Explore-Qatar » Articles » Qatar Today Editorials - Glitz, Glamour and the Sporting Spirit
Qatar Today Editorials - Glitz, Glamour and the Sporting Spirit
HH the Emir Sheikh Hamed Bin Khalifa AL Thani inaugurated the Dome, in a glittering ceremony attended by HH the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad AL Thani, HH Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser AL Misnad, and HH Sheikh Jassem Bin Hamad Al Thani.
The opening was marked with the middle east’s biggest-ever celebration of sporting achievement, attended by legendary sports star, Olympic delegation from over 80 countries, representatives from other major sports federations such as the international association of athletics federations, and a number of local dignitaries.
Legendary sports stars such as Pele and Digo Maradona attended the ceremony. Other top sports celebrities including athletes Ed Moses. Said Aouita and Hiham El Guerrouj, swimmer Mark Spitz, footballer Rabah Madjer and gymnast Nadia Comaneci were also present.
It was for the first time in the Middle East that so many legends from the world of sports have assembled at one place at the same time. These new facilities, through attached to the Aspire academy for sports excellence, from a part of Khalifa sports city encompassing the newly renovated Khalifa international stadium and the Olympic- standard Hamad Aquatic Complex.
HH Sheikh Jassem Bin Hamad Al Thani, who initiated this project, expressed his happiness over realising the dream of establishing academy which he hoped would help Qatar produce champion athletes in the future.
“The gathering her tonight reflects our seriousness towards achieving our goals and aspirations for which the academy was set up,” Sheikh Jassem said,”We have in our midst many world champions and I am sure they will inspire young Qataris to conquer the world. And we are committed to support them in their pursuit of excellence.”
Sheikh Jassem said the academy would also provide excellent educational support to its students and help them achieve educational qualifications even as they continue their sports programmes. However, the academy was setting a timetable to produce a sportsman of international standard, but made it clear that it would work towards creating a distinguished identity for its sports persons whenever and whenever they compete, he added.
Among the highlights of the opening event were an impressive display by local Qatari school children, a series of performance by the internationally renowned Cirque du Soleil and a breath taking moment when legends fro the world of international sports converged on stage to offer their best wishes for Aspire.
The Dome is a landmark development for Qatar and the region. Covering an outstanding 290,000 square meters of ground space and standing an impressive 46 meters high, it seats 15,000 spectators.
Designed by Roger Taillibert – the architect behind the Parc des Prince Stadium in Paris and the Olympic Stadium in Montreal Canada – the Dome was constructed over two years, from conception through to its grand opening on November 17.
“MY MAMA THINKS I AM THE BEST”
Diego Maradona, one of the greatest names in soccer, meeting representative of the world media on the first day of the event, didn’t allow halting translation and sticky questions to come in theway of his quick and witty repartees.
Speaking candidly about his drug addiction and political views, Maradona said that he has turned his life around now for this two daughters. “ I have missed a lot with the, and I want to be there for them now.”
On whom he considered the greatest footballer of all time, Maradona, grinning mischievously, said , “ My mama think I am. And everyone believes my mother . so I do.”
On his close association with Cuban leader Fidel Castro, the FIFA World cup winner said he was friends with anyone who opposed the US.
When it was pointed out that the US Central Command during the attack on Iraq was located here in Qatar, he said the US could kill people from anywhere, and no one else can be held responsible for that.
On the commercialization of the sport, he said the ownership of the game should lie with the players, not with politicians and businesses.
Asked which high profile team he would have wanted to play for, Maradona said he would still want to play for Napoli,”I want to be in the small team and beat the big guys like Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester United…”
In addition, Maradina took to Aspire’s football pitches to lead a football workshop for student athletes training at Aspire, in front of an audience packed with local school children and members of the public eager to see the legend at first hand.
Maradona said, “Inspiring young people to play sport is one of the most important things a professional athlete can do, and I am very happy to be here in Qatar as part of this magnificent event.”
Commenting on Aspire, he said it felt like being on a different planet and congratulated Qatar for its futuristic thinking and willingness to invest huge amounts of money for such projects aimed at making future champions.
He later took to the stage to discuss sportsmanship with fellow FIFA World Cup winner, Pele. Maradonas on-stage appearance with Pele saw the two men conduct a debate on the nature of sportsmanship – Fair Losers-Ugly Winners? – where they compared and contrasted their own experience on the path to football superstardom.
The unique public debate was the first time the two men have shared a stage outside Latin America and provide a major opportunity for sports fans to see the two heroes in person.
“MY BIGGEST CONTRIBUTION IS OFF THE FIELD”
Pele, while addressing a press conference, stressed that his biggest contribution to football was not confined to the field, but to society, especially enabling black players attain the status they have today.
“Many contribution is true history. As a 17 years old when I travelled for the first time with the Brazilian national team to take part in the 1985 World cup in Sweden, I noticed that only my team had all black players. I was watching teams like france and Sweden training nearby and they had all white player.” He recalled and added: “but today, I can see quite a few black players in all these national teams and I believe I have contributed a lot to bringing about this change. I believe that my success has inspired many black players to explore new avenues outside South America,” he said. “My contribution is social. Football is a great game, it brings together people of different hues. It’s a family and I feel proud to be part of it.” he added.
Named as one the greatest footballers of all time, the Brazilian legend was a key member of the Brazil team in their World Cup victories of 1958, 1962 and 1970 and scored a grand total of 1,280 goals in his 1,363 professional games.
As part of his contribution, and in front of a packed and expectant audience, Pele led a soccer master class for aspiring young footballers, where he offered valuable tips to develop their skills.
Pele said, “ I’m delighted to be here in Qatar and to participate in this event. Supporting the development of the next generation of young sporting talent is one of the best investments that any country can make, and it is exciting that the Middle East is making such great strides in this area. Aspire is really a jewel in the crown of sports in the region and I wish the students here all the success in the world.”
Though widely acknowledges as the greatest player of all time, Pele was evasive in his reply to the question “ who is the greatest? ”
He said he tried to give his best while playing and tried to give something back to the game even after his retirement, serving the game as its global ambassador, but refused to name a player as the greatest.
“I’ve achieved tremendous success as a player, but I’m human and would have made many mistakes,” he said.
Pele said it’s a difficult task to compare the greatest Brazilian team of the 1970s with the present one. And also added that the best team need not win the World Cup.
“ The Brazilian team of the 70’s was good. We had many good players. We faced the same question in 70s also – comparison with the team of 1958. In 1958 too we had great individual players. But the team of 70s got more time to train together. Most of the players spent more time together and perhaps that made the 70s team look great. With nine months to go for the 2006 World Cup, I can say that the present team is the best, but how often does the coach get all of them together? Most of them play for different clubs in Europe and they just assemble a few days before the tournament. But they are easily the best, the have two good players ready for each position,” he said.
Pele denounced violence and racism in football. He was reacting to the recent violence in Istanbul where Turkey’s defeat by Switzerland, on away goals, was followed by fighting in the tunnel between players and support staff which left one Swiss player hospitalised.
Pele said violence had no place in football and expressed the confidence that FIFA would deal with it quite seriously.
The Brazilian legend said racism is a cause for worry, but pointed out that it is only in very few places this problem existed.
“It’s not confined to football alone. It’s a social and political problem. Look, what’s happening in France? It’s has nothing to do with football.”
I know, in some places in Italy, there are some problems. But FIFA is doing its best and I am sure they will take strong measures to wipe this out,” Pele said.
He was again at his evasive best when a reporter asked him about his opinion on people like Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich investing huge sums in football and taking over big clubs like Chelsea.
He was non-committal as to whether it’s good or bad for the game.
“We live in democracy. Huge investments are made in different projects. It’s the age of takeovers and mergers. Big banks buy up small banks, isn’t it? It’s happening in football too. There is no way to stop it,” he said.
The GALA
As part of the festivities surrounding the inauguration of the Aspire sports dome in Qatar, a glamorous gathering of VIPs attended a gala dinner held within the Dome itself.
Sporting legends including Said Aouita, Rabah Madjer and Nadia Comaneci were present at the event, held in partnership with Qatar Airways, alongside a number of major figures from international sporting bodies.
The Shaolin Monks – Wheel of life, the acknowledged founders of Kung Fu, were the star attraction of the event, demonstrating their tremendous physical flexibility and endurance through an exciting display of elite fighting skills.
This article is reproduced with special permission from Qatar Today - Qatar's only news, business and lifestyle magazine
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