Arab Games spark sporting hope (From Asian Image)

Arab Games spark sporting hope

5:28pm Saturday 10th December 2011 in Sport By Nazir Musa

The night sky in Doha will be lit ablaze to an immense spectacular fireworks display for the opening ceremony of the Arab Games at the national Khalifa Stadium in Doha.

In attendance will be the Emir Hamid bin Khalifa al Thani who will cut the official ribbon amidst a sporting scene fast becoming a regular feature in this tiny, oil rich, gulf nation.

Seen as the greatest Arab sporting event in the world, these 'Olympics' will witness competitors arriving from 21 countries, afar as Morocco to the west and Oman in the east, partaking in 29 sporting disciplines over 15 days.

The events are wide ranging encompassing sailing through to football, chess, archery, swimming, golf, shooting and gymnastics to name a few.

Egypt head the leader board with 452,Syria 279, Morocco with 220 gold medals and trailing at 66 is the Comoros Islands.

One notable nation absent will be Syria who have chosen to boycott such a prestigious event in the middle east calendar.

These games were the brainchild of Abdul Rahman Hassan Azzam, the first General Secretary of the Arab League from 1945-52. He said "such games amongst Arab nations, could serve the best way to connect the youth of the Arab nations enabling them to build the future of the Arab identity".

60 years later, Qatar remains at the forefront of establishing this Arab identity as a global brand image leader.

Qatar are also lined up to host the 2012 Asian Shooting Championships, the 2015 Handball World Championships and the 2022 World Cup Football.

Nazir Musa will bring you daily news of the games live from Doha.