The Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to the United Nations hosted a reception on the occasion of the Sport Day and Qatar's 2019 Asian Cup victory at the UN headquarters in New York.

HE Qatar's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani said the State of Qatar is one of the few countries that dedicated a day to sport, pointing to symbolic importance of the country's Sport Day in terms of team building and community participation along the dominance of the spirit of pleasure and fitness and attention to physical health.

Her Excellency added the Qatar Sport Day is one of the most important national holidays which brings together all the social segments of Qataris and non-Qataris. She also expressed Qatar's deep belief that the world is a better place where countries and peoples converge through sport to achieve progress and prosperity.

HE the Ambassador pointed out that the country's Sport Day coincides with Qatar's winning the 2019 Asian Cup, which she described as "the historic victory of our team, our people, our country and the Arab world."

She explained that this remarkable achievement was not a coincidence, but was the result of the vision of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and his brother HH Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Personal Representative of the Amir. Both have worked hard over the past years to develop sport in Qatar and build infrastructure through the establishment of the Aspire Academy, she added.

HE the Ambassador also praised the Academy as one of the best universities in the world since its launch in 2004, highlighting the Aspire Academy's mission, which provides a vibrant learning environment and an experience of intercultural interaction to develop athletes' abilities through education and personal training using modern technology.

Her Excellency pointed out that six players of the Qatar team who won the Asian Cup are graduates of Aspire Academy, noting that this work will put us on the path of enthusiasm towards the World Cup in 2022 which Qatar has the honor and is proud of being the first Arab country to host the World Cup 2022.

On the occasion of the presence of HE Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations Koro Bessho, HE the Ambassador praised Japan and the wonderful relations between the two countries and lauded the team of Japan, who played against the Qatari team in the Asian Cup final.

The reception was attended by a great number of representatives of Member States and the diplomatic corps accredited to the United Nations and senior officials of the UN. It was also attended by a number of media representatives and representatives of the Arab community. The ceremony also featured videos about sports activities in Qatar and some national songs.