From 2 to 6 March 2020, OSF organised a successful sports business trade mission to Qatar, with a delegation of 12 Dutch companies. The mission was part of a multi-year program which focusses on Sports, Innovation & Vitality. In this program, the Dutch companies work closely together with the Dutch government, like the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports and the Dutch Embassy in Doha.
Fruitful meetings
One of the highlights of the trade mission was Qatar Sport Accelerator's matchmaking event. After a few plenary presentations, the participants had the opportunity to meet several stakeholders from Qatar, such as the Qatar Football Association, several Ministries, the Qatar Foundation, Qatar Airways, Qatar Sports Investment, Qatar SportsTech, Aspire, and a plethora of construction companies. This resulted in a lot of fruitful individual meetings.
Later that day, a meeting took place with Admares. The company is involved in the development of floating hotels for the FIFA World Cup 2022.
Meetings with Qatari stakeholders
On day 2, several meetings were planned with the Qatar Olympic Committee, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy and Qatar University. Each of these important Qatari stakeholders are involved in organising the majority of the sport events and play a significant part in the sports ecosystem in Qatar.
In the evening, a network reception was organised at the residence of Dutch Ambassador H.E. Frederique de Man with over 50 guests from Qatar.
Breakout sessions
The sport business trade mission was concluded with various breakout seminars. The Dutch delegation was split into two parts. While one part met up with the Qatar Stars League and Al Arabi Football Club at the Dutch Embassy in Doha, the main part of the delegation attended the Healthy Food, Healthy Lifestyle Seminar. The meetup was a collaboration of the Ministry of Public Health and H.E. Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al Thani. During the seminar, several presentations took place from Choices International, Wageningen University and the Ministry of Public Health in Qatar. The day ended with an interesting round table session and lunch.
Read our mission brochure for more information about the participants and watch our video report of the sports trade mission to Qatar.