President's Message
Shaikh Mohamed bin Duaij Al Khalifa
For generations, sports have been a constant within our communities. It has a way to bring together people of all backgrounds, whether competing with one another or sitting and watching it on the television. Sports has a way of uniting us all. It creates a bond, teaches us resilience, patience, determination and strength.
Due to our higher leadership, sports became an integral part of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s history and culture. With their support, Paralympic sports naturally followed with our first international participation in 1979. In 1987, an official committee was formed under the Ministry of Youth & Sports that was later named the Bahrain Sports Federation for Disabilities in 2001. And it was in 2019 that the Bahrain Paralympic Committee was officially formed.
The Kingdom of Bahrain has consistently supported People with Impairment following the directives of our wise leadership, the support of His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports and Representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, and His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council of Youth and Sports and Honorary President of the Bahrain Sports Federation for Disabilities.
Thanks to their leadership, the Kingdom of Bahrain has been supporting people with impairment in sports for many decades. With the establishment of the Bahrain Paralympic Committee in 2019, we have sought out to give a voice to an underrepresented part of our society.
The Bahrain Paralympic Committee proudly supports the numerous organizations that are dedicated to specific impairments, acting as an umbrella to them. With their support, we are able to work together and remove barriers that could prevent them from taking part in sporting activities or competitions.
Our mission at the Bahrain Paralympic Committee is to be able to create an infrastructure that supports the integration of our athletes within society, providing them with equal opportunities to compete in regional and international competitions, representing the Kingdom of Bahrain. Our initiatives will continue to be our main focus to achieve this, bringing together people of all backgrounds despite their differences and display true sportsmanship.
We not only play an important role for our athletes, but to also further promote the Paralympic movement in the Kingdom, hoping to further educate and raise community awareness on the abilities and needs of people with an impairment, and how we can create an environment to feel included and capable of becoming extraordinary examples of athleticism, inspiration, resilience and strength.
Our community of athletes and leaders continuously show the drive, excellence and desire to chase their sporting ambitions, regardless of their physical ability, and their mental strength and aspirations that will lead them towards greatness. We look forward to having our para athletes proudly representing our Kingdom in their future endeavors under the slogan of “The Golden Era” for Bahraini sports, an initiative launched by HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa. Since our first national participation at the Stoke Mandeville 1984 Paralympics up to Rio 2016, our para athletes have won 10 colored medals