Lebanon Wins Bid to Host 2015 Arab Games

Lebanon have been announced as the hosts of the 13th Arab Games in 2015 at the 16th general assembly meeting of the Union of the Arab National Olympic Committees (UANOC) on Saturday.

Earlier, medic Morocco had been appointed to organize the 2015 Arab Games. But due to domestic affairs, it withdrew. Lebanon proposed its interest in hosting the event and the UANOC welcomed the bid.

Nawal El-Moutawakel, International Olympic Committee member and president of the evaluation commission for the selection of the host city for the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympic Games, was assigned to head the team that will follow up with the organizing committee to ensure the success of the 13th Arab Games.

President of the Arab Games Organizing Committee Sheikh Saud Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was praised for hosting the 12th Arab Games. The event is now taking place in Doha until Dec. 23. The president has documented all Arab athletes’ records in Arab tournaments to get them recognized by international federations. He recommended the continuation of this process.

The UANOC members agreed a team should visit all Arabic countries to gage how many would host sports activities and tournaments and the opportunities they might provide to sports development.

Syria will receive a letter, the members decided, about the country’s interest in hosting the first Arab Games for youth in 2013. If Syria would want to withdraw, other countries would be willing to host the event.

The UAE proposed to host the 1st Arab Women Sports Tournament at Sharjah Ladies Club in Sharjah. The competition in five sports will be held Feb. 2-12, 2012.

The newly formed UANOC’s Arab Olympic Academy Committee is based in Jordan and will be headed by President Atif Odaibat. The recently established Arab Federation for Heritage and Traditional Sports is based in Lebanon. President Maroun Khaleel will lead this 64th Arab sport federation.