The Bahrain Olympic Committee participated in the 100th meeting of the Executive Office of the Council of Their Highnesses, Excellencies, and Esteemed Presidents of the Olympic Committees of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The meeting took place in the sisterly State of Kuwait on Sunday, 23 February 2025.
The Bahrain delegation was led by Her Excellency Dr Shaikha Hessa bint Khalid Al Khalifa, a member of the Board of Directors of the Bahrain Olympic Committee, and included Ms Fajer Jassim, also a member of the Board of Directors and Director of the Department of Arab and International Relations and Olympic Solidarity, along with Mr Ahmed Abdul Ghaffar, Executive Director of Operations at the Bahrain Olympic Committee.
The meeting commenced with a review of the report submitted by the Oman Olympic Committee regarding its preparations to host the third GCC Beach Games (Muscat 2025), scheduled to take place from 5 to 11 April 2025. The tournament’s official logo was also approved.
The second agenda item addressed the challenges and recommendations related to joint sporting tournaments. The Planning, Coordination, and Follow-up Committee was tasked with overcoming these challenges in collaboration with the relevant advisory committees in their respective fields. Furthermore, the Sports Advisory Committee was assigned to assess the costs associated with hosting these tournaments and explore strategies to optimise expenses.
Under the third agenda item, discussions focused on the timetable for joint sporting tournaments in the coming years. The request by the Kuwait Olympic Committee to host the Second Gulf Youth Games in 2028 was approved by the Council of Their Highnesses, Excellencies, and Esteemed Presidents of the Gulf Olympic Committees. Additionally, the Planning, Coordination, and Follow-up Committee was assigned to develop a timetable for joint sports tournaments from 2029 to 2032, ensuring alignment with regional and international sports events.
The meeting also saw an agreement to study a draft unified statute for Gulf sports federations. Furthermore, it was decided to hold a conference on sports law and management as part of the strategy to enhance cooperation and development in the sports sector. The Planning, Coordination, and Follow-up Committee was entrusted with formulating a comprehensive vision for the implementation mechanism.
