Stad Doha
Qatar will become the first country in the Middle East and North Africa to host the Congress of World Association of Sport Management (WASM) after successfully winning the right to host the event in March 2022.
The successful bid was a joint effort between Qatar University and Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), a member of Qatar Foundation.
Hosting the event would be another milestone for Qatar in preparation for hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, QU said in a statement Saturday.
The joint effort was supported by a memorandum of understanding between QU and QF, which focuses on strengthening cross-institutional collaborations in student learning activities, teaching and in the field of research.
The WASM 2022 Congress in Qatar will be an opportunity to promote education, research and publications in the multi-disciplinary area of sport management in Qatar and in the region, including sport governance, sport policy and strategy, sport marketing, sport and event management, to name but a few.
Moreover, it will contribute to bridging between academia, sport government bodies and sport industry, and to make an impact in terms of knowledge sharing as part of the 2022 FIFA World Cup legacy project in the region and beyond, the statement notes.
The joint bidding team members are Dr Kamilla Swart-Arries, associate professor in Sport Management at the College of Science and Engineering, from HBKU, and Dr Ahmed al-Emadi, professor in Sport Management and dean of the College of Education; Dr Othman Mohamed Al Thawadi, assistant professor in marketing at the College of Business and Economics; and Dr Mahfoud Amara, associate professor in Sport Policy and Management and director of the Sport Science Programme, College of Arts and Sciences, from Qatar University.
Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC), the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) represented by Josoor Institute, and Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) represented by Qatar Olympic Academy, supported the bid.
The last World Association for Sport Management Conference was held at the Universidad Santo Tomas in Santiago de Chile in 2019 and attracted 150 delegates from over 40 countries.