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28 March 2024

Sport 'will be global if our part of world is included'

Princess Haya bint Al Hussein during a discussion panel at the SportAccord International Convention in Dubai last week. (SATISH KUMAR)

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By Dareen Abughaida

The curtain may have come down on a very successful SportAccord convention in Dubai, but the effect may well be long-lasting with the emirate further underlining its status as a key venue for sports events and exhibitions. Dubai is also considering a bid for the 2020 Olympics.

Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, wife of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, spoke exclusively with Dubai One TV's Dubai Tonight show about what has been achieved in and through SportAccord and what the future holds for sport in the UAE and Middle East. Princess Haya is president of the Dubai Organising Committee for SportAccord. She is also President of the International Equestrian Federation and member of the International Olympic Committee.

 

Why did Dubai choose to host SportAccord?

It's very, very important to us for many reasons.

It was a part of the puzzle that we were missing at this point, and it was a part of a strategy that we planned a long time ago.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed had obviously started a strategy where he looked at high-profile events, and I think that we've really made a name for our country in that area. Then the part of the puzzle that was interesting for us was beginning to work on the infrastructure of sport in the country, which meant exposure to decision makers, exposure to the kind of level of discussion and introduction to the International Federations, which is really key – it's at the very heart of SportAccord – because they all come here, meet and discuss, network and really make decisions here.

So, the exposure of our people to that, and really the region to that, was a key part in deciding how we shape our future from here on. Obviously that goes in parallel with the work that he's ordered to start at real grass-roots levels sport throughout the emirate of Dubai and the UAE.

We're really looking forward to the future. I think that everybody is buzzing with the ideas that we've come up with, with the discussions that we've had, and I'm really looking forward to the fact that we can tie this altogether now and make use of it internally, as well as the friends and contacts we've made.

You're talking about future and strategy for sport? How does this convention fit into a larger version of the social and economic development of the country?

I don't think it's solely focused on Dubai, or how Dubai can benefit. I think that there is also a huge element of the fact that the international world of sport has so much to offer. It's such an important communication tool. Bringing the world of sport to Dubai has also possibly ensured that they gain a new understanding of our region, of our culture, of the kind of challenges that we face.

One of the main things was that sport was never high on our agenda, because we are a region that has so many other very important issues that we have to tackle. Because of that, the world also sees us at times with a very narrow lens and we very much hope that one of the most important things that will come out of SportAccord being held in Dubai is actually a benefit for the region in general.

These people who love sport will leave our region understanding it better and passing on the message that we share the same values, we speak the same language in holding those values dear to our hearts, and there is more to us than the headlines that they read in the papers. That really is a regional aspiration.

Do you think that sport can play a special role in the world, in terms of furthering positive changes?

I have absolutely no doubt about the power of sport. I've lived it, I've seen it. It's about people, it's about individuals, it's about the power of the human being, and there is really no other industry that has that. It's one that for hundreds of years has been celebrated.

It comes naturally to everyone, it's not something that has to be forced or recreated. Of course, we are constantly evolving and refining ourselves as a movement, but I have absolutely no doubt or question about what sport can offer to the world. It's key to all of us.

Through your own experiences, how has sport enriched your life?

Sport has done amazing things. For any individual, it makes you a part of a family, it gives you a sense of belonging, it teaches you social responsibility, it creates an understanding of how to work in a team, it poses questions and challenges to you that you have to overcome as a human being using what you have inside, rather than material things or things that you are given.

That strength, that education that you go through the passage of your career, even if one is a person who doesn't aspire to compete at Olympic level, in the most basic sense you feel the euphoria that is both scientifically based and philosophically based. It's wonderful.

Do you have a favourite memory of your career that you can share with us?

I have so many, but perhaps the best times in my career were the times when my father was by my side, watching me or encouraging me. Those were the moments that I treasure the most, those moments with him. I think possibly one of the greatest honours for me in my sporting career was being the flag bearer for my country in the opening of the Sydney Olympic Games.

That feeling of walking into a stadium at the Olympic Games, and you see the flame, and you understand the symbolism behind the institution and so many wonderful things about that family, the Olympic family, that was what really drew me to it.

It represented so many ethics for me, so many values that I really cherished. Walking into that stadium, seeing that flame and being able to represent my country was probably one of the greatest honours I'll ever be able to experience.

What does hosting this important event really mean for the UAE?

As I said before, it's a two-way street. I think it means a lot to us. It's been wonderful being able to see the movers and shakers, the decision makers, the people who plan the future of the sport movement as a whole being able to be exposed to this region.

To be able to discuss with them our ideas, to share the challenges that we share in common, and probably to ensure that maybe in the decisions they make in the future, they'll have a closer understanding of our particular situation and definitely they'll know for sure the enthusiasm that this region has for sports and wants to become an equal partner in that industry. I think that two-way street, that mutual respect is what will be our bridge to the future.

Speaking of the region, Do you think the Middle East businesses need to take a greater interest in and invest more in sports?

I think it's not so much about Middle Eastern businesses. I honestly think that it needs to be brought to the top of the agenda for Middle Eastern governments. As I said earlier, throughout our history, there have unfortunately been political issues and turbulence in the region that has often forced sport off of the top of the agenda.

For many in this region, especially in the Levant, sport was viewed as something that you did as a pastime or a hobby, and that was really the choice. Now we're encouraging young people. We've seen throughout the region incredible statistics that are going frighteningly on an upward curve every day of diabetes and heart disease among our youth.

The lifestyle that we should be promoting is now becoming as urgent as some of the other things we prioritised before. Really sport is now a necessity. It's a necessity to tackle non-communicable diseases, it's a necessity to ensure the safety and security of our youth and their future. For that simple reason alone, it's at the government level through ministries of education and health, that this now has to be accepted as a top of the agenda.

It's known worldwide that sport also indirectly solves political issues and brings peace because when young people have a pastime, and they're able to expand their energy into something as positive as sport, it does have a direct effect on violence and use of drugs and other social negatives that we need to deal with. That really has to come on top of the agenda and the time is now.

What would the expansion of mainstream sport into markets, such as ours in the Middle East, mean for the sport industry as a whole?

I think it would have a huge impact on the sports industry as a whole, not least from the side of business, sponsorship and the increase in the number of events.

Because of our climate, we would also fill spots on the international calendar that are not used. We would have our own leagues, our own circuits. To a certain extent, I can speak for my sport – equestrian. There is a lot of overcrowding in the European and the Western calendar and we would be able to cater for the numbers of athletes that need events, if we were really to open up and start to produce quality events and quality sports venues that they could participate in here.

I think that would have a huge impact and we would start to see sport really, truly becoming global by including our part of the world.

I think to a large extent that's up to us, though. The sport industry and the sport movement have always opened arms to anyone who wishes to enter, but it really is up to this region to make that effort to put it on top of the agenda to ensure, as I said before, the safety, the security, the well-being of our young people and our future.

It's an important step that we need to take.

You've said from a very early age that your goal was to participate in the Olympic Games. How did it feel representing your own country?

It was incredible being in an Olympic family, in an Olympic Village with 16 thousand other athletes. It was just one of the most incredible things.

You saw people who were heroes, people I had read about. It was those people who really made something of themselves. When you're an athlete, you do it from what you have inside, that was really what always attracted me.

If you read the history of the Olympic movement, the symbolism behind the rings, the fact that it represents the globe, the peaceful aspect, the fact that you have the Olympic truce – in fact, as far back as 776BC, they were talking about peace and a truce in order to hold the games – the fact that we were all the way in Sydney and the flame had come from Olympia in Greece, all of that for me was the representation, actually being there with people who had shared the same dream, made the same sacrifices, and gone through the same hardships to get there.

It is about the road as much as it is about the actual event itself. It's getting there that really is fun, and the friends you make along the way, and then the fact that you're there with so many other people that have everything in common with you, as well as having a country at home who are cheering for you, people who are really rooting for you. I think it brings out the absolute best in people, both those watching the games and those engaging in it. It was a fantastic time.

Why equestrian sport? Where does that love of horses come from?

It was very natural. People always ask that question, but I've always been one who thinks that horses choose you, you don't choose horses. When you're chosen, it's very hard to get out. I think that every sport to an extent finds people who have a passion for it and you discover a love. Horses in particular in the international equestrian federation, we have it so easy in a sense because horses and equestrian sport really do attract and keep young people.

It's really natural caring for an animal, the lifestyle that goes with it, the camaraderie with other riders and the fact that it's always changing.

You're always living with a partner and the constant process of refining the harmony between you your partner. So I think I was no different from anyone else who fell in love with horses and when you fall in love, that is it – your done.

Equestrian sport is both physically and mentally challenging. What has the sport taught you personally and professionally?

I think above all equestrian sport teaches a person respect and discipline and real respect for a partnership. I think it's the fact that you and your horse have to tackle problems and obstacles, refine a test together.

In disciplines, such as dressage, you do it to the very highest level, to the millisecond. You make it beautiful to music. When you can achieve that level of harmony with an animal as noble as a horse, there is very little else in the world I can think of that feels better. It's age old, it's as old as time, the partnership between man and horse. It's not new to this generation.

Looking at the role of sport, what evidence have you seen of the positive impact that it can play in the life of people?

Definitely there are countless stories. The individual stories – when we see athletes at the game from two countries who have had violent relations, just as we saw in Beijing when the athletes from Georgia were hugging and kissing their counterparts; and when you see in fair play runners, who stop because somebody has fallen and help them up.

It's really the fact that goodwill and that sense of the goodness of humanity comes out. That is what my instinct tells me is the most positive thing. Between countries, sport brings people together.

You can sit with a person that you have never met before and, if you talk about sport, you speak a common language. It's a bridge in nearly every sense. It is really one of the ways that best connects people and it's good for people.