Minister of Sports

Monday, July 13, 2026

Two full years separate us from the Olympic arena in Los Angeles 2028, and only two months from the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan. I admit that - for years - I have been among the most frustrated Saudis about the future of our Olympic participation, and I feel that Los Angeles is a repeat of the failure of Paris.

I wrote years ago, during the tenure of former Olympic Committee President Prince Nawaf bin Faisal, specifically about this idea: that the geographical regions of the Kingdom are not similar in their characteristics, but rather are human and sports treasures waiting for someone to read them scientifically and invest in them through specialized schools starting from childhood.

I do not know what is happening today inside the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, but I am certain that 2034 must be the biggest strategic goal, because the Kingdom is not only hosting the Asian Games, but is announcing the birth of a Saudi generation competing for gold, not just celebrating the organization.

Olympic sports - since their inception - are governed not so much by talent as by geography, regions, and territoriality. You can put a world map in front of you and then distribute Olympic medals according to athletes' entitlements, and you will find long-distance medals heading to East Africa, sprints to the United States and Caribbean countries, and a large share of swimming and table tennis to China. Each region has athletes shaped by environment, climate, and lifestyle. Then institutions come to refine those advantages until they become champions.

I see that sports that rely on the use of equipment, such as shooting, archery, and equestrian, seem closest to achieving an honorable Olympic presence, because they depend not only on innate physical characteristics, but on precision, discipline, and years of practice. These are fields in which the Kingdom can build national schools capable of competing. On the other hand, there are sports that we must reread geographically; it is not required to try everything everywhere.

Your Highness the Minister.. The Kingdom today possesses facilities, unprecedented support, expertise, and diverse sports regions, but it needs a national project for talent discovery based on 'geography of sport.' A project that starts from school, specialized regional centers, and ends at Olympic podiums. Los Angeles 2028 may be a difficult station to change the image only, but the road to 2034 is still open.

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- Dr. Theyab bin Awad Al-Hajili

@TheyabAlhejaili

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