Doha, Qatar, July 14, 2021: Qatar Olympic Committee President HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani met the Refugee Olympic Team during a two-day training camp at the world-class Aspire Zone in Doha which ended on Wednesday, July 14, and reinforced the QOC’s commitment to supporting refugees.
The 29 members of the Refugee Olympic Team who will be competing in 12 sports at the Tokyo Olympics arrived in Doha on July 11 and 12 en route to Tokyo. Training sessions were held for two days on July 13-14 with the athletes also taking part in Tokyo 2020 workshops conducted by IOC officials.
Sheikh Joaan said: “We are honoured to have an opportunity to make a small contribution to the inspiring journey of the Refugee Olympic Team. We know how hard they have worked to be able to compete at the Olympic Games and we hope that this training camp at the state-of-the-art Aspire will help them to compete at their best in Tokyo.
"The team’s performance will not just inspire billions of people but will also raise awareness about the scale of the global refugee crisis. At the Qatar Olympic Committee we are passionate about ensuring that refugees and displaced people have access to sport. We believe strongly in the role sport can play in empowering people and bringing hope at times of great hardship. Through our work with the Olympic Refugee Foundation we will continue to support refugees in any way we can,” Sheikh Joaan added.
The QOC is a founding partner of the Olympic Refugee Foundation and Sheikh Joaan is a member of the board.
Mohammed Khalifa Al Suwaidi, CEO of Aspire Zone Foundation, said: “We were pleased to host the Olympic Refugee Team in Aspire Zone, and we harnessed all means of technical and administrative support so that the team could benefit from all our training facilities equipped for several different sports. I wish them all the best in their participation in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.”
The QOC Secretary General HE Jassim Rashid al-Buenain thanked ministries and governmental and private entities for their cooperation with the QOC and their contribution to the success of the Refugee Olympic Team training camp.
