Routledge Handbook of Sport in the Middle East

Danyel Reiche, Paul Michael Brannagan, Danyel Reiche, Paul Michael Brannagan

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781000567939
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politik & Internationale Beziehungen
• Subtopic: Politik

This Handbook provides a succinct overview of sport in the Middle East, drawing in scholars from a wide variety of geographical and disciplinary backgrounds (history, politics, sociology, economics and regional studies), with different methodological approaches, to create the 'go-to' text on the subject.

After the introduction, 33 chapters from leading subject experts cover areas including history, politics, society, economy and nationhood. The authors help shed light on how certain Middle Eastern countries have become increasingly active in international sports, and the efforts made to positioning themselves as the new global 'sports hubs'. Split into five sections, the book offers a multi-disciplinary analysis of a diverse range of sports across the geographic Middle East, including football, mixed martial arts, rugby, athletics and cycling. The authors highlight and respond to issues such as the naturalisation of athletes, female athleticism, sports media and supporter cultures.

The Routledge Handbook of Sport in the Middle East stands apart from previous research through offering first-hand accounts of sport in the area from authors who live and work in the region or have a history of regularly visiting and conducting research in the region. It will be of interest to academics and students alike, in the fields of Middle East politics, sport, sport in the Middle East, international relations, governance and sociology.

Part IHistory

1Sport and Educational Development in the History of Oman

Majid Al Busafi

DOI: 10.4324/9781003032915-3

Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to bring to light the Omani sport context, which will encompass the sport organisational structure and sport and education development in the history of Oman. However, to understand the current situation of sport in Oman it is imperative to understand the geographical, historical, sociocultural, political and religious contexts of the country. Identifying the issues affecting the provision and upgrading of sports development work in a country like Oman is the first step to develop positive proposals and solutions to address the problems. Therefore, this chapter highlights the Omani contexts. It offers an original insight into the Omani sport fields. The chapter provides an in-depth review of Omani sports history, supported by the events and dates that took place. It starts with a brief introduction to the context of the study – the situational features, sport history and the current organisational structure of the sports field in Oman. The chapter also highlights the current situation of school sport and coach education in Oman.

The Omani History and Its Impact on Shaping Sport

Oman is one of the Arab Gulf countries (Gulf Co-operation Council [GCC]), which comprise the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Oman. The Sultanate of Oman is a small nation with a population of 4,645,249 of which 58.3% are Omani nationals and the remaining are expatriates (Oman Census 2020).

The geography of the country has shaped people’s activities. The geographical diversity in the Sultanate, with its long coasts, valleys, desert and mountains, requires different physical attributes and adaptations for each environment. For instance, those who live on the coast understandably focus their activities on the sea and fishing. Those who live in the interior areas, where mountains, desert and valleys dominate, are mainly involved in activities related to farming and shepherding. Accordingly, populations adapt and achieve the necessary fitness according to each environment (Al-Shamli 2008).

It is clear that the geography of the country provides opportunities for practising different kinds of sporting activities. In addition, because of the weather, generally people in Oman can start practising outdoor sport at about the approach of sunset or after that, when the temperature becomes cooler. The weather in Oman tends to be hot most of the year, especially in the period between April and August of each year, as temperatures may reach 40°C or may even increase in all governorates of the Sultanate except for the Governorate of Dhofar. The coastline, which is almost 3165 km long, gives opportunities to Omani people for practising beach sports. Therefore, it is suggested to give such sports more attention in terms of facilities. Hosting the Second Asian Beach Games in Muscat in 2010 was an opportunity that was supposed to be seized upon to build the culture of beach sports amongst Omani people.

Background of Sport Development and the Organisational Structure of Sport in Oman

Several traditional sporting activities existed in Oman and the Gulf area, which include camel racing, diving for pearls without any equipment, sailing and bullfighting. It is important to point out that, even though traditional sport activities existed in the Arabian Gulf, their participation was more for display rather than for organised sport, as we understand sport today. In general, the harsh desert conditions prevented the development of these traditional sports. It was simply a struggle to survive and such conditions did not permit people to participate in sporting activities. Consequently, there were no inter-village or inter-tribe competitions (Al-Zedjali 2005).

Generally, some of the sporting fields in Oman have been developed by people who came to Oman and then became residents. These people have come from different cultures with different meanings of sport, and they have introduced new sports. For example, people who came from Pakistan introduced cricket to Oman and started to organise cricket tournaments. Now, there is a committee (in the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth) to organise the facilities and activities of cricket in the country. In addition, organised sport first made its appearance in the Gulf area in 1914, with the introduction of field hockey, which is also the first recorded form of organised sport played, probably introduced by those from India (Al-Tauqi 1998). Historically, there is not much documented information about Omani sports before 1970; however, the limited documents mentioned that traditional games dominated. In the first quarter of the last century, youths from the cities of Muscat and Muttrah practised cricket and hockey and they got to know these games through the Indian and Asian communities in Oman. The oldest of these sports, hockey, which started being practised in 1914, was played by several hockey teams formed in the two cities. Sport in Oman began in its ‘modern’ organised form after 1970 when sports federations were established.

Starting from 1970, sport in Oman received a better package of support, which enabled it to enjoy a more equal position with other sectors of the state. The 1973 oil embargo was followed by a quadrupling of oil prices, leading to a significant transformation of Oman from a small country to a modern nation. This increased wealth has led to significant changes since the 1980s for sport in Oman, predominantly for men. The Government of Oman has built and developed sports facilities and established organisations for some major Olympic sports, fostered interest in sport amongst the youth, provided trainers and coaches from the external market and proposed laws and regulations to improve conditions for youth, stimulating youth involvement in national, regional and international competitions (Al-Zedjali 2005). It is worth noting that these facilities are more prevalent in some major cities in Oman such as Muscat (the capital) and Salalah (in the south).

Most of the national organisations for major Olympic sports were established between 1973 and 1988. For example, the National Swimming Association and the National Hockey Association were established in 1973 and the National Football Association was established in 1978. The national Omani Olympic Committee (OOC) was created in 1982 and joined the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the same year. Oman first participated in the Olympic Games in 1984 (Ahmed 1996; Al-Tauqi 1998; Ministry of Sports Affairs 2010). However, the participation of Oman in the Olympic Games is still low. For example, only four Omani athletes participated in three sports in the Olympic Games in China in 2008 (swimming, athletics and shooting) and Oman has yet to gain a single Olympic medal.

The History of Organisational Structure of Sport in Oman

The Omani sport sector in the past 50 years has been managed by different ministries and bodies. In 1972, it was under the Ministry of Transportation, Labour, and Social Affairs. Then, in 1976, the sport sector was transferred to the Ministry of Youth Affairs by Royal Decree 12/76. After three years, the Ministry of Information was assigned, by Royal Decree 28/79, to the task of managing and running the sport sector’s activities. In 1982, the responsibility for supervision of sport was entrusted to the Ministry of Education and in 1986 its title was amended accordingly to read Ministry of Education and Youth Affairs. In 1989, the higher counsel approved an integrated national plan for expanding and improving youth facilities. Royal Decree 113/91 in December 1991 moved the sport sector under the General Organization of Sport and Youth Activities (GOSYA) to be supervised by a council of ministers (Al-Tauqi 1998). Then, the Royal Decree (120 in 2004) created the Ministry of Sports Affairs (Ministry of Legal Affairs 2010a; Ministry of Sports Affairs 2010). The last transfer of the sport sector was by Royal Decree 87 in 2020 which created the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth. It was set up to work with other relevant bodies, in helping the Sultanate’s youth develop their sporting talents and potential.

The transfer of the supervision of sport and youth activities from ministry to ministry, coupled with the development of the sport sector from a small department to a larger organisation, has affected the structure of the sport delivery system in terms of specialisation (jobs and committees), standardisation (protocols and policies) and complexity (department and programmes). It has also changed the criteria and principles governing the servicing of sport organisation (Al-Tauqi 1998; Al-Zedjali 2005).

Currently, sport and all its activities in Oman are under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, to which the sports federations, clubs and Oman Olympic Committee report, with the ministry providing financial support to all sport bodies. The sports federations are the supreme bodies that govern sports clubs, and their main task is to develop and promote the sport they represent. Whilst many of these federations have professional salaried staff to manage affairs on a day-to-day basis and some of the major sports (such as football) have many administrators, those who decide policy are elected by members of the General Assembly. The methods of election are based on a democratic constitution, which may only be changed by the general assembly (Ministry of Sport Affairs 2009c).

Regarding the sources of funding, although there is no clear information, the Shura Council stated in 2010 that the government (through the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth) is the main source of funding sports clubs (42% of their total budgets), federations (80% of their total budgets) and national sport committees (100% of their total budgets) (Shura Council 2010). It seems that the situation is still the same today. To give a specific example, the Omani Football Association (OFA) has several funding sources; however, the only published printed source obtained is the government support, which accounts for about 70% of the total budget; this percentage will increase in the case of organising international football events. Membership does no...