Following overwhelming success of online events, Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) announced the first ever ‘Team Qatar Virtual Games’ taking place in the next four weeks.
Aiming to encourage the community to keep active and engage in sport, the Virtual Games will begin on the 20th of June to coincide with QOC’s weeklong celebration of the Olympic day, where a variety of online events and activities will take place.
As part of the QOC’s #SportForLife commitment, the Virtual Games will be accessible to people of all ages, with a focus on engaging the youth. From virtual runs, cycling races, e-sports FIFA 20 events, online workouts and art — there will be something for everyone. These endeavors come with the great support and partnerships with Ooredoo (the Platinum Sponsor), Sports Corner (Platinum Sponsor) and Snoonu App (Golden sponsor) who have continued to play an integral role backing the Olympic movement in the nation and sports in general.
Team Qatar Virtual Games follows the online events organised by QOC on its social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) in the last few months, including the holy month of Ramadan. The events, arranged following the suspension of all sporting activities in the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have received an overwhelmingly positive response from fans, Team Qatar athletes and participants from across the globe.
The Initiatives
The 2020 Qatar Virtual Marathon and the QOC E-Tournament (FIFA & Pro Evolution 20) were the standout virtual events and recorded the highest number of participants.
In addition, the QOC featured an Instagram Live show, “Live with Team Qatar”, which was also hosted on Al Kass TV every Wednesday and Friday during the holy month of Ramadan and featured several Team Qatar’s athletes. Qatar’s ace rally driver and champion shooter Nasser Saleh Nasser Al-Attiyah was the first to appear on the show and spoke about his career and achievements.
The show also featured several elite stars including Team Qatar’s Olympic champion and high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim, the National football team goalkeeper, Saad Al-Sheeb; the 2018 Asian Footballer of the year, Abdelkarim Hassan; and Qatar’s professional boxer, Sheikh Fahad bin Khalid Al Thani and others.
In its closing episode, the show hosted the QOC President HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, who urged the general public and the sports community to abide by the protective measures, restrictions and rules taken by the State of Qatar to limit the spread of COVID-19.
HE lauded the success of the Qatar 2020 Virtual Marathon organised by the QOC, which brought together about 800 participants from 44 countries who participated in a full marathon (42 km), half marathon (21 km), and 5 km races.
Speaking about the virtual events, Sheikha Asma Al-Thani, director of the QOC’s Communications and Marketing Department said:
We are delighted with the remarkable success of the virtual sports activities and events organised on our social media platforms over the past few months. The positive impacts of the programmes on our followers, fans and athletes have inspired us to plan and organise more events within the next four weeks.
Sheikha Asma said that the QOC’s social media platforms would continue to keep motivating fans and followers to engage in sports activities from their homes, also to inspire and provide the platforms with short video clips of the activities. Sheikha Asma added:
The QOC will be organising a batch of virtual competitions, including cycling, 5-10 km runs, a FIFA online tournament, age group competitions in running, and arts. The QOC has allocated a staggering $30,000 in prize money for the races and activities. Participants can also win various prizes including vouchers, bicycles, medals, sports outfits, and sport equipment.
Sheikha Asma Al-Thani noted that the QOC is organising these virtual sports activities and events to inspire fans and followers on social media who are engaging in sports activities at home and are complying with the preventive policy and the social distancing guidelines put in place to protect their mental and physical health.
Sheikha Asma reiterated that individual sport is the best means to maintain the mental and physical health of the individual and the community.
