Tributes have been paid to Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani, one of the founding members of the Qatar Olympic Committee and its second President ©QOC

Tributes have been paid to Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani, one of the founding members of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), who has died.

Sheikh Mohammed occupied various key roles in the world of Qatari sport.

This included being President of the QOC, which he helped to form in 1979 and which was granted full recognition by the International Olympic Committee in 1980.

He was the second President of the QOC and led them between 1991 and 1993.

The highlight of Sheikh Mohammed’s time in office was Qatar winning its first Olympic medal when Mohammed Suleiman claimed a bronze in the 1500 metres at Barcelona 1992.

Sheikh Mohammed was also the former President of the Qatar Football Association (QFA), and Qatar Chess Federation.

Mohammed Suleiman, left, winning Qatar's first Olympic medal, a bronze in the 1500 metres at Barcelona 1992, was the highlight of Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani's period as President of the QOC ©Getty Images
Mohammed Suleiman, left, winning Qatar's first Olympic medal, a bronze in the 1500 metres at Barcelona 1992, was the highlight of Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani's period as President of the QOC ©Getty Images

Under his leadership at the QFA, which began in 1988, Qatar won the Arabian Gulf Cup for the first time, in 1992, when the country hosted the event.

Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, the current President of the QOC, tweeted his condolences.

"The Qatari Olympic and sports family lost one of its founding figures with the death of His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalid bin Hamad al Thani, the former President of the Qatar Olympic Committee," he wrote.

"May God have mercy on Sheikh Mohammed, and our condolences to the family of the deceased, and we belong to God and to Him we shall return."

The Amiri Diwan, the official workplace and office of Emir of Qatar, also mourned the death of Sheikh Mohammed.