On Wednesday, March 30, Qatar opened the world’s biggest sports museum that houses artefacts from some of the most famous Olympic heroes.
The Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum is next to one of the stadiums to be used in the 2022 World Cup later in the year.
The facility has collected about 17,000 objects after negotiations with the Olympic Committee and other federations.
Also Read: FIFA Approves Kenya's Suspension
Among the objects collected is a glove worn by late legendary boxer Muhammed Ali, when he won a gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics, a Ferrari driven by Formula One champion Michael Schumacher and a shirt worn by Brazilian football legend Pele.
The sports museum which has taken over 15 years to complete will also have a torch from each of the modern Olympic Games.
According to the steward for the museum's Olympic gallery Victoria Cosgrave, the museum is one of its kind in the world.
“I think one of the biggest challenges that we faced — and this is not just in Qatar, it’s everywhere — is balancing the controversial aspect of sports, wanting to be honest about sport and sports people but also wanting to be respectful, be honouring and to be inspiring,” she noted.
Museum director Abdulla Al Mulla, noted that they were able to establish the museum as a result of earning the confidence of international federations.
Al Mulla was keen to highlight that Qatar’s First Family wanted the museum to show off the state’s sporting legacy.
The museum is part of Qatar's billion-dollar projects by the government in a bid to market and position the Gulf state as a cultural and sporting haven.
Also Read: First Ghanaian to Feature in The World Cup as a Player and Coach