Doha – Qatar, Mar 18, 2013: The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) and International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) have today presented the first Save the Dream Award. The new Save the Dream logo was also unveiled at a Gala Dinner on the first day of Securing Sport 2013.
Save the Dream, a joint international initiative to raise awareness amongst young athletes of the dangers of sports results manipulation and its consequences, was first launched at 2012 Sorbonne-ICSS Sport Integrity Symposium in Paris, France.
The initiative includes a panel consisting of high-profile athletes from different sports and regions around the world, as well as a multidisciplinary team composed of world-leading experts in education, communications, sport management and sport integrity.
Save the Dream’s Athlete Captain, Italian football star and 2006 FIFA World Cup™ champion, Alessandro del Piero, delivered a moving speech as part of a global video presentation.
The Save the Dream logo was also unveiled by His Excellency Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Secretary General of the Qatar Olympic Committeeand Mr Mohammed Hanzab, President of the ICSS.
The design features a character that is the embodiment of clean and fair sport. Confident and joyous with high standards and ambition, the character is reaching for its goal. The strapline for the initiative is ‘save the dream for sport integrity’. The logo was developed by London-based creative agency, Imagination.
The first Save the Dream Award was presented to Spanish athlete Iván Fernández Anaya. Anaya’s award was for the honesty and sportsmanship he showed in a cross-country race in Navarre, Spain in December 2012, where he refused to take advantage when his rival and leading runner, Kenyan Abel Mutai, mistakenly stopped short of the finishing line. Instead Anaya guided Mutai to the finish line, allowing him to win the race.
Speaking at the launch, H.E Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Secretary General of the Qatar Olympic Committee said: “Save the Dream is a timely reminder of the true values of sport. The challenges sport faces today with match fixing and the spectre of organised crime are incredibly serious. Integrity begins at home, in the playground and on the school playing fields. Young people and athletes around the world need to be aware that sport integrity is not just something for the professional leagues and that is why the Qatar Olympic Committee, together with the ICSS, will strive to ensure that integrity in sport is not just a dream but a reality.”
H.E. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Thani, Chairman of the Board of Ooredoo, said: “Sport is one of the main focus areas of Ooredoo’s corporate social responsibility strategy. Ooredoo is committed to supporting the ICSS and QOC in promoting our shared message of support for sport – from the football pitches of Doha to the playing fields of Jakarta. Together, we can score a goal for honest competition and the true values of sport and I would like to congratulate Mr. Anaya on receiving this special award.”
Mohammed Hanzab, President of the ICSS, said: “Save the Dream has been designed as a major campaign to generate a genuine dialogue around sports core values. Together with the QOC and Alessandro Del Piero, we will assemble a team of international ambassadors from the world of sport, recognised around the world for their reputation and talent, to promote positive messages around sport and its positive, character-building values. This programme will hopefully become a powerful instrument to prevent and protect the next generation of athletes and sports stars around the world.
“I would also like to congratulate Iván Fernández Anaya on outstanding sportsmanship. He is a very worthy recipient of the first Save the Dream Award and a role model to young athletes around the world.” —- By Will Shand, from Doha – Qatar
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