130 activities to be held under ‘Choice is Yours’ slogan during National Sport Day 2023

Doha: The National Sports Day (NSD) 2023 will be held under the theme “The choice is yours” this year to express the importance of dedicating a sports day for the state, the NSD committee announced on Sunday.

The 12th edition of the NSD activities takes place on Tuesday, February 14th.

Speaking at a press conference at the Lusail Multipurpose Hall, Abdul Rahman Musallam Al Dosari, Advisor to the Minister for Sport and Youth and President of the National Sports Day Committee, said the NSD had been instrumental in raising awareness of the importance of sport in the lives of individuals and people sharpen society.

“Well, years after the Amiri Decision No. 80 issued by HH Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in 2011 and since the launch of the first edition of the NSD, there is a growing awareness of the importance of sport in Qatari society and contributes to the realization of the Qatar Vision 2030 through the development of the human element in which Qatar has invested in recent years,” said Al Dosari.

He added that the country’s infrastructure that supports sporting activities includes 2,643 km of footpaths and cycle paths, as well as more than about 100 sports facilities in the country and a cluster of parks, green carpets, facilities and beaches.

“The NSD initiative was launched from Qatar and has had a tremendous global response due to the importance of sport and its ability to prevent chronic disease, build self-confidence and encourage closerness to others,” said Al Dosari.

Al Dosari said more than 100 parties will participate in this year’s 130 activities at parks and sports facilities across the country, and hailed sport as a strategic choice for the country, as evidenced by hosting major sporting events and the prestigious position Qatar has achieved.

Al Dosari reviewed a report on the activities organized by the Qatar Sports for All Federation (QSFA) over the past year, in which a total of 207,631 male and female participants took part in the sports tournament program, school events, running races and activities at the Al Furjan playground, and the 365 -Day activity program to make sport a way of life and move towards a conscious society that recognizes the importance of sport and its practice, with a focus on the latter, pointing out that a study by the University of Qatar 2017 revealed that 86 percent recognize the importance of sport, but the aim is to increase the number of people taking part in sport.

Al Dosari added that they are keen to add numerous community events to the calendar of events, such as World Obesity Day, World Diabetes Day and World Psychiatry, to raise society’s awareness of the importance of these global events.

In addition, he said that due to the high participation of women in these events, special activities for women such as paddle, football, shooting and table tennis have also been set up, with the association having reached an agreement with several gyms and relevant parties to offer discounted subscriptions to women to encourage them to exercise.

Regarding the Sports for All Federation application update, Al Dosari explained that the update includes several new and enhanced features to meet the needs of the community, such as: B. Providing health indicators and sending notifications to encourage users.

Al Dosari noted that the goal is to create a community awareness of the importance of practicing sport, specifically that ASFA’s sporting events target societal segments and correspond to the season of the year, utilizing the state’s sporting facilities. An example of this would be the Lusail Fitness Center (Arena), which is dedicated to women’s activities and takes place in complete privacy. He added that ASFA strives to showcase the sports venues, activities and events through the association’s application to allow subscribers to receive awareness messages and obtain a medical report on obesity and biometrics in partnership with the Ministry of Health (MoPH).

Similarly, Ali Al Khater, Chair of MoPH’s Health Communications Committee, expressed his appreciation for working with the Ministry of Sport and Youth, which is working on several initiatives that help make physical activity a societal daily practice that individual Promote health and reduce the rate of chronic disease.

He explained that this year’s National Sports Day slogan “Your Choice” embodies the adoption of a healthy lifestyle to improve individuals’ mental and physical health and prevent many chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. in addition to activities focused on older people.

Regarding the preparation for the National Sports Day, Al Khater assured that the MoPH has prepared everything in all venues and activity venues and invited the general public to participate.

At the end of the conference, ASFA honored Qatari citizen Salem Al Marri, who is a sporting role model due to his continuous participation in ASFA’s 365-day activities program held daily throughout the year in public parks.

Al Dosari announced that Salem Al Marri’s appointment as ASFA Ambassador was due to his dedication to sport and his fight against the disease, and setting an example to follow.

In return, Salem Al Marri thanked the Department of Sport and Youth and ASFA for making sport accessible to all.

Commenting on the sporting events hosted by state institutions, Al Dosari noted that all state institutions will organize various sporting events for their members and partners in accordance with Amiri Decision No. 80 of 2011 to organize a sports day for the state to cater to all Encourage participation in sporting activities with family members and colleagues.

Al Dosari highlighted the Qatar Sports for All Federation’s calendar, which features 683 sporting activities throughout the year, the largest the federation has launched since its inception.