MUSCAT: The sports family in the Sultanate of Oman appreciated the directions of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik to begin steps to carry out a project for establishing an integrated Sports City capable of hosting regional and international tournaments and competitions. The Royal directives of His Majesty the Sultan were announced on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers meeting at Al Barakah Palace.
The directives were inline to the affirmation of Royal attention to the care and welfare of youth — including proper grooming of youth as the best asset for subsequent generations. Moreover, His Majesty gave directives to develop infrastructure for camel races, serving major sports events to which the activities of a large number of citizens are linked. These include furnishing main racecourses in the governorates of Oman in coordination with offices of governors and Oman Camel Racing Federation. This is envisaged to activate tourism activities in the governorates.
Chairman of Oman Table Tennis Association (OTTA), Abdullah bin Mohammed Bamakhalif, said, “On behalf of the table tennis family, I would like to raise my sincere thanks to His Majesty the Sultan for this major project that will support all the athletes. Establishing an integrated Sports City with the top international standards will assist the sports family to prepare well for their domestic and international events."
The chief of OTTA added that the Royal directives are inline to His Majesty care on utilising the youth power to the right direction to build up a healthy sports community and create a new generation who can represent and raise the Sultanate of Oman highly in the globe events. "The integrated Sports City will help the sporting associations and committees to host sporting major events that will have positive impact on the economy and sporting tourism fields to the country,” he added.
Dr Abdul Rahim bin Muslim al Droushi, Chairman of Oman Racket Sports Committee, said that the Royal directives to begin the procedures for establishing the Sports City project are considered a clear indication of the renewed Renaissance’s care and interest in sports as an essential element in the progress of the country and of a distinctive approach that adds cohesion to the existing sports resources in a specific area and which prepares itself to host sporting events.
“There is no doubt that sports cities contribute to providing a developmental addition to the country as they are a contributing tool to the comprehensive change of urban infrastructure, which is pivotal in diversifying local economies, which is evident through sports cities’ investment in hosting various sporting events so that they help accommodate sports tourists category. Sports orientation is seen as an engine to fuel growth in the future, leading to the development of new ways to overcome the dominant economic system, which Oman Vision 2040 is concerned with within the framework of national development plans,” he added.
The Assistant Professor in Sport Management and Sports Policy at Sultan Qaboos University commented as an academic and researcher in hosting sporting events, “I value the Royal directives to establish a comprehensive sports city because of its great importance in improving the image of the destination, especially when viewed as a combination of participatory activities, physical exhibits, and thoughtful media outputs to create an environment with a sporting nature that is attractive to tourists."
Oman’s young paddler Mohammed al Mutawa expressed his happiness on the recent directions of His Majesty to construct multi-sports city for all the sports. “I am very excited to see this project in the coming future. This sports city was one of the awaiting projects for the sports family and it came in the right time as Oman will host many top major events in this world standard city. I am sure this city will act as a major role in preparing the athletes for the domestic and international events,” he said.
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