional game’s potential
Above: Qatar Football
League Commissioner,
Uli Linke.
Opposite page:
Al-Garrafa’s Qatar
international Saud
Al-Shamari in AFC
Champions League
action (top); Qatar fans
get behind the national
football team (below).
Professional football in Qatar is changing. On the pitch,
the action is more competitive and compelling than ever.
International players at the top of their game rather than
the end of their career are now mixing with local talent to
raise the standards.
This year, for example, Al Gharrafa clinched the Qatar
Football League title led by Iraq’s 2007 AFC Asian
Cup ‘Most Valuable Player’ Younis Mahmoud, with the
Brazilian striker Clemerson netting 26 goals to become
the season’s top scorer.
But it’s behind the scenes where the most far-reaching
changes are taking shape as Qatari football looks to move
to the next level in both domestic and Asian competition.
In March, the Qatar Football Association (QFA) and
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) joined up at the
Qatar Olympic Committee headquarters in Doha to
announce the criteria for participation in the AFC Super
League - the new AFC Champions League set for 2009.
The criteria focused on the quality of venues, but also
on the commercial status of the participating clubs.
As QFA President HE Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al
Thani, explained, “Qatar has all the sport facilities required
for participating in AFC Super League and changing the
clubs to commercial corporations is a necessary criteria by
AFC Pro League Committee.”
In fact, for the Qatar Football League, neither criteria
should be a problem because a move to turn the clubs into
commercial entities has already been set out by the ‘Qatar
Professional Football League Management’ (QPFLM),
a team of experts brought together last year, with the
support of the Qatar Football Association, to develop a
strategic approach in raising the standard of professional
football in Qatar.
The QPFLM is made up of five departments - sports;
audience marketing; rights and licensing; administration;
and communication - and aims to increase the commercial
value of the League, match attendance and elevate the
clubs to international sporting standards.
As League Commissioner, Uli Linke explains: “Football
teams will not become private companies but commercial
entities. Football is first of all a sport and sport, as we see
in the US and Europe, is a large entertainment industry.
For this reason, we consider the formation of commercial
entities as entirely appropriate – and this was one of the
first issues we determined when we discussed this project
to restructure the Qatar Football League.”
Linke welcomes the AFC deadline of 2009 to complete
the process, but is keen to stress that Qatari football teams
are typically part of wider sports club organisations that
are exempt from the new rules.
“In Qatar, the clubs are social platforms, each working
within social communities,“ says Linke. “This is why it is
important to underline that we are talking about football
within the club and not the club in general. In future
we will have to specify the ownership of a football club
here in Qatar. Currently, clubs are represented by highly
influential persons of the country but not as owners
according to western understanding. So there is plenty to
discuss and to develop, all with a strong emphasis on the
Qatari framework and culture.”
But the projected changes proposed by the QPFLM
are not limited to the clubs’ internal legal and financial
organisation. The aims of the QPFLM‘s ‘audience
marketing’ and ‘communication’ departments are focused
on developing a stronger fan culture.
This includes building and nurturing strong relationships
with all League stakeholders; promoting the League to
target audiences; and creating and maintaining a sense of
loyalty to the League and its clubs in and outside Qatar.
“Considering the size of the country, we realise the
“One of the most important
League aims is to develop
strong players for Qatar’s
national teams. These players
are the mirrors of the country”
importance of the introduction of an audience generating
programme,” says Linke.
“ But all five League departments are strongly engaged
in putting new processes in place. For example, all
commercial rights strategies are going to be refurbished
in order to meet new media developments in Qatar,
which is one of the first countries worldwide to transmit
matches via mobiles in fantastic quality. It is a country
with approximately one million inhabitants and there
are more than 1.3 million mobile phone contracts. These
are incredible numbers that show how Qatar is facing the
future and new technologies.”
Of course, as the world’s most commercially successful
leagues prove, it’s the combination of an avid fan culture,
high quality venues and top playing standards that builds
popular interest. In terms of stadia, Qatar has no equal in
the region, and in terms of personnel, it is perhaps best
30 QatarSport Q2.08

known for attracting players of the calibre of Gabriel
Batistuta, Frank and Ronald de Boer and Marcel Desailly.
Qatar football teams are currently allowed to recruit
four international players and two players from within
the GCC. Although a reduction in the quota of foreign
players is under review, the foreign contingent has raised
the league’s profile internationally.
“As in every other league, many players meet the
expectations and some don’t,” says Linke. “Some of them
turn out to be extremely positive surprises and other big
disappointments. Welcome to football! All in all, we
are trying to focus on foreign players under 31. Players
like Carlos Tenorio, the Al-Sadd striker, who played for
Ecuador at the World Cup 2006 - and there are
many others.”
But if Qatari clubs are to make the transition from
national to international powers, the national team needs
to develop top class players. The under-23s who won the
gold medal at the 2006 Asian Games showed what could
be achieved and there will be similar expectations of the
senior squad when Qatar hosts the 2011 Asian Cup.
“When we won the gold medal at the Asian Games,
the FIFA Coca-Cola ranking for Qatar was 59,” says
Linke “Among the Middle East countries, Qatar was
number three. Considering the population, this ranking
is a fantastic result and an excellent promotion for young
Qataris to develop a passion for football!
“It also reflects the large investment made by Qatar in
sports in general and in particular in football. Qatar is
an enviable position and is able to produce an adequate
return on investment.”
Linke continues, “One of the most important League
aims is to develop strong players for Qatar’s national teams.
These players are the mirrors of the country; they are our
ambassadors around the world, not only for football.
“It is extremely important, but to allow Qatari players to
become stars we need to give them the chance! To develop
this process we need to treat them as professional players.
A detailed programme is being developed. Wages for local
players must be substantially increased. We are planning
to do this in the frame of a performance-related bonus and
incentive system.”
And with the 2011 Asian Cup just three years away
there is added incentive for Qatar’s home-grown talent.
“The AFC Championship 2011 is one of the biggest
properties in the sport worldwide and a milestone in the
AFC ‘Vision Asia’ programmes,” says Linke. “Qatar is
honoured by this big chance and it is proud to have been
rewarded to host the tournament.
“The Qatar team went out of the last AFC tournament
in the group stages. In the light of all the activities in the
country to develop and support football, paired with the
passionate support of Qatari football supporters, we feel it
is a realistic goal that the national team goes substantially
further and hopefully reaches the semi-finals.
“Considering the positive development of the Youth
Programme of Aspire we also expect ‘new stars on the stage’
as the first generation is now reaching the senior level.”
Q2.08 QatarSport 31

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.

GCC Judo Championships
Qatar Golden Cup Bodybuilding
Qatar Open Billiards
Third GCC Taekwondo Championships
UEFA Champions League final Moscow 21/05/08
H.H. The Heir Apparent Volleyball Cup-Final Al Sadd Sports Club 23/05/08
French Open tennis Paris, France 25/05/08
Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis, Indiana 25/05/08
Monaco Grand Prix Monaco 25/05/208
H.H. The Heir Apparent Handball Cup-Final Al Gharrafa Club 30/05/08
H. H. The Emir Handball Cup – Final Al Gharrafa Club 13/06/08
H. H. The Emir Volleyball Cup – Final Al Arabi Sports Club 20/06/08
Qatar Int. Open 9-ball Championship Snooker & Billiard Federation 27/06/08
UEFA Euro 2008 final Vienna, Austria 29/06/08
NBA Championship TBD 06/08
Wimbledon Championships London, UK 23/06/08
Qatar Int. Open Billiards Championship Snooker & Billiard Federation 05/07/08
Asian Youth Wrestling Championship Aspire Academy 06/07/08
The Arab Snooker Championship Snooker & Billiard Federation 03/08/08
GCC Judo Championship Aspire Academy 05/8/208
Doha Int. Basketball Friendship Championship Al Gharrafa Club 14/08/08
MLB All-Star Game New York, USA 15/08/08
British Open golf Southport, England 17/08/08
Summer Olympics Beijing, China 08/08/08
Qatar Golden Cup International Bodybuilding Championship Sheraton Doha 24/08/08
US Open Tennis Flushing Meadows, New York 25/08/08
Ryder Cup Louisville, Kentucky 19/09/08
Third GCC Taekwondo Championship Aspire Zone 18/10/08
Spanish Moto GP Valencia, Spain 26/10/08
Events diary - International and Qatar
Q2.08 QatarSport 33

scott relishes
championship’s
doha debut
34 QatarSport Q2.08

Larry Scott, chief executive of
the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, is a
tennis industry veteran with a
long-standing relationship
with Qatar. Now he is looking
forward to bringing the
season-ending Sony Ericsson
Championship to Doha in
November
When the cream of the world’s women tennis players
return to Qatar in November to contest the seasonending
Sony Ericsson Championships, WTA Tour chief
executive Larry Scott may have a moment to reflect on his
relationship with the country.
Scott, who was previously a senior executive at the ATP
Tour (the representative body for men’s tennis) has been
visiting Qatar for more than 15 years, during which he has
seen his sport flourish.
“I first visited back in 1992 when I was the executive at
the ATP Tour responsible for Asia Pacific and the Middle
East,” he recalls.
“On one of my trips to the region I was invited by
the Qatar Tennis Federation to stop over in Doha and
discovered that they had a real vision to bring professional
tennis to Qatar.
“I was shown a plot of sand near the squash centre and
then saw their grand plans laid out.”
The plans were, of course, for the Khalifa International
Tennis Centre, which is now a regular venue on both the
men’s and women’s tennis circuits and which will host the
highly prestigious Sony Ericsson Championships.
“Some of my colleagues took a little persuading but the
fact is that the Qatar Tennis Federation did absolutely
everything they said they would do. As a result, we staged
the first ATP backed event there in 1993,” Scott said.
“From the very first event the players really enjoyed
the event. The welcome was warm, the Arabic hospitality
remarkable and the event organisers made a point of
recognising the value of the media.
“I like to think that tennis has played a special role in
putting Qatar on the map and the country has since done
so much to build its credibility internationally,” he said.
In 2001, Qatar took yet another step when it became
the first Gulf state to stage a WTA Tour event.
“It was a truly significant step,” reflects Scott.
“It showed the way in which Qatar was developing in
both cultural and sporting terms and underscored the
fact that sport is often an accurate barometer for social
development around the world.”
When Scott joined the WTA Tour he was instrumental
in upgrading the Doha event to a Tier II and then Tier II
tournament, bringing more of the world’s leading players
to Qatar than ever before.
He is full of praise for the way that the tennis programme
was handled during the 2006 Asian Games and the impact
of the Games in general.
“It was an absolutely great job. The Games changed the
perception of Qatar as a sporting nation. It proved that
this was a country that knows how to get things done at a
world class level,” he said.
Over the years the audience for tennis in Qatar has
built consistently and Scott declares himself delighted by
the attendance for February’s Sony Ericsson WTA Tour
event, which was won in style by Maria Sharapova.
“In the past there have been issues about filling seats,
which is natural when something is new. But this time
many sessions were sold out and there was even some
overflow at the final itself. Attendance is an important
issue for us because the games are televised around the
world and the crowd is important to the televised product.
But the population of Qatar is growing fast and this,
coupled with the fact that the audience has been educated
by 15 years of professional tennis, means that we are
building a following all the time.”
The growing popularity of tennis in the country was
one of the factors taken into consideration when Qatar
put its hat into the ring as a host of the Sony Ericsson
Championship which had been successfully staged in Los
Angeles and Madrid in previous years.
“The event enjoyed a significant lift when we first
moved it into a European time zone but we knew that by
coming to Doha we would be able to screen more night
games back to Europe at prime-time, thereby helping to
maximise our global audience,” he said.
“In many respects the Middle East straddles Europe and
Asia in terms of its time zone. In tennis terms, it is right
in the sweet spot.”
But the decision to move the prestigious event to Doha
was not taken solely on the basis of its attractive time zone.
The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour is already well established
in the USA and Europe and is anxious to expand its foot
print into the Middle East and Asia.
“These are areas which are hugely interesting to our
sponsors today and that sparks additional interest. We see
tremendous opportunity in these markets where there is
the big interview
Above: Last year’s Qatar
Open winner, Ana
Ivanovic, is just one of
the top women’s players
aiming for a Doha
return at the Sony
Ericsson Championships
in November.
“The Middle East straddles Europe
and Asia in terms if its time zone.
In tennis terms, it’s right in the
sweet spot”
Q2.08 QatarSport 35

the big interview
larry scott – continued from previous page.
“There’s a good chance that we
will eventually have a Qatari
player on the Tour. It’s just a
question of when”
tremendous growth in population, as well as media and
sponsorship potential.”
There are other reasons too.
“Our presence in the Middle East continues to reinforce
the image of women’s tennis as a pioneering sport which
is helping to break down barriers and open up new
opportunities. We want to continue to play a role in
helping drive social change and assist in the empowerment
of women,” he said.
That’s not a newly adopted objective and had been
demonstrated within the sport itself by the successful
move to achieve prize money parity with the men’s Tour at
major tournaments, including Wimbledon.
“When I look back I’ll think of that as a significant
milestone in the history of tennis,” says Scott.
“The decision (to allow equal prize money at Wimbledon)
came after a 30 year campaign and is important because
women’s tennis is about more than just sport. Not only
is it the leading sport for women, but there is a feeling of
responsibility for women as a whole. We have a sense that
we can have a broader social impact. I think most people
agree that sport can be a reflection of cultural issues and
this was an indication of progress along the way. Women
have made great advances in all areas and this is a reflection
of the times that we live and play in,”
It is also a reflection of the times that the Sony Ericsson
WTA Tour’s concern for equality and social development
goes some way beyond the interests of its own players.
The Tour has a partnership with UNESCO, the
United Nations cultural organisation, to harness the
profile of players to raise awareness of gender equality and
opportunities for women.
Venus Williams became the first ambassador and others
have followed. “We were thrilled with this partnership
because it recognises our players as role models for women
and girls around the world. The programme will provide
a series of platforms, which will enable the Tour and our
partners to raise awareness and funds to promote women’s
leadership. It gives our players a programme they can plug
into,” Scott said.
That its players represent the Tour’s core assets has
never been in doubt and Scott, a veteran of the tennis
scene as a result of his days at the ATP Tour where he was
central to its reinvention, knows only too well that their
ability to transcend the confines of the court is central to
their marketability. That adds value to the Tour and to its
hugely committed sponsor Sony Ericsson which sees such
a significant fit between its products and the spirit, image
and geographic reach of the sport.
But ultimately, it is the quality and intensity of the
competition which forges the environment in which stars
are created. Ensuring that the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour
delivers that environment and a product which excites the
public and broadcasters, is Scott’s number one challenge.
And that is one of the reasons why he is hugely
impressed by the opportunity for the sport in Doha and,
generally, by the pace of change and development there.
“When we were last there we took a helicopter trip to
see Qatar from the air,” he said. “Players and guests were
just astounded by the pace of development. From the air
you really get a different perspective on developments
such as The Pearl, and the world class hotels.
“Importantly, it’s also from the air that you get your
visual cue to the importance of sport in Qatar. From the
stadiums to the Aspire Academy and the race track, the
pace and ambition of development shows an amazing
commitment to sport. The Qatar Olympic Committee and
the government have shown that they really understand
sport and are doing whatever is necessary to make it
central to life in the country.”
So will we soon see a Qatari player walking onto court
in Doha for a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event?
“I have been impressed with the commitment to the
grass roots of sport and to facilities in Qatar.
“When we are here we always get the players to interact
with youngsters as we believe that’s very important as it
helps inspire the kids.
“It seems to me that the Qatar Tennis Federation is
making all the right moves. With a growing population
and events to inspire young players, I am sure there’s a
good chance that we will eventually have a Qatari player
on the Tour. It’s just a question of when.”
36 QatarSport Q2.08