IHF Super Globe is Part of Preparation for 2015 Men's World Champions in Qatar'

Doha, August 31 (QNA) - The International Handball Federation (IHF) Super Globe is an integral part for the preparation of the 2015 Men's World Champions in Qatar this is the conclusion of IHF President Dr Hassan Moustafa, announced in a media conference on Friday in Doha. "To be here in Qatar for the fourth time and the third consecutive time since 2010 means one step forward towards the World Championship," Moustafa said. In his opinion and also in the team's opinion the organization of the Super Globe is again very good. The IHF President additionally underlined the importance of promotion of the tournament by the live TV coverage and internet streaming by the TV station Al-Kass and the coverage of the tournament by international media, not only from Arabic, but also European countries. "The IHF Super Globe is something like a warm-up for 2015. We have to attract spectators and handball must arrive in the heads of the people of the Gulf Region. The World Championship is the most important event for the IHF to discover new markets and to attract public and media, especially TV. And I have no doubt that the 2015 Men's World Championship, organized by the Qatar Handball Association, will become the best World Championship ever. Qatar will host an event, which will be in the focus of all eyes worldwide. Maybe Qatar is a small country, but they have a big heart for handball and we want to support Qatar on their way." In Moustafa's eyes, it is important to have hosting countries outside Europe: "The worldwide development of handball is initially effected by the hosting countries. To host a World Championship in Qatar, means a major step not only for handball in Qatar or the Gulf Region, but for entire Asia and worldwide." For Moustafa, Qatar has become a top organizer in the world of sports, as they were hosting 35 major events only in 2012. And the preparations for the World Championship 2015 are in full swing. New arenas are being built, including a hall with a capacity of 17.000 spectators. "For the London 2012 Olympic Games I had proposed to build a handball arena with a capacity of 8000, but during the Olympic Games in London, I realized I was wrong, as I saw that handball in London could also have big arenas, as all matches, also the matches in the bigger arena in the knock-out round with 12.000 spectators, had been sold out." Moustafa mentioned the Qatar Wch 2015 bid with its "no-empty-seats"-policy. "And the Qataris will fulfill this prediction." In a clearly set time-table including permanent evaluations the process of development and preparation will be supervised by IHF. Returning to the IHF Super Globe, Moustafa was impressed by the big number of spectators, also coming from Egypt and Saudi-Arabia to support their teams Zamalek and Mudhar. And he mentioned the big steps the tournament had taken since the start: "It is very positive that Qatar is organizing the IHF Super Globe annually to enable teams from all five continents to face the best teams of the world. And clubs like Al-Sadd or Zamalek have bridged the gap to clubs like Kiel and Madrid, the difference in their performing levels was very small." (QNA)