DOHA: The Arab Football Forum 2013, organised by the Qatar Olympic and Sport Museum (QOSM) and part of Qatar UK 2013 Year of Culture, was held yesterday at the National Football Museum, Manchester.
The aim of the forum is to bring together football experts to discuss the main issues of the game in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena). The one-day Forum was held on the last day of the acclaimed ‘Football 150 Conference’.
The forum is hosted a debate where panellists discussed topics around Arab identity and football, including Arab challenges in the football world. The panel discussions were moderated by Dr Christian Wacker and Luis Henrique Rolim Silva, both QOSM. The guest speakers included Dr Richard Giulianotti, Professor of Sociology at the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences at Loughborough University (UK) and Visiting Professor at Telemark University College, Norway; Dr Abdullah Baabood, Director of the Gulf Studies Programme at Qatar University; James M Dorsey, Senior Fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and the author of the blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer; Dr Dag Henrik Tuastad, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages at University of Oslo, Norway; and. Florian Mader, Member of the Discover Football project.
Dr Christian Wacker, Director of the Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum, said: “Football is the most popular sport in the world and the peculiarities of the Mena region deserve a dedicated forum to discuss them. The QOSM is proud to contribute with organising the AFF2013. QOSM is a sports heritage institution that torganises different cultural and academic activities in order to contribute toward the development of knowledge, not only in football but also in sports in general as a social-cultural phenomenon.”
Nayef Essa AlRomaihi, spokesperson for Qatar UK 2013, said: “Sport, and in particular football, unites people on a global scale. We are excited that ‘the beautiful game’ has been able to bring our two nations closer like this.”
The Peninsula
