The 2006 Asian Games, officially known as the XV Asiad or 15th Asian Games (Arabic: دورة الألعاب الآسيوية الخامسة عشرة, and commonly known as Doha 2006, was an Asian multi-sport event held in Doha, Qatar from December 1 to 15, 2006, with 424 events in 39 sports featured in the games. Doha was the first city in its region and only the second in West Asia to host the games. The city will host the games again in 2030.
Khalifa International Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Al Rayyan, Qatar, around 9 kilometres west from the centre of Doha. Its ground comprises a running track and a grass pitch. Opened in 1976, the stadium was named after then Emir of Qatar Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani. Under the ownership of the Qatar Football Association, it serves as the primary home ground of the Qatar men's national football team. Its current fully-roofed, 45,857-seat configuration was opened in 2017, following a previous reconfiguration in 2005 that incorporated the stadium into the Aspire Zone complex and added a roofed grandstand; boosting its capacity from 20,000 to 40,000.
Lusail is the second-largest city in Qatar after Doha, and the economic capital of Qatar, located on the coast, in the southern part of the municipality of Al Daayen. Lusail lies about 23 kilometres (14 mi) north of the Doha city centre, just north of the West Bay Lagoon, on over 38 square kilometres (15 sq mi) and will eventually have the infrastructure to accommodate 450,000 people. Of these 450,000 people, it is estimated that there will be 250,000 or fewer residents, 190,000 office workers and 60,000 retail workers.
Jassim bin Hamad Stadium is an association football stadium in Doha, Qatar, located about 5 kilometres west from the centre of Doha. It is the home of the Al Sadd Sports Club's association football team, who play in the top-flight Qatar Stars League, and is occasionally used by the Qatar men's and women's national football teams as one of their home grounds. Named after the then-Qatari Minister of Youth and Sports Jassim bin Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani, who had provided permission for Al Sadd's founding members to form the group in 1969, the stadium was opened in 1975, and has since been renovated twice; once for the 17th Arabian Gulf Cup in 2004, and again in 2010. In addition to hosting all matches of the Arabian Gulf Cup in 2004, the stadium has hosted numerous international association football matches throughout its history, including matches of the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup, the football tournaments at the 2006 Asian Games and 2011 Pan Arab Games, and two editions of the Italian super cup, the Supercoppa Italiana.
The Qatar Football Association is the governing body of football in Qatar. The QFA was founded in 1960 and is based in Doha, Qatar. It became a member of FIFA in 1963 and of AFC in 1967. The Qatar Football Association organizes the main leagues of the Qatar football league system: Qatar Stars League, Qatari Second Division, including domestic cups: Qatar Cup, Emir of Qatar Cup, Sheikh Jassim Cup, Qatari Stars Cup and Qatar FA Cup. The association is also responsible for the men's, U-17, U-20, U-23, women's national teams and the local women's, youth and futsal football leagues.
Aspire Zone, also known as Doha Sports City, is a 250-hectare (2.5 km2) sporting complex located in the Baaya district of Al Rayyan, a suburb of Doha, Qatar. Owned by the Aspire Zone Foundation, it was established as an international sports destination in 2003 and in the following year an educational centre for the development of sporting champions was opened. The complex contains several sporting venues, mostly constructed in preparation for the 2006 Asian Games.
Seven cities submitted bids for 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics on September 13, 2007, aiming to host the Games of the XXXI Olympiad. All of them were recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on September 14, 2007, becoming Applicant cities. Although several cities submitted to be in consideration to host the 2016 Olympics, including New York City and Los Angeles, on June 4, 2008, the IOC Executive Board shortlisted the four strongest bids to become Candidate cities. Those cities were Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo; the decisions were made during a meeting in Athens, Greece. The remaining Applicant cities—Baku, Doha and Prague—were eliminated.
The 2011 Arab Games also known as the 12th Arab Games took place in Doha, Qatar from 6 to 23 December 2011. This was the first time that the country had hosted the multi-sport event. Khalifa International Stadium was the main venue for the competition.
The Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex is a tennis and squash complex in Doha, Qatar. The center is owned and operated by the Qatar Tennis Federation. It is the home venue of the ATP World Tour's Qatar ExxonMobil Open and WTA event Qatar Total Open. It formerly hosted the year-ending WTA Tour Championships in 2008–2010. It has also hosted the tennis and squash competitions at the 2006 Asian Games, as well as the 2021 Padel World Championship.
Sport in Qatar is primarily centred on football in terms of participation and spectators. Additionally, athletics, basketball, handball, volleyball, camel racing, horse racing, cricket and swimming are also widely practised. There are currently eleven multi-sports clubs in the country and seven single-sports clubs.
Doha is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It is also Qatar's fastest growing city, with over 80% of the nation's population living in Doha or its surrounding suburbs, known collectively as the Doha Metropolitan Area.
The Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup bid was a successful bid by Qatar to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. With a population of 2 million people, Qatar was the first Arab state to host the World Cup. Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, son of Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani the then Emir of Qatar, was the chairman of the bid committee. Qatar promoted their hosting of the tournament as representing the Arab World, and has drawn support from across the member states of the Arab League. They also positioned their bid as an opportunity to bridge the gap between the Arab World and the West.
There were six bids initially submitted for the 2020 Summer Olympics. Tokyo was ultimately elected as the host city at the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 7 September 2013.
Istanbul 2020 was a bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics by the city of Istanbul and the Turkish Olympic Committee.
Doha 2020 was a bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics by the city of Doha and the Qatar Olympic Committee.
Baku 2020 was a bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics by the city of Baku and the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan. Bids were also placed by Doha, Istanbul, Madrid, Rome and the chosen host city of Tokyo.
The 2016 Winter Youth Olympics in and around Lillehammer, Norway, between 12 February and 21 February 2016. Nine competition and twelve non-competition venues are to be used; all except the Youth Olympic Village in Lillehammer and a training ice rink being are existing venues. All the competition venues and some of the non-competition venues were built ahead of the 1994 Winter Olympics. The games be held in four municipalities: Lillehammer, Hamar, Gjøvik and Øyer.
Five bids were initially submitted for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Following withdrawals, two bidding cities—Paris and Los Angeles—were left in the process. In July 2017, the IOC agreed to award the 2024 and 2028 Games simultaneously. Los Angeles agreed to bid for the 2028 Games, effectively ceding the 2024 Games to Paris.
Al-Rayyan is a city in the similarly named municipality of Al Rayyan, in Qatar. The city and its suburbs comprise the largest population center in Qatar outside of Doha proper, immediately to its east. Consisting of all of the districts in the municipality's easternmost section, its western boundary is roughly where the Al Majd Highway runs through the municipality. The city is a part of the Doha Metropolitan Area. It was one of the venues for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
