Doha:

The Qatar Olympic Academy announced the launch of its agenda for programs and courses for the new year 2026, which included numerous programs, courses, and workshops in various sports and Olympic fields, exceeding seventeen programs, whether in the area of Olympic education workshops, diverse courses, or postgraduate studies in cooperation with a number of international and regional entities.

Comprehensiveness and Diversity of the Agenda: As part of the Qatar Olympic Academy's keenness to diversify its agenda every year through the programs, courses, and workshops offered, with the aim of reaching the widest segment of interested parties and achieving its goals, which are represented in spreading sports and Olympic culture among families and society in the State of Qatar and beyond. The agenda included the sixteenth edition of the Advanced Diploma Program in Managing Olympic Sports Institutions, accredited by the International Olympic Committee, as well as a number of Olympic education workshops. As for the diverse courses, they covered many fields, the most important of which are digitization, management of sports villages, strategic sports marketing, sports policies and legal frameworks, sustainability in sports events, and other sports and Olympic fields.

Olympic Education and Awareness Programs:

• Advanced Diploma in Managing Sports and Olympic Institutions:

The Academy is launching this year the sixteenth edition of the Advanced Diploma Program in Managing Sports and Olympic Institutions, which comes in cooperation and accreditation from Olympic Solidarity in the International Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Academy.

The program saw the light for the first time in the State of Qatar in 2008 when it was launched by the Qatar Olympic Committee, represented by the Qatar Olympic Academy, after being selected by the International Olympic Committee to be among the first twenty Olympic committees in the world and the first Gulf and Arab Olympic committee to implement this program, where the number of students so far has exceeded more than five hundred students from inside and outside the country. The diploma program also witnessed unprecedented demand in the last edition, which saw His Excellency Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Qatar Olympic Academy and President of the Qatar Olympic Committee, graduating the fourteenth batch of students from the 2024 batch, which enrolled twenty-three male and female students from inside and outside the State of Qatar from various functional and educational specializations. The enrollees in the Sports Management Diploma Program receive many sciences that serve them in their sports and administrative lives, such as structuring Olympic sports institutions, strategic planning for sports institutions, managing major events in sports institutions, and other sciences covered by the diploma from the book "Managing Olympic Sports Organizations" provided by the International Olympic Committee, which the Qatar Olympic Committee translated into Arabic. It is worth noting that the program witnesses increasing demand every year from inside and outside the State of Qatar, as it has become a shining mark on the map of the Academy's programs every year.

• Community Olympic Education Workshops: These workshops are held for one day only and are repeated throughout the year continuously, whether held inside the Academy building or outside, with the aim of spreading Olympic culture in Qatari society by introducing Olympic values and principles, and understanding the role of Olympic values and principles in advancing the sports movement and creating a suitable environment for sports competition.

• Course on Principles of the Olympic Movement in the Olympic System "Management 1":

 As part of the series of sports management programs accredited by the International Olympic Committee, which the Qatar Olympic Academy holds periodically throughout the year, the Academy offers the course on Principles of the Olympic Movement in the Sports System "Management 1", which is organized in cooperation with Olympic Solidarity in the International Olympic Committee, where this course is considered the first qualifying course for the Diploma Program in Managing Sports and Olympic Institutions. This course lasts for five days, covering many axes, the most important of which are concepts of sports management, which is defined as the art of coordinating work elements and the sports product in sports bodies and producing them in an organized manner to achieve these bodies and direct all efforts within the sports body to achieve its goals, as well as the establishment of the Olympic movement and modern Olympic Games (Olympic history), then the organization of modern summer Olympic Games in their current form in 1896 at the initiative of the Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin, President of the International Olympic Committee and founder of the modern Olympic movement.

The course then covers Olympic symbols, the Olympic Charter, and Olympic values, where the Olympic Charter is considered the constitution of the Olympic movement and the organization of the Olympic Games, and it is the collection of provisions and laws approved by the International Olympic Committee. The course also discusses administrative skills and steps to develop administrative and sports cadres, which reflect positively on the achievements made by sports federations, whether in professional sports or community sports and spreading sports in society. The course concludes with planning and resource management in sports institutions, and a test was conducted for the students on what was studied in the five days of the course.

• Course on Modern Management of Olympic Sports Institutions "Management 2"

Which discusses a number of related axes, foremost of which are administrative skills in the sports field such as the benefits of good communication and effective communication, as well as managing the work environment, managing time in sports institutions, and the importance of time management in addition to other topics, the most prominent of which are technical management, management of activities and events, as well as human resource management. The course on Modern Management in Sports Institutions (Management 2) is considered the second qualifying program for entering the Diploma Program in Managing Sports and Olympic Institutions. The Academy organizes this program in cooperation with Olympic Solidarity in the International Olympic Committee, as part of the annual series of courses to educate society on Olympic culture, which is held over five days.

This course discusses administrative skills in the sports field such as the benefits of good communication and effective communication that leads to an increase in communication efficiency, leads to a decrease in the number of errors, increases a person's motivation for higher achievements, as communication reduces the institution's costs and reduces work errors, making it easier to understand the desires of stakeholders.

It also discusses managing the work environment and time management in sports institutions through meetings between work teams, whether they are employees or different stakeholders, and the importance of time management during any work to reach the desired success, in addition to other topics, the most prominent of which are technical management, management of activities and events, as well as human resource management.

Diverse Courses Programs: The courses offered by the Qatar Olympic Academy this year vary according to the needs of the sports community for these sciences that serve sports, athletes, workers in the sports sector, and those interested in these sciences by offering these programs, courses, and supporting sciences for sports with the aim of raising the efficiency of those interested in sports through these sciences, as well as to achieve common goals with institutions, ministries, and partner entities with the Qatar Olympic Academy with the aim of integration to reach the best productivity, which reflects on sports, administrative work, and professional work in all sectors.

The most important of them are as follows:

• Digitization and Sports Management Course: This course aims to enhance the concept of digital trends and ways to transition to digital methods, as well as digitization in the audience experience in sports events, in addition to employing digital services to improve the organization of sports events, as well as reviewing how to benefit from this field in smart stadiums and facilities, as well as ways for sports federations to deal with the world of electronic sports, and also virtual reality (VR) technology, augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR). The course will also cover digital services and the perspective of stakeholders in sports institutions, and finally, it will address digital trends in broadcasting and transmitting sports events.

• Effective Strategies for Sports Training for Autism Spectrum Disorder: After the step taken by the Academy in placing this course on the agenda of the past year, which is the first of its kind in the Gulf region and the Arab world, and which witnessed great demand and in response to the increasing demand for such specialized programs, which aim to enhance understanding of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and develop sports training skills for individuals suffering from this disorder and the ideal ways and methods of dealing with them, the Academy decided to re-offer it this year. The course targets a wide range of categories, including physical education teachers, coaches in clubs and sports federations, specialists in physical and occupational therapy, behavioral and occupational therapy, in addition to specialists in supporting individuals with autism spectrum disorder through sports.

The course also includes parents who wish to acquire skills to support their children in sports activities, as it is an important step towards enhancing awareness and knowledge in this vital field. Through these efforts, the Academy contributes to empowering coaches, teachers, and parents to provide better support for individuals with autism spectrum disorder, which contributes to improving their lives and integrating them into society effectively.

• Olympic Villages Management Course: This course aims to develop administrative and organizational skills for specialists in the field of sports, specifically in organizing major sports events, with a focus on managing sports or Olympic villages, which represent accommodation and training centers for athletes during major sports events such as the Olympic or Asian Games. Especially with the State of Qatar approaching the organization of the Asian Games 2030 for the second time in history after Asiad 2006.

• Sustainability in Sports Events Course:

This course aims to enhance awareness and skills related to sustainability in organizing and managing major sports events, based on Qatari experiences that organized major sports events held in the country such as the 2022 World Cup, which focused on environmental and social sustainability. Based on global and local contexts for sustainability programs in sports, the course is part of the Academy's efforts to spread Olympic values with a focus on sustainable development, as the course aims to achieve strategic goals that align with Qatar National Vision 2030 and the global sustainable development goals.

• Strategic Marketing and Media Communication in Sports Course:

It is one of the main programs that focus on developing skills in the field of sports marketing and communication. This course aims to enhance administrative capabilities in the sports sector, based on international and local experiences such as previous courses in "Sports Marketing Management" that were held in 2025.

The course aims to link marketing with Olympic values, with a focus on innovation in light of digital and media developments.

• Sports Policies and Legal Frameworks in Sports Course:

This course focuses on understanding the legal framework that governs the sports sector locally and internationally, based on previous experiences such as the "Introduction to Sports Law" course held in 2021, as the course aims to enhance legal awareness and help participants understand sports policies and related laws, such as anti-doping and player contracts, to avoid disputes.

• Major Sports Events Management Course:

It aims to qualify specialized cadres in organizing and hosting global sports events, where the course includes main axes including an introduction to major sports events, nomination mechanisms and hosting rights, in addition to strategic planning, marketing, and media sponsorship. It also sheds light on operations management and logistical services, and human resources and volunteers management.

Al Jaber: Diversity is a Key Feature of the Agenda: In this regard,

Mr. Khalil Ibrahim Al Jaber, Executive Director of the Qatar Olympic Academy, said: We at the Qatar Olympic Academy are keen every year to diversify the agenda of programs and courses of the Qatar Olympic Academy, to be comprehensive of the most important programs that the sports community focuses on, and those interested in the field of sports sciences, and rehabilitation in its various fields, in addition to the Academy's interest and focus on educating society on Olympic values, which are considered one of the most important goals of the Academy.

The Executive Director of the Academy also extended his sincere thanks to the Board of Directors of the Qatar Olympic Academy, as well as the Qatar Olympic Committee, which is considered the main supporter of all activities of the Qatar Olympic Academy, and also thanked all partners from universities, institutions, international federations, and other partners in the programs, emphasizing the openness of the Qatar Olympic Academy to all institutions in the country to serve society through achieving common goals with everyone, which has a great impact on community development. The Executive Director also confirmed that the Academy always seeks to fully qualify individuals in communities, which benefits their institutions and communities through the programs offered by the Qatar Olympic Academy.

 He said: Thanks to God, the Advanced Diploma Program in Managing Sports and Olympic Institutions continues, and we will launch the sixteenth edition this year, and registration will open in the coming few days.

Al Jaber added: The most important thing that distinguishes the agenda of the Qatar Olympic Academy this year is that we have offered intensive and specialized courses in the sports field such as strategic marketing and media communication in sports, management of sports villages, as well as sustainability in sports events, so that these programs form a great and strong addition to workers in the sports environment and athletes, reflected in their performance each in their specialty, to benefit and productivity in its best form.