Maersk Oil Exclusive Sponsor of Schools Olympic Program (SOP) for Three Years

Doha, July 25 (QNA) - The Organizing Committee of the Schools Olympic Program (SOP) held a joint press conference with Maersk Oil Qatar (MOQ) on Thursday at the Qatar Olympic Committee tower. During the conference, the MOQ was announced to be the exclusive sponsor of the Schools Olympic Program for a 3-year period, starting from the 7th edition which will commence during the upcoming school year of 2013/2014. The sponsorship agreement was signed by Mr Lewis Affleck, Managing Director of Maersk Oil Qatar and Mr. Mohamed Al-Fadhala, the Executive Director of SOP. The event was attended by officials from Maersk, SOP, as well as a number of QOC officials and local media representatives. Last May, The Qatar Olympic Committee and the SOP Organizing Committee announced that they will organize the seventh edition of SOP under the theme " Sports and Integrity", that in cooperation with their permanent partners , the Supreme Education Council, Qatar School Sport Association, Qatar Paralympic Committee beside Ministry of Interior, International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS), Qatar Anti-Doping Commission and Qatar Anti-Doping Laboratory as strategic partners for this edition. The QOC and The SOP Organizing Committee also unveiled that shooting sport is enlisted to SOP as a new game, accordingly the total SOP sport events increased to reach 11 sport events, including volleyball, basketball, football, handball, athletics, tennis, gymnastics, swimming, fencing, table tennis and shooting Also, The Organizing Committee of the SOP announced before that the opening ceremony of the seventh edition will be staged on Wednesday, September 25, 2013. The sports competitions will begin on Monday, September 30, 2013 and the closing ceremony of girls competitions will be held on Thursday, April 03, 2014 while boys competitions will come to an end on Friday, April 04, 2014.(QNA)