Saudi Arabian Athletes' Commission to host 1st International Athletes Forum

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; August 24th

The Saudi Athletes’ Commission, which is part of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee (SAOC), will host its 1st International Athletes’ Virtual Forum on August 29th and 30th 2020 – under the patronage of HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki AlFaisal, President of SAOC.

The forum will include leading local and international sports personalities, including Chair of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes' Commission and Zimbabwe Sports Minister Kirsty Coventry. The forum is considered to be the first of its kind in the Middle East region according to Ibrahim Al-Moaiqel, Chair of the Saudi Athletes’ Commission, and a volleyball player with Al-Hilal Sports Club.

"The forum aims to acknowledge concerns of athletes and promote the role of Athletes’ Commissions both locally and internationally, creating a platform for dialogue on important topics that relate to the welfare of athletes", said Al-Moaiqel.

Al-Moaiqel added: "Being newly established in 2019, our commission is focused on increasing the role of athletes in the sports movement. We are at the beginning of our journey and there is a lot to learn, but we believe that driving initiatives such as the forum is an important step towards strengthening the representation of athletes. By linking athletes on the ground with decision makers in the ecosystem, we can empower the voice of athletes to contribute to the development of sports in the Kingdom."

In accordance with the IOC Athlete Commission mission, the forum focuses on the representation of athletes and ensuring that the athletes' viewpoint remains at the heart of the Olympic Movement.

The first day will start with an opening session with HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki AlFaisal, President of SAOC, followed by four sessions about:

--Athletes at the heart of the Olympic movement

--The Olympic Journey

--The importance of health and well-being

--Empowering women in Sport.

The second day will include an opening message from Prince Fahad Bin Jalawi – Vice President of SAOC. Five sessions will run on the second day as follows:

--Life after Sport

--Athlete Entourage

--Olympic Solidarity, Integrity – Clean athletes (Session on anti-doping)

--Sports Psychology and Mental health

The forum will also involve many senior figures, including:

--Chair of the Women and Sports Committee of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Sheikha Hayat Bint Abdul Aziz Al Khalifa

--Olivier Niamkey, Director of Olympic solidarity at the IOC

--Olympic Medallist and IOC Athletes’ Commission Member Ryu Seung Minh

--Hadi Souan, Saudi silver medallist in the 400m hurdles at Sydney Olympic Games

--Dalma Malhas, first Saudi female Youth Olympic Games medallist

--Ali Alzahrani, Olympic champion and coach of the Saudi karate team

--Adwa Alarifi, General Manager of Investments at the Ministry of Sports, Board member at Saudi Arabian Football Federation & SAOC

--Majid Abdullah, former Saudi national football team captain and founder of Friends of Football Players Foundation

--Kady Kanouté Tounkara, Mali basketball Olympian and member of ANOCA Athletes’ Commission

--Saad Alshehri, football coach/manager of the under 23 Saudi Arabian National team

--Dr. Mohammed Alkonbaz, Chairman of Saudi Anti-Doping Committee

--Dr. Qassim I. Muaidi, Saudi Sports Medicine Federation President

The forum will be aired live through official SAOC twitter @saudiolympic and Instagram accounts @saudiolympicsa

-ENDS-

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