The Association of National Olympic Committees’ (ANOC) inaugural World Beach Games received a shot in the arm with the announcement of new partners and sponsors for the prestigious multi-sport event.

The competition, which will bring together more than 1,200 athletes from around 100 nations, will be held at three main venues – Katara Cultural Village, Aspire Park and the Al Gharafa Arena.

While the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) was announced as the Games’ official partner, Katara and Aspire Zone were named as the official Venue Partners.

Baladna, Mowasalat and Bornan are Key Sponsors while Xtreme, Elan, Ooredoo and Al Rawda are the Official Suppliers.

Meanwhile, Qatar National Tourism Council has been named as a major stakeholder.

QOC Secretary General Jassim Rashid Al Buenain, who is also the Director General of the Local Organising Committee said the organisers were happy to have so many bif companies and organisations on board in various supporting roles.

“This is a truly historic event and we’re very pleased to have so many prominent partners with us. Not only will the competition promote the values of ANOC, it’ll also foster unity and cooperation among the participating nations,” said Al Buenain.

Katara Cultural Village General Manager Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti said the venue was fully prepared to host the competitions.

“We’ve hosted international competitions before – beach volleyball and 3×3 basketball – but both were single discipline events. The World Beach Games will be our first foray into hosting a multi-sport competition. We’ve set up a core team to work with the ANOC and I’m fully confident of their abilities to deliver a memorable event,” he told Inside Qatar.

Khaleel Al Jabir, Assistant General Manager for Operations, admitted that the ANOC World Beach Games’ timing had made things a little hard for them.

“Putting together such a major competition, within just three months, has been a difficult job. That the event comes in between the 2019 World Athletics Championships and Doha leg of the Swimming World Cup makes it more tough. But we’ve always liked challenges and we’ll do a good job,” he said.

Mohammed Al Suwaidi, CEO, Aspire Zone Foundation, said, new infrastructure for the Games was in place at the Aspire Park.

“We’ve built additional facilities for rock climbing and skating as these are new events. They are built not just for the Games but on a permanent basis. This is a part of the legacy that will be left behind,” he said.