YEMEN SPORTS ACHIEVEMENTS OVER PAST 20 YEARS

By: Basheer al-Selwi

SANA'A, May 17 (Saba) - The sports sector in Yemen has witnessed a remarkable development on the national scene since the Reunification Day on May 22nd, 1990.

This development represented in adopting a strategy to support and develop sports games and facilities for preparation qualified sports cadres to contribute with active role in serving the national development.

For twenty years, the Ministry of Youth and Sports has sought to collect youth and athletes and unify the sports frameworks and realize the requirements of changing to raise the reality of young people and sports through the establishment of federations, clubs and sports teams for the importance of the sport activity and its
vital role in the life of youth.

According to a report issued by the ministry, the Yemeni sport has made good progress at the level of sport activity internally and externally since the declaration of Yemen's reunification. The number of sports clubs amounted to 322 in all provinces of the country, compared with 125 sports clubs in 1990

Now there are 28 sports federations instead of 14 federations in 1999, and the number of sports centers that have been established for youth and athletes reached 129 centers for training the players on the sports tactics skills and fitness in all games, which nearly reach 28 games.

The report also highlighted the actions and polices have been implemented by the ministry since 1990, most notably of which are joining the sports federations and the National Olympic Committee to the membership of the international sports federations and the International Olympic Committee, and the recognition of Yemen sport regionally and internationally.

The report indicated the support provided by sport ministry for the participation of Yemen's athletes in the regional, Arab and international tournaments, and the rewards allocated for those who made significant achievements in the tournaments, which gave them motivation to win colorful medals and advanced positions.

The report presented the executive plan of the election program of President Ali Abdullah Saleh on the sports activity of youth people and youth and promoting women's sports thorough the establishment of Women Sport Federation and expanding the federation's activity to include most provinces ,in addition to forming women sports teams and opening independent clubs for women sports.

Exercising sports by women comes in the framework of the political leadership support to women in the various fields, including the sports field, so as not to interfere with Islam and the society's values, culture and morals, the report stressed.

Regarding Yemen's sports achievements in the regional, Arab and international events, the report reviewed a number of accomplishments and indicators of significances. Qualification of the national football team for youth to the Final Asian Football Cup and winning the second place in 2002, the qualification to the World Cup 2003 in Finland in the Asian qualifying competition in 2008 in Dammam, Saudi Arabia and again in the Asian Cup in China, 2010 are the good example.

The report listed the names of Yemen sports figures, who won memberships in some Arab unions of various games, including Head of Arab Federation for Kung Fu in 2009, Head of Arab Federation for Judo in 2009 and Deputy Head of Arab Federation for Table Tennis in 2009.

Moreover, the report enumerated the names of athletes who have scored colored medals in individual and collective sports games in the Arab and regional tournaments.

According to the report of the ministry " Facts and Figures", the Yemen first Olympic participation emerged in 1992 in the 25th Olympic Games held in Barcelona ,Spain, followed by Atlanta's 26th in 1996, which comes with aim of participation and contacting with the Asian and international champions of those athletics.

Believing in the importance of sport, the ministry realized the significance of expanding the activities of the different sports and supporting plans and programs of the federations and clubs to involve the athletes and youth in the sports workplace and to form sports teams and supply them with qualified sports cadres.

Since 1990, the ministry has worked to establish the Child and Youth Welfare Fund in 1996 to support the sport activities, federations' plans and clubs' programs and allocated sufficient financial budgets to highlight those activities and hold competition between the teams and clubs and compete in the external tournaments.

There was a need to develop sports projects that contribute to enhancing the role of youth .Therefore the ministry created the Higher Institute of Physical Education, and built covered and opened sports halls for practicing the sports activities, in addition to
the establishment of President Awards for Yong People in the scientific, intellectual and creative areas.

Eventually, the ministry began to construct youth places and develop sports facilities of federations and clubs and youth centers and establish the common draft statute of the sports and cultural clubs and the draft statutes of the sports, cultural and social
Federations and clubs, and set up the Sports Medicine Centre.

According to the report, the games of football, volleyball basketball, chess, table tennis, athletics, taekwondo, karate, bodybuilding, judo and wrestling have occupied the forefront of games after the declaration of Yemen reunification in 1990, through
the expansion of their activities between the clubs and sports teams.

Undersecretary of Ministry of Youth for the Sports Sector Abdul Hamid al-Saidi told Saba that the accomplishments achieved for the sport of Yemen, both at the internal and external levels reflect the positive draw lines outlined by President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

He added that the ministry would focus its trends and efforts for the coming period on supporting all sports games of health benefits that are commensurate with the society expectations and putting the sports in its rightful place through the general development plane of the State.

"We will seek to achieve sports for all with its educational objectives as a broad base for practicing sports", he said, affirming the keenness to support the youth and athletes and enhance their creative skills and professional abilities in the various fields, including sports.

The ministry, since 1990, has sought to support the different sports games and launched the National Strategy for Childhood and Youth in 1999 to meet the needs of young people in the various areas and contribute to qualifying youth cadres professionally and scientifically, General Director of Sports Activity in the Ministry of Youth and Sports Khalid Hussein said to Saba.

"Realizing the importance of sports, we in the ministry of youth have worked during the past period to support the popular sports festivals and the military and schools sports", he added confirming that the ministry is keen to expand the sports activity and interested in the sport of people with special needs, as the ministry is responsible for training of various segments of the society.