Sports economics forum planned

Manama, Apr. 17 (BNA): A forum on Scientific Research in Sports Economics will be held in Bahrain next month. This first-of-its-kind event, organised by the Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC), is due to take place from May 1 to 5 at Wyndham Grand Hotel at Bahrain Bay, Manama. The forum is part of the Nasser bin Hamad Scientific Research Award in the field of sports, launched in 2012 by His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Supreme Council for Youth and Sports Chairman, and BOC President. An elite team of experienced speakers from around the Arab region are expected to participate. They include Dr Mohamed Sobhi Hassanein of Egypt, Dr Sari Ahmed Hamdan of Jordan, Dr Hazza’a bin Mohammed Al Hazza’a of Saudi Arabia, Dr Ahmed bin Saad Al Sharif of the UAE, Dr Wesam Al Shaikhli of Iraq and Dr Ammar Al Rifai of Saudi Arabia. Hassanein will be talking about the proposed trends to increase and maximize sources of funding in order to increase the outcome of Olympic achievements in the Arab world, while Hamdan will highlight the following subject – sports economic investments with its mutual benefits. Al Hazza’a is to speak about the selection of sports talent, creativity in the field of scientific sports research will be brought up by Al Sharif, Al Shaikhli is to present his keynotes on the importance of sports medicine in the selection of talents, while Al Rifai will handle the subject – the monopoly of TV rights in the Middle East. It aims to find out whether sport can be a source of national income by investing in sports and in sports facilities and real estate development to attract world championships. The forum organisers also hope to discover new talents and identifying certain challenges, such as marketing value, privatization of objectives through cooperation with the private sector.