Muscat, Oman, October 16, 2023: The United Arab Emirates will host the inaugural edition of the Gulf Youth Games in April, 2024 following a decision taken during the 97th Executive Board meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Olympic Committees which was held on Sunday, October 15, in Muscat, Oman.
The first Gulf Youth Games will be held in Dubai. It was initially scheduled for December, 2023, but was postponed.
The Executive Board meeting was chaired by Taha Al-Kishry, Secretary General of the Oman Olympic Committee, with Secretary-Generals of the other Olympic Committees in the GCC in attendance.
The proposed sports and disciplines for the inaugural Gulf Youth Games will include athletics, badminton, cycling, fencing, football, futsal, basketball (3x3), handball, ice hockey, volleyball, swimming, table tennis, shooting, sailing, padel tennis, chess, snooker/billiards, esports, judo, jiu-jitsu, karate and taekwondo.
In his address, Al-Kishry congratulated all the Gulf athletes who won medals during the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games and the Arab Games in Algeria. “The Gulf athletes have shown good performance during the latest regional, continental and international sporting events. We are looking for more medals and achievements during the forthcoming events including the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” he said.
The Executive Board members also reviewed reports of the first GCC Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Saudi Arabia in 2024.