Oman's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth is open to hosting world-class sports tournaments, according to H E Rashad al Hinai, undersecretary in the ministry, and the emphasis is on 'events that neighbouring GCC nations are not involved with'.

Speaking on the sidelines of a press meet to announce details of the inaugural FIH Hockey5s World Cup, H?E Hinai said, “We are now more open to hosting world-class events to boost the profile of the sultanate on all fronts. “We have good infrastructure not just for sports but also have a lot of tourism potential that we would like the world to know. We are delighted that the FIH [International Hockey Federation] has awarded the inaugural Hockey5s World Cup to Oman and we are confident that it would be a successful event.

“The ministry expects the respective associations to prepare strong bids well in advance. If it's a bid that adds value to the sultanate, then we are behind them.

According to HE HinaiOman is not in competition with the neighbouring GCC countries to host big sports events. “We have been the front-runners in hosting world-class sailing championships and we have a couple of them later this year. Likewise Hockey5s is also unique as hockey is a very old game in Oman. We stand apart and are not in a race with anyone. We go by the merit of the tournament.

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