Doha: HE President of the Qatar School Sports Association (QSSA), Sheikh Khalifa bin Khalid Al-Thani, underscored the importance of the School Olympic Program (SOP) in exploring emerging sporting talents. Speaking at a press conference held Sunday at Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) premises to announce the signing of a sponsorship agreement for SOP with Kotinos Sports, Sheikh Khalifa stated that these talents should be nurtured and provided with an encouraging environment for learning and collective work, noting the persistent success of the program and the record turnout from students of both genders.
According to Qatar News Agency, the current program features an increase in sports activities to 38, both individual and group, to broaden participation opportunities and enhance students' experiences in terms of education and sports, in alignment with its vision to build a new, creative, and responsible generation capable of contributing to the nation's advancement, Sheikh Khalifa pointed out.
He said the previous editions, especially the 18th program, had generated tremendous successes, with the participation of as many as 25,000 students from 502 schools in a broad range of individual and group sports activities. This milestone has vastly bolstered the program's ability to explore budding sports talents, providing an encouraging atmosphere for learning and collective work, positioning the program as a quintessential model at the school sports level, Sheikh Khalifa outlined.
He stressed that there is an enduring commitment to forging ahead in advancing the program and achieving remarkable results during the current edition. There is a strategic vision in place that broadly aims to diligently operate this program to achieve the intended objectives of exploring promising talents on the Qatari sports stage, highlighted Executive Director of SOP, Abdulrahman Al Muftah.
Al Muftah further emphasized that the program has achieved colossal successes and helped discover numerous Qatari talents in line with Qatar National Vision 2030. He affirmed that SOP looks forward to continuing this success at all levels, including the keenness to increase competitions and student participation in this year's program.
For his part, Jaham Al Kuwari, Board Member of QSSA, said he is confident in SOP's capability to energize efforts aimed at discovering talents at home and advancing them to serve the future of Qatari sports. The new edition is receiving a huge turnout from students, a testament to the program's tremendous success, which provides students with the opportunity to showcase their capabilities and talents through competition in the various sports the program offers, Al Kuwari said.
Notably, the 19th SOP for 2025-2026 kicked off last September.