Manama: His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, President of the General Sports Authority, and President of the Bahrain Olympic Committee, visited the World Aquatics Centre of Excellence at the University of Technology Bahrain.
According to Bahrain News Agency, Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad was accompanied by prominent officials including His Highness Shaikh Salman bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Vice President of the General Sports Authority, and His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa, Vice President of the Bahrain Olympic Committee. The visit also included Dr. Abdulrahman Sadiq Askar, CEO of the General Sports Authority, and Fares Mustafa Al Kooheji, Secretary General of the Bahrain Olympic Committee, among others.
The visit focused on reviewing the progress of the region's first specialised project for advancing aquatic sports and developing elite athletes. The centre, a collaboration between World Aquatics and GFH Group, aims to nurture future champions and is currently around 60% complete.
Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad toured the Olympic-sized pool and athlete facilities, receiving briefings on the project's remaining phases and the university's preparations to welcome World Aquatics scholarship students in the next academic year.
Highlighting the centre as a pioneering model, Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad noted its significance in enhancing Bahrain's sports infrastructure and its potential to establish the Kingdom as a regional hub for aquatic sports. He also stressed the value of public-private partnerships in creating sustainable sports environments and urged for the project's swift completion to benefit local and international aquatic athletes.