DOHA: A draft law that would democratise the functioning of sports clubs, including various football clubs in Qatar, and make their administration more effective was approved by the Advisory Council yesterday.
The draft seeks to remove the boards of directors of sports clubs and make way for election of their presidents and vice-presidents by club members directly at their annual general meetings (AGMs).
Currently, the boards of directors of sports clubs, all of which are funded by the state, have nine members each and they include chairman and his deputy who are picked by the board members. A directly elected president or chairman of a club would have the authority under the proposed law to set up a task force to carry out its work.
This will ensure that decision-making is fast and effective. The Advisory Council, after receiving the draft law from the Cabinet early last December, had referred it to its cultural affairs committee for a thorough study and recommendations. The committee had interviewed several sports officials and experts and then given its report.
During discussions one suggestion was that the heads of the sports clubs could be nominated, but it was argued that the draft law insists that he and his deputy be elected through a democratic process. This will ensure more active participation of society at large in the administration and operations of the sports clubs.
The draft law says that the president or chairman and his deputy thus elected would be accountable to their electorate—club members.
The Youth and Sports Ministry, and not the Olympic Committee (as is the case presently) will be tasked with enforcing the law (once it is issued) and monitoring the sports clubs.
A new law to regulate sports clubs, more particularly the football clubs, became the need of the hour due to rapid changes taking place in the sporting arena in Qatar and the rest of the world, says the draft.
Advisory Council’s Services and Public Utilities Committee met yesterday under its Rapporteur Saqr Fahad Al Meraiki. The committee studied a draft law for issuance of safety regulations for small cargo ships not covered by International Maritime Treaties in GCC states and decided to refer its report to the Advisory Council.The Peninsula
