DOHA: Doha GOALS, the world’s leading platform focusing on sport as a driver of social and economic change, opened here on Monday morning with a Ministers of Sport summit.

Doha GOALS is a call to action for policymakers, NGOs, corporations and athletes alike.

The debate took place on the first day of the global Forum with Sports Ministers from more than 20 countries and regions, including South Africa, Brazil, Mexico and Italy.

The summit was chaired by Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser Al Ali, Minister of Youth and Sports in Qatar, and facilitated by Mandelson, Chairman of Global Counsel and former EU Trade Commissioner, and Richard Attias, executive producer of Doha GOALS and executive chairman of Richard Attias & Associates.

Sheikh Faisal bin Mubarak Al Thani, executive director of Doha GOALS, said: “The diverse group of people – as speakers, partners, participants, students, and community members – creates a unique forum for this initiative.

“By bringing together this cross-section of interested parties, from heads of government through to federations and NGOs, we have the opportunity to have real dialogue and bring about real change.”

The theme for the Summit is Integrity in Sport, focusing on the promotion of fairness and equality in sports. The discussion aims to create the first ever Ministers of Sport Agenda, which will be presented to the Doha GOALS community during the official opening session in front of heads of state and VIPs.

As well as the Summit’s closed sessions, which organizers hope will lead to new policy commitments from the ministers present, there will also be sessions open to observers, taking contributions from the private sector, civil society, government leaders and NGOs.

Legendary tennis player Boris Becker, perfect-10 winning gymnast Nadia Comaneci, ace athletes Michael Johnson and Hicham El Guerrouj are some of the champion names who shared their experiences and thoughts at the forum.

The Summit will cover a wide variety of issues including how countries can develop equal opportunities to participate and progress in sport; how to use sporting events to drive economic growth and reform; and how sport can drive technological innovation and boost investment in digital infrastructure.