Cairo: Lebanon, who narrowly missed out on hosting the Pan Arab Games this year, has instead been awarded the event in 2011.
But success may not taste quite as sweet as would be expected as it has emerged that Lebanon were the only country to apply for the two-week-long spectacle of sport that is often referred to as the most important multi-regional Arab sports competition.
Three nations initially contested the battle to host the 2007 event, with Syria withdrawing their bid late in the day and Cairo coming in ahead of Beirut in a secret ballot - the first that had ever been held to choose a host for the Pan Arab Games.
But no secret ballot was required this time. Instead the Arab Youth and Sports Executive, which was in Cairo for the current competition, gave sole applicants Lebanon the nod.
Atef Odeibat - Deputy Chairman of the Executive, Chairman of the Jordanian Higher Council for Youth and Deputy Chairman of the Games' Follow-up Committee - confirmed that only Lebanon had come forward as host for the next Pan Arab Games.
But he also made of point of reinforcing the fact that Arab sports authorities consider the Pan Arab Games to be of vital importance in developing sport across the region.
Royal stamp of approval
"The presence of Arab kings, princes and presidents at the opening ceremony at these Games in Cairo emphasised the importance of the event," said Odeibat, and went on to insist that the Pan Arab Games sends to the world the message that sport is very important to Arab countries.
He also added that the Executive planned to introduce new measures in the intervening four years before the 2011 Games to ensure the good organisation of the event and to encourage higher athlete participation levels among the countries.
Beirut has hosted the Games twice to date, in 1957 and 1997. The current 11th Pan Arab Games marks the first time that the Arab event has been recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
