In the latter part of my life, I started a regular routine of morning exercises. When I enjoy that tremendous sense of health and happiness that follows my exercise session, I look back in regret at that stage of my life when I didn’t focus more on exercise because I was so busy with work. I didn’t realise then that the opposite was true. If you want to accomplish more work during the working day, it is important to dedicate that morning time to exercise. If you want to enjoy life more, you need to exercise more.
The other thing that pleases me and motivates me in the morning is reading good news, especially about the achievements of Bahrain on various levels, including sport. The banner of pictures of our young heroes obtaining achievements in individual and group games and raising the flag of our beloved country in various sporting forums gives me a special thrill.
When I look at the progress that sport is witnessing in Bahrain, and when I see more professional Bahrainis in various sports, and others who strive to exercise regularly in clubs and public places, I realise that our minds and bodies are fine, our physical and psychological health is fine, and that the future of Bahrain is fine.
This major transformation took place in Bahrain with the determination and support of Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, representative of His Majesty King Hamad for charity work and youth affairs and Supreme Council for Youth and Sports chairman. His sound strategy towards playing sport as an integral part of the Bahraini lifestyle. He has done this by encouraging more individuals and sports teams to do their best to ascend podiums locally, regionally and globally, until gold became the standard feature of Bahrain’s performance in many sporting fields.
His Majesty’s patronage of the “Charter of Gold” ceremony, on the 19th anniversary of the vote on the National Action Charter, is a prominent affirmation of Bahrain and Bahrainis’ pride in their accomplishments at various levels. This is especially evident in the field of sports, where His Majesty prefers to launch The Gold Bank website, which includes detailed information about the achievements of the youth and sports movement, their photos, and information about their accomplishments. There is no doubt that Bahrain’s achievements in 390 sports in the past year represents compelling evidence of the ability of these people to achieve, and an indication of their ability to accomplish more in the coming years.
On this issue, it must be noted the ability of Youth and Sports Affairs Minister Ayman Tawfiq Almoayyad to understand and undertake implementation of the strategy for sport development in Bahrain. And to transform that strategy into an executive plan and a daily work programme that guarantees the improvement of the performance, inputs and outputs of various sports and youth centres, and to achieve sustainable sporting development.
Sport also plays an important role in the field of social security, education, and the promotion of a system of higher values for society. Sports cannot be a physical activity only nor can we mention it in isolation from its social and economic aspects. All these are interrelated and affect sports, just as sport has become a means to address intolerance and build positive relationships between countries and individuals.
When we increase interest in sports, we raise our readiness to play within a team, we ensure harmony between team members, and between all the different teams that play to raise the name of Bahrain high. This is what I see in the “Bahrain team” that expands to include all Bahrainis and works for the benefit of Bahrain as a whole.
I confirm that investing in sports is an investment in people, and an investment in the future. I would almost say that if sports in a country is fine, then the whole country is fine.
akram@fp7.com