Sheikh Joaan was joined by Sheikha Hind for a meeting with the IOC President-elect to discuss on refugee support through sports.
Qatar Olympic Committee President Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani reiterated the Gulf nation’s “deep commitment” to fostering initiatives for refugee athletes over a series of meetings held at Olympic House in Switzerland on Monday.
Sheikh Joaan also serves as a member of the Olympic Refuge Foundation and attended the foundation’s annual board gathering to emphasise the importance of Olympic partnerships in “broadening the humanitarian impact of sports across the globe,” the QOC said in a statement.
“Sheikh Joaan reaffirmed the Qatar Olympic Committee’s deep commitment to supporting refugee athletes and promoting sport as a tool for peace and social cohesion,” the statement added.
Qatar’s continued support has enabled the execution of 14 sports programs across 10 nations, aiming to empower refugee athletes in safe environments.
Similarly, the QOC hosted the Refuge Olympic Team ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which was held a year later due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also launched several sports and humanitarian initiatives aimed at displaced Afghan and Palestinian youth, in addition to hosting the ORF board meeting in April 2024.
“He further noted that Qatar’s experience in leveraging sport to support humanitarian causes offers a practical model that can be expanded and enhanced,” the QOC said about Sheikh Joaan’s participation.
“He reiterated the QOC’s readiness to continue working with international partners to scale joint initiatives and create safe spaces where refugee children and youth can access sport and integrate meaningfully into their new communities.”
Similarly, Sheikh Joaan was joined by Qatar Foundation’s Vice Chairperson, Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani in a meeting with the International Olympic Committee’s President-elect Kirsty Coventy on the sidelines of the board meeting.
Sheikha Hind’s attendance underscored “the shared commitment of the Qatar Olympic Committee and Qatar Foundation to support refugee causes through sport, education, and community development,” the national Olympic committee said in a separate statement.
“Both sides discussed a range of topics of mutual interest, particularly the promotion of cooperation in the areas of sports governance, youth empowerment, and the expansion of Olympic-driven initiatives that leverage sport as a tool for sustainable development and social cohesion,” the statement added.
Earlier in May, Sheikh Joaan had met Coventry on the sidelines of the 45th General Assembly of the Olympic Council of Asia in Kuwait to discuss mutual collaboration, athlete support and institutional development.
The meetings and Qatar’s participation in the IOC’s ongoing Olympism365 – Sport for a Better World Summit in Lausanne come on the back of a flurry of Sheikh Joaan’s visits to drum up support for the Olympic movement.
