The Arab Games ( ar, الألعاب العربية), also called the Pan Arab Games, are a regional

multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of interna ...

held between nations from 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 ...

. They are organized by the

Union of Arab National Olympic Committees The Union of Arab National Olympic Committees (acronym: UANOC; ar, إتحاد اللجان الأولمبية الوطنية العربية) is an international organization that unites the 22 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of the Arab world ...

. The first Games took place in 1953 in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. Intended to be held every four years since, political turmoil as well as financial difficulties have made the event an unstable one. Women first competed in 1985.

History

The Arab Games were the brainchild of Abdul Rahman Hassan Azzam, the first General Secretary of the

Arab League The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...

(1945–1952). In 1947, Azzam submitted a memorandum to the League, advocating a multi-sport tournament which involved the participation of all Arab countries. According to Azzam, sport serves as the best way to connect the youth of Arab countries and enable them to build the future of the

Arab identity Arab identity ( ar, الهوية العربية ) is the objective or subjective state of perceiving oneself as an Arab and as relating to being Arab. Like other cultural identities, it relies on a common culture, a traditional lineage, the com ...

. As a common favorite of young individuals, sports tournaments encourage them to reach out across boundaries, bond with fellow Arabs, and eliminate differences among them. In the same vein, Azzam announced that the youth of the larger Arab nation is eager to gather all the dispersed Arab sports in an annual tournament which will be held in one of the Arab cities. However, the Arab Games tournament did not gain official approval until 1953, when Ahmed El Demerdash Touny, an Egyptian national and a member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

(IOC), managed to convince the concerned parties within the Arab League that an Arab Games tournament would be instrumental to the overall success of the Arab identity. In response to Touny's proposal, the Arab League agreed on establishing the Arab Games, making

the first country to organise an Arab Games tournament, which was held in the city of

from 26 July, – 10 August 1953. Eight Arab nations and Indonesia competed in the first Arab Games tournament. The 2011 Games started in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

on 9 December with the Emir

Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Hamad bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani ( ar, حمد بن خليفة الثاني; born 1 January 1952) is a member of the ruling Al Thani Qatari royal family. He was the ruling Emir of Qatar from 1995 ...

inaugurating the event at the

Khalifa International Stadium Khalifa International Stadium (, , ) is a multi-purpose stadium located in Al Rayyan, Qatar, around west from the centre of Doha. Its ground comprises a running track and a grass pitch. Opened in 1976, the stadium was named after then-Emir ...

Complications

Typically the games are to take place every four years; however, the last Arab Games were held in 2011 and because of the recent events in the Middle East the games have been postponed with no set date in sight. Initially Lebanon was set to host the 2015 XIII Pan Arab Games, but "withdrew because of the crisis in the Middle East". Following Beirut's withdrawal Morocco was then chosen to host the games, but faced financial complications and also withdrew. "

Mohamed Ouzzine Mohamed Ouzzine ( ar, محمد أوزين; born 5 January 1969) is a Moroccan politician of the Popular Movement. He was the Minister of Youth and Sports in Abdelilah Benkirane's government from 2012 to 2015. Previously he was Secretary of Stat ...

, Morocco's Minister of Youth and Sports t the time, wrote tothe

(UANOC) telling them that they would be withdrawing." The same year, Egypt volunteered to host the event. "Sheikh Khalid Al Zubair, chairman of the

Oman Olympic Committee Oman Olympic Committee ( ar, اللجنة الأولمبية العمانية, IOC code: OMA) is the National Olympic Committee representing Oman. External links Oman Olympic Committee Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially t ...

(OOC)" said, "We will be offering our full support to Egypt and we have also taken a decision to suspend the financial regulations and other requirements due to lack of time." Had the UANOC accepted Egypt's proposition the games would have taken place in December 2015; however, no such event was held and there have been no formal statements made in regards to the possibility of future games. Because of the current events in the Middle East there is no telling when the next Arab Games will take place or what country may host the games. If the UANOC keeps the same schedule for holding the games every four years the next games would have taken place in 2019 with an entirely new host country and no reference to the mishap of the 2015 Arab Games.

Editions

* ''*

United Arab Republic The United Arab Republic (UAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية المتحدة, al-Jumhūrīyah al-'Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 until 1971. It was initially a political union between Eg ...

with

and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

.'' * ''**

with

only.''

Sports

37 sports were presented in the Pan Arab Games history.

All-time medal table

Below is the medal table of the Arab Games tournaments, up until the 12th tournament 2011. * ''* The

(1958–1971) contains 2 countries

.''

References

Sources

*Bell, Daniel (2003). ''Encyclopedia of International Games''. McFarland and Company, Inc. Publishers, Jefferson, North Carolina. .

External links

Athletics medalistsArab Games 2011 official websiteArab Games 2011 Exhibition and Timeline
{{International multi-sport events Multi-sport events Sport in the Arab world Arab League Recurring sporting events established in 1953