FROM LEFT: Alfio Giomi, President FIDAL; Vincenzo Spadafora, Italian Minister for Youth Policies and Sport; and Pasquale Salzano, Italian Ambassador to Qatar, during a press conference held at Casa Atletica, at W Doha Hotel, yesterday. Pic: Baher Amin/the
Doha: Newly appointed Italian Minister for Youth Policies and Sport, Vincenzo Spadafora hailed Qatar’s focus on sport and bilateral relations as he inaugurated Casa Atletica yesterday at W Doha.
During the 2019 World Athletics Championships which run until October 6, Casa Atletica acts as the Italian headquarters for the sport event, offering a rich programme combining sport and culture.
“Qatar is a nation that puts emphasis on sports and on bilateral relationship between our two countries on this topic and I am very happy and I look forward to this cooperation,” said Spadafora at a press conference held at Casa Atletica yesterday.
He said he was looking forward to meeting Qatar’s Minister of Culture and Sports, H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali.
The meeting to be held today, he said, is a follow-up to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed last year during the official visit of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Rome. He expressed optimism the meeting would be an opportunity to develop new cooperation and synergy in the field of sport and youth policies, among others.
Spadafora, who just started his term as Minister for Youth Policies and Sport on September 4, said he was emotional to have his first participation in his capacity as minister in this important event, thanking the Italian Athletics Federation and its president Alfio Giomi.
“I am very excited to meet all the Italian athletes and I noticed there is a good balance among the 65 athletes in terms of gender,” he said.
He stressed there are many things that the private sector and the government can do together to integrate the concept of “Made in Italy” around the sport sector.
“Sports is an extraordinary world that does not only put emphasis on tradition and culture but is also a leading factor that catalyses opportunities for business and the industrial sector,” he said.
He added: “I understood that sport is like our country; there is a lot of opportunities, there is always a lot to do but it is always an exciting platform and an exciting place to be in.”
Italian Ambassador Pasquale Salzano said it was particularly important to have Spadafora’s presence in Qatar because Qatar is a country that has always put impetus on the significance of sport.
“We also have a National Sport Day which is considered a local festivity. Qatar focalised on sport as a tool to help people develop in a healthy way and to develop the youth and the young generation,” said Salzano, adding the news of having the Minister at the event had generated interest from their Qatari counterpart which he is proud of.
Casa Atletica has always been the reference point for the Italian sporting, media, and cultural world during the World Athletics Championships. This year, thanks to the synergy and cooperation with the Italian Embassy in Doha, it brings a piece of the Italian culture to Doha, a showcase for the Italian design, music, cuisine and other cultural events.
Based at the W Doha Hotel’s Art 29, Casa Atletica represents an evocative venue to stimulate all senses through immersive spaces and paths. It will host a rich cultural programme, which is entirely dedicated to the promotion of the Italian cultural identity and lifestyle expressed through the five senses.
Casa Atletica will be the venue for all the press conferences of the Italian team, and the Italian Athletics Federation web TV, which will broadcast daily talk shows, interviews and behind the scenes action. Casa Atletica hosts Atletica TV, a press room, a room for press conferences, a restaurant, and the Asics headquarters, among others.
