Sport policies of the Arab League

The Arab States have tried to form unions in several non-political organizations. Sport was one of the Main Categories to Unify Arabs. Several Tournament and Games were created to let Arab Participate in Sports, to bring the Arab World closer to each other.

Pan Arab Games

The Pan Arab Games were created in 1953 with a grand opening in Alexandria which held the first Games there; the games were suppose to take place each four years, like the Olympics. Several political problems had made this difficult, the Games included most Olympic Athletic Games, Egypt with 985 medals over the years is the most medal winner, followed by Syria with 692 medals then Algeria with 624 medals, Mauritania and Comoros are the only two Arab States that never won a medal in the games.

Arab Champions League

Originally Arab Cup Winners' Cup then merged into the Arab Champions League, similar to the European UEFA.

Arab Olympic Achievements

In nearly 100 years of Olympic competition, the combined tally of medals won by all Arab countries is 73.

At 22 countries, the Arab nations constitute almost 11 per cent of the total number of participating nations (204). However, the average number of medals won - 3.48 medals every four years - has been uninspiring. In the last Olympic games in Athens, for example, Arab countries won only 10 of the 929 medals available - a little over one per cent

Egypt

Though the modern version of the Olympic games began in 1896, it was not until 1912 that Arabs appeared on the international sporting scene.

Egypt became the first Arab country to send an Olympic delegation - fencer Ahmed Hassanein - to the 1912 Stockholm games.

Sixteen years later, Egypt won its first competitions - two gold medals in weightlifting and wrestling and a silver and bronze in diving - at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics.

Since then it has maintained its competitive edge over other Arab countries and leads the Olympic chart among Arab nations with a total of 23 medals.

In Beijing, Egypt is represented with the largest Arab delegation of more than 100 athletes competing in handball, field hockey, badminton, synchronised swimming, judo, boxing, taekwondo, athletics, fencing and the pentathlon.

Morocco

The 1984 Los Angeles Olympics marked a watershed moment for Arab athletics when Morocco's Nawal El Moutawakel became the first Arab woman to win a gold medal, participating in the 400m hurdles.

Fellow countryman Said Aouita also brought home the gold in the 5000m men's marathon.

Moroccan talent continued to emerge as athletic sensation Hicham El Guerrouj returned from the 2004 Athens Olympics with two gold medals in the 1500m and 5000m races. Morocco comes in second to Egypt with 19 Olympic medals.

Others

Hosted Tournaments

* 1957 African Cup of Nations - Sudan
* 1959 African Cup of Nations - Egypt
* 1965 African Cup of Nations - Tunisia
* 1970 African Cup of Nations - Sudan
* 1974 African Cup of Nations - Egypt
* 1978 All-Africa Games - Algiers
* 1980 AFC Asian Cup - Kuwait
* 1982 African Cup of Nations - Libya
* 1986 African Cup of Nations - Egypt
* 1988 African Cup of Nations - Morocco
* 1988 AFC Asian Cup - Qatar
* 1990 African Cup of Nations - Algeria
* 1991 All-Africa Games - Egypt
* 1994 African Cup of Nations - Tunisia
* 1996 AFC Asian Cup - UAE
* 2000 AFC Asian Cup - Lebanon
* 2004 African Cup of Nations - Tunisia
* 2006 African Cup of Nations - Egypt
* 2007 Asian Summer Games - Doha
* 2007 All-Africa Games - Algeirs

Future Hosting Events

* 2014 African Cup of Nations (Libya)
* 2010 Asian Beach Games (Muscat)
* 2011 AFC Asian Cup (Doha)

Possible Candidate Hosts

* Asian Indoor Games 2011 (Doha)
* Summer Olympics 2016 (Doha)
* FIFA Football World Cup 2018 (Doha)