Oman Events Centre secures hosting rights for global sporting tournaments

Muscat, The Gulf Observer: On Sunday, a significant agreement was formalized to establish the Oman Events Centre (OEC), signaling the Sultanate of Oman’s commitment to hosting international sporting events between 2024 and 2030. This collaborative initiative, facilitated through the signed agreement, entails the meticulous oversight of a wide array of global sports events within Oman. The OEC will function in close coordination with private entities operating within the sports domain, ensuring seamless execution and management of these prestigious international tournaments slated to grace the Sultanate’s landscape in the forthcoming years.

The agreement to establish the OEC was signed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth and Oman Sail Foundation.

The centre is one of the outcomes of an investment lab organised by the ministry, with support from Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-up Unit and the National Programme for Investment and Export Development “Nazdaher”.

It will also look into proposals to host regional and international sports tournaments and events and evaluate the benefits that can be generated sports-wise, economically and socially.

The OEC will conduct studies on regulatory requirements to secure the success of tournaments in coordination with the international sports bodies supervising sporting events.

Mohammed bin Ahmed al Amri, Director General of Sports Activities, said: “Over the past decades, sport has greatly demonstrated its ability to promote social development, economic growth, health, education, and environmental protection in societies, especially if it is part of consistent, sustainable and long-term policies.”

“It is considered a long-term communication platform for peoples at both the national and international levels, which can be used to encourage a culture of peace, and one of the most effective and versatile tools for promoting good values and principles and achieving sustainable development goals.”

He added: “Hosting major sporting events and activities has become an industry for which countries compete and efforts are made to obtain the rights to organise them, as it is considered a gateway to the world, in addition to the positive returns. Diversified activities benefit the economy and society, not to mention national capabilities in the fields of organisation, management and marketing. Hosting global sporting events is an opportunity to highlight the country’s tourism potential.”

For his part, Assim Al-Saqri,, Head of the Communications Department at Oman Sail Corporation, said: “Sports has become an effective promotional tool through which it is possible to attract investment opportunities, especially with the government seeking many future projects that could be incubators for various sports tournaments.”

He added: “On the human level and based on experience, and as a result of the interaction of the organisational committees with the international federations coming to the Sultanate of Oman, we find widespread praise for the potential of the creative Omani human energies, which is considered an added value and quality that differs from other countries.”

Basil Ahmed Al Rawas, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, said: “This project is one of the outcomes of the upcoming strategy for Omani sports and the outcomes of the Investment Laboratory in the Sports Sector.

“The main objective is to search for tournaments and sporting events that can be attracted to the Sultanate of Oman according to the available capabilities, and the feasibility of these events and their objectives, whether sporting or economic, through a specialised team studying this event. This centre will have an important role in communicating between government agencies and the private sector on how to unify efforts to implement sports programmes and events that achieve the desired goals in the sports strategy in the coming period.”

He explained that the centre began its work immediately after signing the agreement, and there is a plan to study a group of sporting programmes and events during the coming period that will be implemented in the Sultanate of Oman, and among these activities supervised by the centre is the World Cup for Futsal Hockey, which will start next January 24 in Al Amerat.