Ministry of Sport (Saudi Arabia)
Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Saud, the current Minister of Sport since 2017 | |
Agency overview | |
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Formed | 1974 |
Jurisdiction | Government of Saudi Arabia |
Agency executive |
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Website | mos.gov.sa |
The Ministry of Sport (MoS;
History
The General Presidency of Youth Welfare (GPYW) was established in 1974 by royal decree by the late
The GPYW became known as the General Sports Authority in May 2016, following a royal decree restructuring the entity and placing Prince Abdullah bin Musaad Al Saud as its chairman.[4]
Mohammed Al-Sheikh was appointed to the position of chairman of GSA in April 2017, replacing Prince Abdullah bin Musaad Al Saud.[5] On September 6, Mohammed Al-Sheikh was replaced by Turki bin Abdel Muhsin Al-Asheikh at this position.[6]
Community sports
The Ministry of Sport’ remit of improving and developing the sports environment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia includes a focus on encouraging sports and physical activity at the grassroots level. Towards that end, the Saudi Sports for All Federation (SFA) was created in 2018 as a dedicated body to drive community sports. In 2019, it was given the official mandate to lead community sports initiatives supporting the Saudi Vision 2030’s goals.[7] The Quality of Life program calls for increasing the number of people undertaking regular physical activity in the Kingdom to 40% by 2030.[8] Under the Ministry of Sport umbrella, the SFA is helping the Kingdom meet this target by creating sporting opportunities, encouraging lifestyle changes, and initiating campaigns and challenges encouraging physical activity.[9] The SFA runs year-round initiatives, including community activities, sports challenges, virtual walking and running challenges, tournaments, and activations of public spaces to host sports-related activities.[10]
The SFA App, launched in 2020 for iOS and Android devices, serves as the central hub for these initiatives. The App also hosts the SFA Rewards program, where users are incentivized to stay active by earning points that can be redeemed against gifts or charitable donations.[11]
The SFA collaborates closely with public and private sector entities such as the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee (SAOC),[12] Ministry of Sport,[12] Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs[13] and the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA)[14] to further its goal of a healthier, more active Saudi Arabia.
Football
In 2014, the Ministry of Sport unveiled a new stadium,
Saudi Arabia is all set to host
Women in sports
On August 1, 2016, Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud became the vice-president of Women’s Affairs at the Ministry of Sport.[19]
In July 2017, the Saudi government announced physical education classes would be made available to girls in public state schools.[20]
Professional wrestling
WWE
On March 5, 2018, the American
The event showcased a 50-man
This event marked the beginning of a 10-year strategic multi-platform partnership with WWE and the Saudi General Sports Authority, usually consisting of two premium live events per year (Except in 2020 and 2021, where the country hosted one PLE each due to the
Description
The Ministry of Sport represents Saudi Arabian sport at an international level and manages the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee as well as all thirty Saudi sports federations. Locally, it defines all sporting objectives.[1] Current work by the Ministry of Sport covers five areas:[21]
- Increasing the society’s level of participation in sports and physical activity
- Creating a competitive sports industry
- Developing the quality of local sports facilities
- Improving financial sustainability of the sports sector
- Achieving more transparency in its institutional performance and culture
Most sports facilities in Saudi Arabia are owned and managed by the Ministry of Sport. This includes twenty-four sports cities and stadiums such as the
Governance
The following are past chairmen of the General Sports Authority:
- Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud
- Faisal bin Fahd
- Sultan bin Fahd Al Saud
- Abdullah bin Musa'ad bin Abdulaziz Al SaudAsst. Dr. Mansour Bin Abdullah AlMansour
- Mohammad bin Abdulmalik Al-Asheikh
- Turki Abdulmohsen Al-Asheikh
See also
References
- ^ a b c d General Sport Authority, Kasc.com
- ^ Naif Khalaf Alotaibi, A Historical Study of Saudi Theatre with Reference to the History of Theatre in the General Presidency for Youth Welfare, Exeter.ac.uk, 3 June 2013
- ^ Fawaz Khairy Alhakami, An examination of sport clubs privatisation strategy in Saudi Arabia, Brunel.ac.uk, 2014
- ^ General Presidency of Youth Welfare (GPYW), Saudinf.com
- ^ Mariam Al Jaber, تعرف على رئيس هيئة الرياضة السعودية الجديدv, Alarabiya.net, 23 April 2017
- ^ بأمر الملك سلمان ... تركي آل الشيخ رئيساً لهيئة الرياضة السعودية, Aawsat.com, 6 September 2017
- ^ "Programs & Competitions". www.mos.gov.sa. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ "Quality of Life". Vision 2030. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ "Saudi Sports for All Federation's 'Start Now' campaign looks to boost nation's well-being". Arab News. 2021-03-25. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ "Saudi Sports for All Federation launches fitness challenges at the start of Ramadan". Arab News. 2021-04-04. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ "Sports for All Federation mobile app adds fitness tracker integration and self-challenges to its features, and expands the SFA Rewards program". eyeofriyadh.com. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ a b "Saudi Sports for All Federation campaign looks to boost physical activity". Arab News. 2021-03-07. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ "SFA pens pact to make most of parks, public spaces for physical activity". Saudigazette. 2020-08-17. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ "SDAIA, SFA join hands to boost tech innovation and wellness activities". Saudigazette. 2021-04-22. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ استاد الملك عبدالله جوهرة في جيد العروس, Alwatan.com, 18 July 2013
- ^ Master plan, Sauditd.com
- ^ "Kingdom's sports authority chief announces major revamp on Saudi football". Arab News. 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ "Supercopa's Saudi Arabia adventure given short shrift by fans in Spain". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- ^ "Her Royal Highness Princess Reema bint Bandar Al-Saud | Congress". www.worldcancercongress.org. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ Minky Worden, Saudi sports reforms give girls in the kingdom a running start, Nytimes.com, 9 July 2017
- ^ "About Us". www.mos.gov.sa. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ "Youth Houses". www.mos.gov.sa. Retrieved 2023-01-31.