Qatar A Sports Leader In The Region: Official

Doha: Hosting more than 500 major sporting events over the past ten years - the most recent and crowning achievement being the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Qatar remain a leader in sports in the region, an official said.

President of 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum, sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Thani, said:“Qatar is already a sports leader in the region. In the past 10 years, Qatar hosted over 500 international sporting events, the crown jewel being the World Cup which we witnessed a few months ago.”

The next major football sporting event that the country will host is the AFC Asian Cup taking place from January 12 to February 10, 2024. Asia's top 24 national teams will compete in the event. The tournament will be held in Qatar for the third time; the prior two being 1998 and 2011.

The sportsman who is known for being the first Qatari to have climbed Mount Everest and have reached the Seven Summits told reporters on the sidelines of a press conference recently that sports has been a huge part of his personal life being a mountain climber and climbing the highest peaks in the world.

“I try my best to spread the joy of sports and the importance of sports not only as a way of life.”

Qatar-Indonesia 2023 Year of Culture announced on Monday its CultuRide programme tour, which will take place in June, and would bring together elite athletes and cycling fans in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, for a cultural tour of significant historical sites.

Al Thani said that this initiative, which would touch on the sporting component, will contribute to fostering cultural exchanges between the two countries.

The CultuRide tour will begin at Fort Vastenburg, an 18th-century Dutch fort in Gladak, Surakarta, Central Java, and a significant regional landmark in Indonesia.

Throughout the two-day tour, participants will travel through and learn about numerous cultural destinations surrounding Solo and Yogyakarta before arriving at Borobudur, the world's biggest Buddhist temple.

This programme will highlight how crucial sport is to foster cross-cultural cooperation.

Qatar Museums CEO, Ahmad Al Namla said in a speech that the partnership with Indonesia is“taking us to a new level where we will witness the power of sports in building and sustaining culture.”

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