Oman’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth is open to hosting world-class sports tournaments, according to H E Rashad al Hinai, undersecretary in the ministry, and the emphasis is on ‘events that neighbouring GCC nations are not involved with’.

Speaking on the sidelines of a press meet to announce details of the inaugural FIH Hockey5s World Cup, H E Hinai said, “We are now more open to hosting world-class events to boost the profile of the sultanate on all fronts. “We have good infrastructure not just for sports but also have a lot of tourism potential that we would like the world to know. We are delighted that the FIH [International Hockey Federation] has awarded the inaugural Hockey5s World Cup to Oman and we are confident that it would be a successful event.”

“The ministry expects the respective associations to prepare strong bids well in advance. If it’s a bid that adds value to the sultanate, then we are behind them.

According to H E HinaiOman is not in competition with the neighbouring GCC countries to host big sports events. “We have been the front-runners in hosting world-class sailing championships and we have a couple of them later this year. Likewise Hockey5s is also unique as hockey is a very old game in Oman. We stand apart and are not in a race with anyone. We go by the merit of the tournament.”