FIVB President met with Maldives Olympic Committee leadership, Maldives Marketing and PR Corporation and Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment
FIVB President Dr Ary S. Graça F° today met with high-level sports and government officials from the Maldives to discuss the huge potential to develop beach volleyball at a high-level in the country, in addition to increasing tourism by hosting world-class beach volleyball events.
In particular, the FIVB President met with Maldives National Olympic Committee President Mohamed Abdul Sattar and Secretary General Thamooh Ahmed Saeed where he highlighted the importance of exploring opportunities for support such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Olympic Solidarity, which aims to provide assistance to National Olympic Committees (NOCs) for athlete development programmes.
FIVB President Dr Ary S. Graça F° also stressed the need to work together to achieve great results, stating:
“Beach volleyball has the huge potential to develop and grow in the Maldives. However, for beach volleyball to truly flourish at a high-level will require great teamwork and cooperation between the Maldives Government, Maldives Olympic Committee and Volleyball Association of Maldives.
“By working as a united team, I have no doubt that the Maldives will begin to achieve great results in beach volleyball as together they are the perfect fit. And I believe that, through hard work, the Maldives can become a perfect showcase of how smaller island can develop volleyball to a high international standard.”
The Maldives Olympic Committee President welcomed the idea of working closely together to ensure the development of the sport in the Maldives while elevating the level of its national teams.
During his visit, the FIVB President also met with the Managing Director of the Maldives Marketing and PR Corporation, Mr Thoyyib Mohamed. They were able to discuss the fast-growing sports tourism industry and explore opportunities for the Maldives to host world-class international events as part of the recently launched Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour.
“Hosting a world-class beach volleyball in the Maldives would be the perfect opportunity to showcase the best of the sport alongside the authentic, traditional culture of the island,” said the FIVB President.
Mr Thoyyib Mohamed also noted that the Maldives will next year celebrate the Golden Jubilee Year of Tourism 2022, marking 50 years of the tourism industry in the country. The ways in which beach volleyball could help to enhance this milestone year were discussed at length.
Finally, the FIVB President had the pleasure of meeting the Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, Mr Ahmed Mahloof, to further discuss how the FIVB will be supporting the Volleyball Association of Maldives through Volleyball Empowerment.
Both parties also agreed that developing beach volleyball was an ideal first step for the Maldives due to the low number of athletes needed to field teams and the accessibility of the sport. In addition, the Minister commended the sport for being gender equal by nature and easily accessible.
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