The Arab Athletics Federation ( ar, الاتحاد العربي لالعاب القوى) is an international
governing body
A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ge ...
for the
sport of athletics
Athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running, jumping, throwing sports, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and racewalking ...
.
It was founded on 15 March 1975 at a conference of Arab nations in
Rabat
Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...
, Morocco, with the aim of improving the quality of the sport in the
Arab world
The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
and foster greater international co-operation within the region. The constitution of the federation ensures that there are a president and two vice-presidents – one from an Asian Arab country and the other from an African Arab country. It also recognises and works with the
International Association of Athletics Federations
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...
(IAAF), the
Asian Athletics Association
The Asian Athletics Association is the continental governing body for the sport of athletics in Asia. It is headquartered in Singapore. It organises the Asian Championships in Athletics and other continental competitions.
The current president Qa ...
and the
Confederation of African Athletics
The Confederation of African Athletics (CAA; French: ''Confédération Africaine d'Athlétisme'') is the continental association for the sport of athletics in Africa. It is headquartered in Dakar, Senegal. It organises the African Championships in ...
. Suleiman Awwad al-Zaidi of Saudi Arabia is the current president.
The organisation's foremost event, the biennial
Arab Athletics Championships
The Arab Athletics Championships is an event organized by the Arab Athletic Association. It traditionally occurred every two years. It was not held in 1985 due to the schedule clash with the Pan Arab Games. However, due to the erratic scheduling ...
, was held two years after the federation's formation. A year later, the
Arab Cross Country Championships
The Arab Cross Country Championships ( ar, البطولة العربية ال لاختراق الضاحية) is an international competition in cross country running between Arabic countries. Organised by the Arab Athletics Federation, it was first ...
was established. The
Arab Junior Athletics Championships The Arab Junior Athletics Championships is an biennial international athletics competition between athletes under the age of 20 ( juniors) from Arabic countries. It is organised by the Arab Athletic Association.
If was first held in 1984 – seven ...
followed in 1984, and the
Arab Youth Athletics Championships
The Arab Youth Athletics Championships (french: Championnats Arabes des Cadets) is an biennial international athletics competition between youth athletes (under-18) from Arabic countries.track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
meetings to promote qualification into its championships.
The organisation also publishes an athletics periodical covering news of Arab athletes and competitions: ''Arab Hero Magazine'' ( ar, مجلة البطل العربي, ''Al Batal Al Arabi'').مجلة البطل العربي . Arab Athletics Federation. Retrieved on 2015-05-25.
Bahrain Athletics Association
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ad ...
Egyptian Athletic Federation
The Egyptian Athletic Federation is the governing body for the sport of athletics in Egypt. It is a member of the Confederation of African Athletics and World Athletics.
The Federation was founded in 1910 and currently based at the Sport Federati ...
*:
Iraqi Athletics Federation
Iraqi or Iraqis (in plural) means from Iraq, a country in the Middle East, and may refer to:
* Iraqi people or Iraqis, people from Iraq or of Iraqi descent
* A citizen of Iraq, see demographics of Iraq
* Iraqi or Araghi ( fa, عراقی), someone o ...
Palestine Athletic Federation
The Palestine Athletic Federation is the governing body for the sport of athletics in the State of Palestine. The organisation is maintained by the PLE Olympic Committee headquartered at Al Nazir Street, in Gaza City. It is a member of the Arab ...
Saudi Arabian Athletics Federation Saudi may refer to:
* Saudi Arabia
* Saudis, people from Saudi Arabia
* Saudi culture, the culture of Saudi Arabia
* House of Saud, the ruling family of Saudi Arabia
{{disambiguation ...
*:
Sudan Athletic Association
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
United Arab Emirates Athletics Federation
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...
Arab Athletics Championships
The Arab Athletics Championships is an event organized by the Arab Athletic Association. It traditionally occurred every two years. It was not held in 1985 due to the schedule clash with the Pan Arab Games. However, due to the erratic scheduling ...
– biennial athletics event for senior athletes
*
Arab Cross Country Championships
The Arab Cross Country Championships ( ar, البطولة العربية ال لاختراق الضاحية) is an international competition in cross country running between Arabic countries. Organised by the Arab Athletics Federation, it was first ...
– biennial
cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...
event for senior and junior athletes
*
Arab Junior Athletics Championships The Arab Junior Athletics Championships is an biennial international athletics competition between athletes under the age of 20 ( juniors) from Arabic countries. It is organised by the Arab Athletic Association.
If was first held in 1984 – seven ...
– biennial athletics event for junior (under-20) athletes
*