The QOC President H.E. Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani chaired the 36th meeting of Presidents of the GCC Olympic Committees. QATAR OLYMPIC COMMITTEE

The meeting of the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of the countries of West Asia, organised by the Qatar Olympic Committee in cooperation with the Olympic Council of Asia, took place last Wednesday and was attended by representatives of 12 NOCs of the West Asia region, from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, the Emirates, the Sultanate of Oman, Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait and Syria, in addition to the host country Qatar.

The meeting was chaired by Dr Thani bin Abdul Rahman Al Kuwari, Second Vice President of the Qatar Olympic Committee and Vice President of the Olympic Council of Asia for the West Asia region, in the presence of Hussein Al Muslim, Director General of the Olympic Council of Asia, Vinod Tiwari, Acting Director General of the Olympic Council of Asia, and representatives of the Olympic Committees of the West Asia region.

The meeting covered a number of agenda items. The first item focused on joint efforts in sports in the Gulf region and stressed the need for the Olympic Committees to organise specialised sports seminars and workshops and to prepare a calendar for 2025 for such events to be submitted to the General Secretariat by November 2024.   

The meeting also discussed the main events to be organised by the Olympic Committees in the Member States in 2024 and asked the Committees to submit their plans for 2025 by November. The Council also decided to set up a planning and coordination committee with experienced members from the Member States. Opportunities for international cooperation on training and exchange of expertise were discussed. 



The Council also adopted a regulation governing sports courses in the GCC countries. The Council discussed the final report of the first GCC Youth Sports Games organised by the United Arab Emirates. The report highlighted the efforts made by the UAE Olympic Committee, which were commended by the Council. The challenges and recommendations of the report will be assessed by the Coordination and Follow-up Committee.

The meeting decided to cancel the first GCC Indoor Football and Martial Arts Games in Saudi Arabia due to the tight sports calendar, at the request of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee. The cancellation is due to the postponement of the GCC Youth Games and the Asian Indoor Football and Martial Arts Games from 2023 to 2024. This decision is to avoid any impact on the participation in the GCC Indoor Football and Martial Arts Games.  

The Planning and Monitoring Committee was mandated to prepare a schedule for the GCC Combined Sports Tournaments from 2028 to 2031. In addition, the General Secretariat and Kuwait, which will chair the next session, will coordinate to determine the date of the next session.