ASPIRE4SPORT conference concludes

The third edition of the ASPIRE4SPORT conference concluded today, attracting over 4200 visitors, almost 1000 delegates, 92 speakers, and hundreds of exhibitors and media to the four-day event at Aspire Dome. The last day of the event witnessed an announcement by Qatar Sports League and the Qatar Hockey Federation of a collaboration to bring six of the most competitive hockey teams to compete in Qatar in an Asian Hockey Championship in Qatar titled ‘The Ultimate International Hockey Showdown,’ due to take place from the 20th to 27th December 2012. The final discussion in the ‘Stars Chat’ series featured Martina Hingis, the Swiss tennis star who won five Grand Slam single titles and spent 209 weeks as the number one player in the world. The tennis legend discussed her relationship with Melanie Molitorov?, both as her mother and as her coach, and the role she played in her tennis career. Hingis cited her as the one person who was able to keep her focused: “Everybody needs somebody there to push you. Being a mother, you want your child to be happy, but she also wanted the best out of me.” The discussion with Hingis crowned a series of panels with an illustrious list of sporting legends, including Anthony Joshua, super-heavyweight Olympic gold medalist; Dikembe Mutombo, NBA legend; Ruud Gullit, Dutch football idol and former European and World Footballer of the Year; and Ra?l Gonz?lez, Spanish striker who currently plays for the Qatar Stars League club Al Sadd. Additional highlights of the last day included a Q&A session with Nasser Al Khater, Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee Communication and Marketing Director and Yasir Al Jamal, Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee Technical Director. Key questions addressed the timing of the FIFA 2022 World Cup, Al Khater stated that as of yet, there are no plans to move the event from the summer months; however, if the date is adjusted due to the heat, the stadia will be completed by 2021 and therefore will not affect the event. Al Khater also stressed the importance of creating a legacy ten years prior to the event as opposed to ten years after the event: “The legacy committee started in January 2012, and it is involved in all plans. Legacy has always been part of the plan including cooling technologies and modular structures. Our cooling technology will be revolutionary and it will be something people can learn from.” Over 250 business-to-business meetings were conducted between partners, exhibitors and key organisations within the sporting industry, including the Qatar Olympic Committee, UAE Olympic Committee, Aspire Zone Foundation, the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, Public Authority 4 Youth and Sports Kuwait. Three forums were held over the course of the event, ASPIRE MED, ASPIRE TECH, and ASPIRE BUILD, while the ASPIRE4SPORT expo giving over 170 exhibitors the opportunity to showcase the latest products and services in the sports industry. Lumatron, lighting suppliers dedicated to providing innovative products and solutions, stated: “We provide lighting to leading companies across Qatar, including the Pearl, Katara, the TORCH Doha Hotel, and the State Mosque to name a few. ASPIRE4SPORT is an opportunity for us to meet entrepreneurs, contractors, subcontractors and consultants within the industry and make connections that might lead to future business opportunities.”