Sports

Qatar is ramping up its production schedule in preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the state is allocating around $200bn for the tournament and associated projects, with the money to be invested in an extensive programme of infrastructure and service development. However, Qatar is looking beyond the World Cup and aims to establish itself as a global centre of excellence for all aspects of sport. To this end the Ministry of Youth and Sports was founded by the government in June 2013 and is expected to strengthen the long-term development of athletics in the state, improving planning and oversight, and consolidating the government’s involvement in the sector. Other notable institutions leveraging the growing concentration of sector expertise include the Aspire Academy for sports and the Aspetar Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Hospital located in the Aspire Zone, an integrated complex of sports facilities, all of which should ensure the growth of the sector’s international standing moving forward.

This chapter contains an interview with Dahlan Al Hamad, President, Qatar Athletics Federation; and Vice President, International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF).