By Duncan Mackay

Qatar Olympic Committee secretary general Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has signed an MoU with the International Olympic Academy, who were represented by its President Isidoros Kouvelos ©QOCA Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed today between the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) and the International Olympic Academy (IOA) at Ancient Olympia in Greece. 


The MoU details a number of wide-ranging potential areas of collaboration that preserve and spread the Olympic spirit, including shared educational programmes and international seminars, it is claimed.

The IOA, established in 1961, aims to promote Olympic Ideals and to develop the Olympic education

Its headquarters are in the centre of the Ancient Olympia archaeological site, where the Olympic Games and the idea and the philosophy of life of Olympism were born and developed by Baron Pierre de Coubertin,

Held during the IOA Annual Forum, the signing of the MoU followed an address by Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, secretary general of the QOC, at the 54th International Session for Young Participants.

Guests included International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.

The International Olympic Academy, founded in 1961, is located in Ancient Olympia, spiritual home of the Olympic Movement ©IOAThe International Olympic Academy, founded in 1961, is located in Ancient Olympia, spiritual home of the Olympic Movement ©IOA

The MoU continued on from existing cooperation by the two parties in the development of the Qatar Olympic Academy, which will serve the Olympic values by bringing awareness and education to the people of Qatar and the region, Sheikh Saoud claimed. 

The QOC has just opened a new state-of-the-art facility with the distinction of offering courses in sports management, coaching, as well as Olympic values and education in the Arabic language, amongst others, the only institution of its kind internationally, they claim.

"Today Qatar has taken a further important step to reach out to the international Olympic Movement and forge closer ties by serving and spreading the Olympic values through education," said Sheikh Saoud.

"It is very fitting to sign such an academic agreement that aims to safeguard and promote such universal values for the benefit of all societies at the home of movement in Ancient Olympia.

"Now more than ever the world needs to live by these values and instil them in its youth.

"The Olympic values established in Ancient Greece are the foundation upon which Qatar's emergence and sporting future is built.

"Each day our ambitions for sport and our people are inspired by these common beliefs that unite Qatar, Greece and the wider world for the good of all.

"I am humbled by the desire of the International Olympic Academy to ensure the Olympic flame burns bright in the hearts of future generations and proud that Qatar will collaborate with such an important Movement.

"This timing is especially significant following the recent guidance and support offered in establishing our Qatar Olympic Academy in Doha which has been developed to advance Olympism across the Arabic-speaking world through several academic and scientific fields."

Isidoros Kouvelos, President of IOA, hailed the signing of the MoU.

"We are very pleased to initiate a new cooperation between the IOA and the QOC towards the dissemination of the Olympic values," he said. 

"We are certain that there will be a fruitful outcome for the benefit of Olympic education."

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