I am a man of my word. 

So as the world celebrates the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace this coming week, I would like to use this occasion to recognise those great facilitators of the development of athletes, the coaches, while highlighting the importance of proper facilities. 

Without access to these crucial things, we cannot share the benefits of sport for health, life, development and peace.

I started swimming lessons when I was six and I will always be grateful to the coaches who helped me to reach Kuwait’s national team nine years later. Good coaches know that their work goes beyond athletic performance and includes the wider wellbeing of their athletes. 

They understand the role they have in unlocking the full potential of young people, from the children training towards a local school competition to world record holders preparing for the World Aquatics Championships.

This is why as President of World Aquatics I am deeply committed to supporting our National Federations – to ensure they have access to qualified coaching staff who can provide comprehensive support. 

To fulfil this mission, we committed $5 million (£4 million/€4.5 million) to the World Aquatics Support Programme to develop the practice of aquatics in 2023.

Through our World Aquatics Coaches Certification Programme, between 2018 and 2022, more than 1,200 coaches were successfully certified in swimming and artistic swimming. 

An additional 500 coaches will attend online and in-person coaching courses in 2023 alone. 

Developing coaches is vital to developing sport. 

Ensuring the highest standards for aquatics coaching everywhere, we have welcomed aboard James Gibson. 

Already, he has been busy in Vietnam, Maldives and Sri Lanka, countries where flooding and sea level rise make swimming even more important as a vital life skill. 

In this regard, we are deeply conscious of our unique status among sports.

As our open water swimmers show, our planet’s rivers, lakes or seas can all serve for training and competition. 

But it is important too for facilities to be put in place. 

Aquatics is proud to be one of the sports to have understood how to create links to education. 

From Bhutan to Bahrain, our programmes around the creation of training centres and "Pools for All" focus on both athletic and academic infrastructure. 

I am particularly proud of our "Learn to Swim for Health" and "Life" programme in Angola, where our expert coaches are working with physical education teachers to help them improve swimming lessons in schools. 

Around one million young swimmers have already benefited from this initiative.

In order to enjoy sustainable success, both the human and physical side of development projects need careful attention. 

Having the right local and international partners is also key. 

So we are fortunate to have Myrtha Pools as our partner in the "Pools for All" programme. 

It is their expertise that ensures World Aquatics Championship and Olympic athletes alike benefit from the best possible conditions in which to compete. 

We are proud to have the opportunity to provide such good facilities in the places where they are most needed. 

We cannot wait to meet the future champions they will produce. 

And we know that all who use these facilities, all who have the chance to be guided by our great coaches, will be winners.