HM King's support to professional sports hailed

Manama, June 27 (BNA): HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa the Representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, President of Bahrain Olympic Committee, confirmed that the Kingdom of Bahrain has begun implementing its strategy to classifying sports professionalism, paving the way for upgrading this important sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain in accordance with the ingredients of sports professionalism and its positive effects. HH Shaikh Nasser comments were made after HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa awarded professional bodybuilder Sami Al Haddad the first passport to be given to a Bahraini citizen with "professional athlete" as an official profession. HH Shaikh Nasser praised HM the King's support for the Kingdom's strategy to implement sports professionalism, stating that its speedy adoption and implementation comes owing to the belief of HM in the importance of applying professionalism in the area of sports for this area in the Kingdom. HH Shaikh Nasser confirmed that Al Haddad is the first sportsperson to be identified as a professional athlete in the Kingdom of Bahrain, adding that the door is open for others to join the list. It's worth noting that HH Shaikh Nasser announced on his Instagram account earlier that Al-Haddad, the gold medalist at the IFBB Pro Spain, held earlier this month, was the first Bahraini to be identified as a professional athlete, stating that this step will be applied on all other Bahraini professional sportspeople. He posted his comment along with an image of Al Haddad's passport.