SPORTS MINISTER REVIEWS SPORTING ACTIVITIES

Shaikh Saad bin Mohammed al Saadi, Minister of Sports Affairs, on Monday held an enhanced meeting with the chairmen of the Oman Olympic Committee (OOC) and the sports associations as part of his periodical meetings aimed to follow up on the implementation of sports plans and programmes adopted by the OOC and the sports associations.

At the outset of the meeting, the minister touched on the decisions taken by the Supreme Committee for tackling the spread of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) and the ensuing statement issued by the Ministry of Sports Affairs.

The minister emphasised the importance of applying precautionary measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic including suspending all sorts of sporting activities in the Sultanate.

It was decided to study the proposals relating to the suspension of the official sporting events to be resumed at the beginning of the next sporting season in September this year. The minister issued directives to all the sporting bodies to reschedule their activities accordingly.

With a view of activating joint cooperation with the OOC and the sporting associations, the meeting debated ways of optimising utilisation of financial allocations provided by the government to all the sporting bodies. This is in order to actualise the objectives in accordance with the priorities and to ensure positive results through the activation of the national teams’ programmes and preparations for the important international championships.

The minister stressed that the OOC and the sports associations should lay down clear plans for participation in the important international tournaments after evaluating their performance. He urged them to reschedule programmes while adapting to the available financial resources within the allocated budget.