UAE first to host GCC Junior Games

Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates will have the honor to host the first edition of the GCC Junior Games this year in September. This statement was announced after the 30th meeting of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) National Olympic Committees’ Presidents held in Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia.

 Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) board member Shaikh Abdullah bin Rashid Al Khalifa has been deputed by HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Work and Youth Affairs, Supreme Council for Youth and Sports Chairman and BOC President, to head the kingdom's delegation to the meeting.

 The committees’ presidents also had talks on other issues of mutual interest, including the approval of a sport umpire centre for Shaikh Nasser’s initiative to establish a GCC sports dispute committee.

 A call to increase the financial allocations for GCC Sports Organising Committees’ awards, in addition to organising a united Sports Day in the GCC on the first week of February every year and the Third GCC Games in Kuwait in 2019 were among other subjects brought up at the meeting.

 There was also a special awards ceremony to honor the Basketball and Cycling GCC Sports Committees for winning first and second prizes, respectively for the best GCC Sports Committees in 2015.

 It’s worth noting that the Bahraini delegation to Riyadh also included BOC general secretary Abdulrahman Askar, board member Shaikha Hayat bint Abdulaziz Al Khalifa, Acting Sports Affairs Executive Director Abduljalil Asad, Sports Training and Development Centre director Nabeel Taha, Arabic and International Public Relations director Fajer Jassim and Arabic Public Relations head Mohammed Al Zayed.