It is the bigger things that appeal to Prince Faisal Bin Al Hussain. As the Chairman of the Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC) for the past two years, Prince Faisal values the concept of quantity when it comes to sports in the Hashemite Kingdom.
Ever since he took over the reigns of the JOC, Prince Faisal has been a tireless campaigner for Jordan and its sportspeople.
While tapping talent has been a priority, endorsing involvement from officials is also high on the agenda. For someone who took over the independent JOC in May 2003, Prince Faisal has done well to make the difference for sports in his country. That is when Jordan effectively started looking for something fresh in its athletes and something new from its officials.
"We needed a transformation of attitude from all concerned," Prince Faisal says about those early days after he took up office.
After that, things have moved at a heady pace with the new elections taking place in December 2004.
"Of the 15 officials elected to the new committee, only one could not attend the special workshop we had in the Dead Sea. This only shows the seriousness of moving towards new goals," Prince Faisal smiles.
"We needed to envisage our role, mission and vision and gets everyone's input to understand the willingness and the concern for the future," he explains.
Political instability was prominent in Jordan's sporting circles prior to the change in the functioning of the JOC.
"The changes in government did not give us continuity," he relates.
"But now for the first time, we can look ahead and plan, not for the next four years, but even eight years ahead," he states.
Such stability has assisted sports in more ways than one. The focus has been renewed and the ebb of professionalism has gone up by a notch. "The talent is definitely there. And we are trying all means to encourage participation from the youth in sporting activities," Prince Faisal adds.
"Our goal is to make people feel that sports is an essential part of their lives, both in participation and support. We are all in favour of youngsters going a step higher and taking up sports as a career and a profession," he adds.
The start has been made and the imagination of Jordanian youth has been fired by this new metamorphosis. "We are not just tapping the schools. We are keen to have kids from all levels," he asserts.
Women's role
Of particular significance is the advance made by women in sports. "It has been very promising. Take a look at the results. They have been encouraging. Most of the medals at last year's Pan Arab Games have come from the women," he states.
"Transformation is part of sport. The principle mechanism is that sport is an essential part in the development of the human," Prince Faisal asserts.
"In the past a lot of countries have seen sports as a luxury. I don't think it is so any longer. There are so many things related to life which can be learnt through sports. To start with, all the principles of achievement and motivation towards greater things," he states.
"Our aim to transform sports from being more of a passive interest to something that is active and essential is still on," he adds.
Funding needed
However, one daunting task before the prince is the lack of funds. "Funding is always an issue," he admits.
"But we have our goals clearly marked out. And we are not going to stop pursuing them just because funds are insufficient, or not there," he says.
Adequate planning has already gone in this direction. Besides the allocation from the government, the JOC relies on a special tax imposed on the sale of alcohol and tobacco products in Jordan.
"Besides this, we are looking at more independent mechanisms," he asserts.
One of these independent mechanisms, Prince Faisal states, is the so far untapped private sector. "We are trying to get the private sector involved. But it will take time," he says.
Results showing
Luckily, Jordan's results at the continental stage have not gone unnoticed. A successful run at last year's Asian Cup in China where a gutsy Jordan team made it to the semifinals followed by the fine showing of the Jordanian athletes at the 10th Pan Arab Games in Algeria have come with a high conviction value.
"These successes have triggered the imagination of a lot of people. Our FIFA rankings have suddenly shot down from 106 to 36. These significant changes have worked in favour of us and the path we have set before us," Prince Faisal stated.
"We need not rely solely on the government for support. Other countries and federations are also stepping forward to assist us in realising our dreams," he adds.
Asian Games
One of these dreams is hosting the Asian Games in 2014.
"Way back in 1999, the kingdom took up the challenge of successfully staging the Pan Arab Games. "Of course, the Asian Games will be twice the size of the Pan Arab Games. But what such a Games showed us is that we are capable of pitching in for the bigger events," Prince Faisal says.
The JOC has already instituted a special task force to study what infrastructure would be required for an operation as big and challenging as the Asian Games.
"We are trying to develop a feasibility and action plan. We are also aware that there are a lot of issues to be addressed before we can make a formal bid for the Games," he states.
The deadline for making the formal bid comes in 2007. "We still have a couple of years to seriously look at the infrastructure," he shrugs.
"I think as a whole, the bidding process is important as it does make you plan. Once the plan is over, then we need to see how we will raise the profile and interest," he adds.
Competitor
However, all things considered, Jordan may have to compete against the UAE, with whom it enjoys strong ties.
Reports recently put the UAE as a strong contender for staging the 2014 Games along with New Delhi, India.
"Our concern would be that our interests do not undermine each other," Prince Faisal states.
"I, for one, am convinced that if Dubai wants the Games, then they can do it. I have no doubt in their capabilities to make things happen," Prince Faisal states.
"We too have the capacity and experience, but we would need more time to develop these," he adds.
"However, there is no need for us to be in competition with each other. What we need is co-operation. At the end of the day, if we can raise the profile of sports and create an awareness among the people, then we have already achieved something."
Factfile
Name: Prince Faisal Bin Al Hussain
Designation: Commander of the Royal Jordanian Air Force (assumed duties on May 7, 2002)
Born: October 11, 1963
Education: Studied in Amman and later in the United Kingdom
May 2003: Jordan Olympic Committee became an independent body. Prince Faisal became the first chairman of the JOC.
RALLYING CALL
Getting the map out for motorsports
Rallying is a tradition when it comes to Jordan. The late King Hussain, the father of Prince Faisal, was a true visionary in putting Jordan on the international motorsports map. He was a driver and he was a champion, something which was picked up and followed by his elder son King Abdullah II, the present King of Jordan.
"My brother was the national champion on two occasions," Prince Faisal said proudly.
"Rallying is something that has been so close to us," he nods.
And Prince Faisal has no ideas of allowing this sport to stray away he wants to see Jordan stage a round of the World Rally Championship within the next year or two.
"The idea is simple. Bahrain has Formula One, Qatar is involved with the bikes and GT racing, Dubai has the Autodrome We want to ensure that Jordan will be able to bridge the gap by hosting a full round of the WRC, at least by next year," Prince Faisal states.
"We want to be complementary, rather than competitive," he adds.
His idea of a WRC round involves all four types of terrain desert, mountainous, forests and gravel.
"And in Jordan, we have the unique opportunity to race on all four of these terrains," he said.
"Jordan is so well placed that we can race 1,200 feet below sea level and 3,500 to 4,000 feet above sea level," he states.
"I think we are unique here. There is a joke when we say that you can be charging around 1,200 feet below sea level without a submarine," Prince Faisal smiles.
On a more serious note, the kingdom has already managed to convince the FIA of its intentions for hosting a round of the WRC as early as 2006.
Recently, an official from the sports supreme governing body visited Jordan to inspect the facilities. "I agree we do not have all the infrastructure right now," Prince Faisal acknowledges.
"But we want to convince the FIA that we are willing and committed to make the changes and go ahead with the WRC round at least next year," he smiles.
"Hopefully, the FIA will recognise this."
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