Dubai: A top official from the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has challenged the Gulf countries to overcome challenges specific to the region and fulfil its destiny on the sporting arena.
"Be it social or religious, we have specific challenges in the Gulf region. But on the other hand, we also have the capabilities and the financial abilities to have some of the best performers in sports. We need to overcome these challenges and be among the best in the world," Haider A. Farman, Director, Asian Games Department, OCA, told Gulf News.
Farman was in Dubai for the past two days involved in the Olympic Solidarity/OCA regional forum that was aimed at providing information to the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) from West and Central Asia ahead of the 2012 London Olympics.
The OCA also had its fun run to popularise the 17th Asian Games to be held in Incheon, South Korea, in 2014.
"There is no doubt we have the best facilities, infrastructure and the financial capabilities as well in this part of the world. But unfortunately, we also have some handicaps that we need to overcome if we are to realise our dream of producing top-level sportspersons," Farman added.
The OCA official, who is based in Kuwait, suggested that there needs to be a change in the thinking coupled with adequate support from the governments.
"We need governments to be active in simultaneously providing the two basics of education and sports development," he remarked.
"I can only hope that governments in the Gulf countries will think and plan in this direction whereby we can have pilot projects that will give equal emphasis to academics and sports at the same time," he added.
