Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, November 18, 2021: The President of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, launched the Sport Federations Support Strategy with an estimated budget of $694 million on Thursday, November 18.
The strategy falls within the “Life Quality” programme under the Saudi Vision 2030 and aims to further develop the sports sector.
The strategy will support federations in their missions to compete in regional and global competitions, raise the ability of each federation to promote sports tourism and increase the popularity of all sports in the Kingdom.
It will also contribute to the promotion of Saudi culture and heritage as well as enable the federations to grow the national economy by offering investment opportunities.
HRH said: “Saudi sports have witnessed a remarkable development at the international level, thanks to the support of the Saudi leadership under Vision 2030.
"Most recent developments were being awarded hosting rights of the Asian Games Riyadh 2034 for the first time in the Kingdom’s history, in addition to the increase of the Saudi sports federations, committees and associations from 32 in 2015 to 91."
Under the strategy, Saudi sport federations will receive funds divided into two parts.
The first part is financial support of the federations’ essential activities including operational coasts, training camps and salaries.
The second part concerns incentives, which are packages of additional funding to reward federations for their development and achievements based on three requirements: operational capability, technical capability and national and international achievements in breaking records and winning medals.
Besides the strategy of supporting 91 Saudi sports federations, committees and associations, Prince Abdulaziz launched the new Elite Athletes’ Development Programme aiming to reinforce athletes’ competency and ensure their long-term preparation.
Prince Abdulaziz indicated that, though this programme, the Saudi Olympic Training Center (SOTC) has been established as an independent center, under the supervision of the SAOC in cooperation with a number of sports federations.
The athletes of SOTC will be selected after evaluating their performances since 2018. The programme will target 180 male and female athletes in the first year and 480 athletes by 2023.
