Mr. Fares Mustafa Al Kooheji, the Secretary-General of the Bahrain Olympic Committee, headed the Bahrain delegation at the 35th gathering of the esteemed Presidents of the Olympic Committees of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The meeting, held on Monday, October 16, 2023, was chaired by Mr. Khalid bin Mohammed Al Zubair, President of the Oman Olympic Committee.
During the session, emphasis was placed on the continued reinforcement of efforts to implement the strategic plan for collaborative Gulf sports initiatives, aligning with the directives of the esteemed leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
The significance of coordination with the Gulf Olympic Committees was underscored to encourage their sports federations and prompt them to initiate requests to host the Gulf Sports Championships. These requests will be channeled to the appropriate committees for scheduling the tournament calendar.
Additionally, the recommendations put forth by the Women's Sports Committee, the Athletes Committee, the Sports Committee, and the Paralympic Sports Committee, all affiliated with the Executive Office, were duly sanctioned.
The Council greenlit the commencement of the inaugural Gulf Games for Youth in the United Arab Emirates in April 2024. It was also decided that the inaugural Gulf Games for Futsal and Martial Arts would take place in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from September 30 to October 9, 2024, with the games included in the competition schedule for both tournaments.
Furthermore, the Council stressed the importance of proposing specific programs that align with athletes' future aspirations and interests, while fostering new avenues of collaboration with fraternal and friendly countries as well as international organizations in the realm of sports.