The annual public holiday dedicated to sports participation encourages a future of long-term healthy living for the country's population.

The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Sport Village led the celebrations with more than 10 National Federations offering free activities and entertainment. 

Now in its fourth edition, National Sport Day was adopted after a 2011 decree by Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, the then Prime Minister of Qatar and now the country's Emir. 

It aims to make sport an integral part of everyday life by encouraging the whole nation to take part in sport regularly, contributing to the development of a healthy society and raising awareness of the importance of sport and physical activity at every level.

All Government departments and private organisations across the country organise different activities for their employees and families to enjoy.

The Sport Village and other locations across Qatar, including the iconic Katara Village, and all National Federation and sport club facilities witnessed the biggest turnout of any National Sport Day to date showing, it is claimed, the huge and growing success of the initiative.

The handball area proved particularly popular following the recent success of Qatar's team at the World Championships, where they became the first non-European side to make the finals in the history of the event before losing to France. 

Qatar is one of the only countries in the world to dedicate a public holiday to sports participation ©QOC



"National Sport Day has cemented its status as one of the highlights of Qatar's community, sporting and national calendars," said Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, secretary general of the QOC.

"There is no better way to celebrate our nation's passion for sport and encourage a healthier and more active future.

"It is also an important part of Qatar's sporting vision to increase community participation in physical activity, educate through the values of sport, and connect more people to sport at a grassroots level."

Some of Qatar's best athletes, including captain of Qatar's 2014 World Championship winning 3x3 basketball team, Yassin Ismail Musa, captain of Qatar's volleyball team, Mubarak Dahi, Qatari footballing great, Mansour Muftah, and 2006 Asian Footballer of the Year, Ibrahim Khalfan, were present to demonstrate their skills and give masterclasses to budding young athletes.

"The presence of so many of our nation's best athletes in the Sport Village shows how important National Sport Day is to everyone in Qatar," added Sheikh Saoud.

"Seeing the public interact with these athletes and take part in new activities has been fantastic to watch.

"We hope that has helped to inspire some of Qatar's future sporting heroes and more importantly, inspire more young people to make sport an integral part of their life whatever their level and future ambitions."

Qatar is set to host a multitude of sports events over the next few years, including the 2015 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics World Championships, the 2019 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Athletics Championships, as well as World Championships in boxing, gymnastics and road cycling, and the 2022 FIFA World Cup. 

With this in mind, the public had the opportunity to learn more about these sports and try them first-hand as the nation aims to use the hosting of world-class sports events as a catalyst for developing sport at all levels.

Children were given the chance to compete in Paralympic sport as Doha gets set to host the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships in October ©QOC



Speaking from the Qatar Paralympic Committee booth in the Sport Village, Abdulrahman Abdulkader, who won gold and bronze medals in the shot put and javelin respectively at the 2014 Asian Para Games, said: "It has been so good today to demonstrate Paralympic sport to the public and let them know more about what is on offer in Qatar for people with a disability.

"The IPC Athletics World Championships will be hosted in Doha in October and competing in one of the biggest Para-sports events in the world in front of a home crowd will be a dream come true for me.

"The World Championships will be a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness about Para-athletics and disability sport in Qatar and across the whole of our region.

"I really hope that I will help others to realise that being disabled is not a negative thing and that you can achieve so many things in spite of your disability.

"I hope that the activity in the Sport Village has helped to inspire a new generation of Paralympic sporting heroes."

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February 2014: Qatar prepares to celebrate National Sport Day