Second Doha sports forum to focus on fairness, equality in sports

SECOND EDITION OF THE INTERNATIONAL FORUM TO BE HELD IN QATAR IN DECEMBER; MORE THAN 1,500 PARTICIPANTS ARE EXPECTED

Doha GOALS, the world's leading platform focusing on sport as a driver of social and economic change, will host a Ministers of Sport Summit for the first time this year. The Summit will be held on the first day of the global Forum, which will be held on December 9-11 at the Aspire Academy in Doha.

Doha GOALS, a call to action for policymakers, NGOs, corporations and athletes alike, will be held under the high patronage of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar. The Ministers of Sport Summit will address the theme "Integrity in Sport", focusing on the promotion of fairness and equality in sport.

H.E. Sheikh Faisal bin Mubarak Al Thani, Executive Director of Doha GOALS, said: "The diverse group of people - as speakers, partners, participants, students, and community members - creates a unique forum for this initiative. By bringing together this cross-section of interested parties, from heads of government through to federations and NGOs, we have the opportunity to have real dialogue and bring about real change."

Sport is increasingly a major area of focus for some of the world's biggest brands, for whom sport is now an integral part of their marketing and communications agenda. Executive producer Richard Attias said: "Rather than acting as a conference - where ideas are traded but rarely enacted - Doha GOALS is an initiative with the express intent of empowering stakeholders to create a roadmap for social improvement through sport, and launch cross-border initiatives."

Following the first edition of Doha GOALS, a number of initiatives were selected for feasibility studies and will be launched in the run-up to this year's Forum. Among the many sporting champions already confirmed as speakers for this year's Forum are:

Boris Becker, winner of six Grand Slams and former world No 1 in tennis (Germany)

Abinav Bhindra, Olympic champion, shooting (India)

Ato Boldon, former world champion sprinter (Trinidad and Tobago)

Nadia Comaneci, triple Olympic champion, gymnastics (Romania)

Bart Conner, Olympic champion gymnast (USA)

Jonathan Edwards, world record-holder, triple jump and the chair of the athletes' committee for London 2012 (UK)

Wilson Kipketer, triple world champion at 800m and current world record-holder (Kenya)

Henrik Larsson, former captain of the Swedish national football team, and striker for FC Barcelona, Manchester United and Celtic (Sweden)

Tony Hawk, skateboarding legend (USA)

Pamela Jelimo, Olympic champion middle-distance runner (Kenya)

The inaugural Doha GOALS Forum brought together more than 2,000 participants from 60 countries including 400 international students and 400 Qatari students. Speakers at Doha GOALS 2012 included President of FIFA Sepp Blatter and Lord Coe, chairman of the organising committee of London 2012, as well as sporting champions such as multi-Olympic gold medalists Ian Thorpe and Carl Lewis.