The President of Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, QOC Secretary-General and Chairman of Board of the Qatar Olympic Academy, Jassim Rashid Al Buainain, Secretary-General at the Supreme Committee for Deilivery & Legacy (SC
Qatar Sports Arbitration Foundation (QSAF), under the patronage of the President of Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, signed four Memorandums of Understanding with the International Court of Arbitration for Sports (ICAS), Josoor Institute and the Olympic Academy and Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre (QICDRC).
Under the MoU signed with the ICAS, QSAF will accommodate the offices of the CAS ad hoc Division during the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup to be hosted by Qatar.
Moreover, Josoor Institute and the Olympic Academy will provide the necessary academic and practical training to prepare legal professionals who are interested in sports arbitration which will enable them to be international sports arbitrators according to the International standards.
Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre meanwhile will provide the necessary logistical and legal support to enable Qatar Sports Arbitration Foundation to operate until its headquarters are completed.
The QOC President said after the ceremony that the State of Qatar has taken many steps to regulate the sports sector in order to be more transparent, one of the most important of these steps is the establishment of QSAF as an independent organisation to resolve all sports-related disputes in accordance with the best international standards.
“The environment created for the sports sector is based on the principles of transparency, integrity and combating all kinds of corruption and to achieve this, we have created an independent judicial body that guarantees the application of laws in accordance with best practices,” Sheikh Joaan added.
“The cooperation we are witnessing today between the different sports organisations in the country comes to ensure the optimal exploitation of resources whereas each organisation works in its own competence without any waste or repetition of resources,” Sheikh Joaan explained.
Sheikh Joaan concluded his statement by adding: “We are proud of the cooperation carried out by the Foundation through signing these agreements, most notably the cooperation agreement with ICAS to be the first of its kind, which reflects the confidence of international organisations in the state of Qatar and its sports sector.”
QOC Secretary-General and Chairman of Board of the Qatar Olympic Academy Jassim Rashid Al Buainain stated: “We are pleased with this agreement, which reflects the extent to which sports institutions cooperate in their respective fields in order to build an integrated sports environment, adding that this agreement will ensure the access of the Qatar Olympic Academy graduates, especially Graduates of the Sports Master’s Degree program for the practical training necessary to be at the beginning an effective members at the Sports Arbitration Foundation and in the future at the International Court of Arbitration for Sport.”
On his part, Secretary-General at the Supreme Committee for Deilivery & Legacy (SC) Hassan Al Thawadi, said: “We are pleased to witness the signing of a MoU between Qatar Sports Arbitration Foundation and Josoor Institute, which aims to build local and regional capabilities in sports arbitration, a field that is considered a key element in growing the sporting industry in the region making it one of the main boosters for Qatar and the Middle Easts economy after 2022.”
President of QSAF, Ibrahim Khalil Al Muhannadi, has also stated that under this agreement, Qatar Sports Arbitration Foundation will be the seat of the arbitration tribunals for the FIFA Qatar World Cup 2022 established by the ICAS for the tournament, and such agreement guarantees the exchange of experiences to ensure that our organisation operates in accordance with the best international standards and practices.
Al Muhannadi added that through the agreements with Josoor Institute and the Olympic Academy we are seeking to ensure that all those interested in sports arbitration are provided with the necessary training in the country, especially that the two institutions have proven their excellence in the field of training in sports sector.
ICAS President John D Coates said that this step is the first of its kind for the CAS and the memorandum of understanding aims to make Qatar Sports Arbitration Foundation a perfect location for the tribunal and the CAS arbitrators during the FIFA Qatar World Cup 2022. He added that he was looking forward to collaborating with Qatar Sports Arbitration Foundation in these circumstances.
Coates commended the efforts of the State of Qatar and the steps it has taken to establish an independent foundation for the resolution of sports related disputes.
Commenting on the partnership, Chief Executive Officer of the QICDRC, Faisal Al Sahouti, said: “The MoU will further promote the environment of arbitration in our country.”
“Arbitration has proven to be an effective and efficient route to resolve disputes.”
