IAAF and Qatar National Bank
The four-year deal will see the leading financial institution in the Middle East and Africa involved in all IAAF World Athletics Series events including the IAAF World Athletics Championships 2019 in Doha next year
Qatar National Bank (QNB) and the IAAF are delighted to announce a new multiple-year partnership. The largest financial institution in the Middle East and Africa has become the latest addition to the governing body’s esteemed roster of official partners.
As an official IAAF partner, QNB will be present and involved in all IAAF World Athletics Series events including the much anticipated IAAF World Athletics Championships 2019 in Doha next year, as well as the annual Doha Diamond League meeting.
The agreement will also see QNB roll out a country-wide school engagement programme, focused on inspiring the next generation of Qataris to take up athletics and lead active healthy lifestyles. For QNB the important partnership will allow a strategic expansion of a company initiative to use sport and physical exercise as a vehicle for positive social change in the country and oversees.
Speaking on the launch of the new partnership, IAAF President Sebastian Coe said:
“As the number one global sport, bringing the emotion and excitement of athletics to new communities has always been the guiding principle of the IAAF and that’s why this announcement is so exciting. With the addition of QNB to the athletics family we now have a partner that shares our vision for the sport and has the reach to help inspire more people by sharing the stories of our talented athletes. The partnership will help us explore creative ways to make this ambition a reality, enhancing our sport at a local, regional and global level.”
For its part, QNB has expressed pride to establish a relationship with the IAAF and to support athletics. As a sport it transcends boundaries and borders, it pushes human endeavour and inspires the next generation to realize their ambitions through hard work. Next year’s championships will be a game-changing moment for the sport in Qatar and will help embed a healthy active culture within the country, both at an elite and grassroots level. Through this partnership, the Bank aims to support the IAAF to deliver an innovative, creative and exciting event that engages new fans, new athletes and new audiences and unlocks this region’s potential to host global mega events.
Qatar has been hosting international athletics events for more than 21 years, starting from the first-ever IAAF Grand Prix in 1997 (which later became the Doha Diamond League in 2010 and this year celebrated its ninth edition) and including the IAAF World Indoor Championships 2010.
About QNB
QNB Group’s presence through its subsidiaries and associate companies extends to more than 31 countries across three continents, providing a comprehensive range of advanced products and services. The total number of of employees exceeds 28,000 operating through more than 1200 locations, with an ATM network of over 4300 machines.
About the IAAF
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) is the world governing and rule making body for the sports of athletics, which encompasses track and field, race walking, road, cross country, mountain, trail and ultra-running.
In 2012, the IAAF celebrated its centenary. Today boasting 214 national Member Federations, it has a global reach greater than that of the United Nations.
The IAAF World Athletics Series (WAS) is a global series of Athletics competitions. It is topped by the biennial IAAF World Championships which was created in 1983, whose ten days of competition involve 2000 athletes from more than 200 countries, 3000 media and are broadcast to over 200 territories worldwide to an accumulated global audience of 6 billion.
IAAF