Islamic Solidarity Games 2021 gets underway this week in “World Capital of Sport 2023“ Konya
Konya Büyükşehir Arena (Photo by: Konya 2021)
LAUSANNE, August 1, 2022 - The Konya 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games (ISG) will get underway this week starting with Cycling on August 5, the first among 7 other competitions starting before the opening ceremony on August 9.
The Games are expanding edition by edition - back in 2005 females were not allowed to compete in the ISG, and now female champions continue to shine with more sports included in the Games. According to Konya 2021's LOC; a total of 4197 athletes; 1495 women and 2702 men from over 56 countries will be participating in Konya 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games from 9-18 August.
Istanbul was originally intended to be the host city, but further consideration led to the change to Konya. While Istanbul is a city of many Islamic highlights with a long Ottoman history, Konya was deemed to have priority due to its historical importance. The city of origin for Seljuks, and the birth city of the famous Sufi, Jalaluddin Rumi, who was and remains a universal symbol of peace and love for all humanity.
AIPS had an exclusive interview with the Local Organising Committee of ISG Konya 2021, here are some interesting facts about the Games:
ISLAMIC SOLIDARITY GAMES RISE The initial idea for the ISG came from Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz, during the Third Islamic Summit in 1981, intended to strengthen solidarity and friendship between Islamic countries and reinforce the values of Islam, primarily among the youth. After an interlude of almost a quarter century, the first Solidarity Games were held in 2005 in Saudi Arabia. There are currently 57 members of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), all of which are expected to participate in the Games. In 2005, the Games were male-only with 7,000 athletes from fifty-four countries competing in thirteen different sports. Females are now allowed to participate in the Games. Non-Muslim citizens in the member countries are also allowed to take part.
TURKEY GAINED HOSTING RIGHTS During a Coordination Meeting with the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation (ISSF) held in Istanbul, Turkey during 22-23 December 2016, the Turkish Olympic Committee submitted its bid for the 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games.
On 13 April 2017, Istanbul was awarded the event during the 25th ISSF Executive Board meeting held in Baku, Azerbaijan. In December 2019, Turkey requested a change of the host city from Istanbul to Konya, which was approved by the ISSF. The host city contract was signed in a meeting on 19 December 2019 in Ankara, Turkey.
The event, which was previously scheduled to take place between 20-29 August 2021, was postponed to August 2022 by ISSF in May 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation in the participating countries.
PANDEMIC-DELAYED ISG DIFFICULTIES Like the rest of the world, Turkey suffered losses during the pandemic. During the preparation phase, we had colleagues who caught Covid-19 in the local organizing committee, and also colleagues who lost families to Covid-19, but we worked devotedly together without interruption at any stage. Our health directorate also worked very hard during this period, taking precautions by considering not only the danger of the Covid-19 virus but also all other possible threats.
UNIQUE SPORTS One sport of interest should be Traditional Turkish archery. It is a part of Turkish cultural heritage and includes the principles, rules, rituals and social practices determined over the centuries. In addition, the competitions to be held in Turkey's first Olympic Velodrome are expected to be exciting. Volleyball, especially the women's volleyball competitions, attracts great attention in Turkey. Our women's volleyball squad represents our nation, our values, the importance we give to women, and our strong team collaboration. Taekwondo and Wrestling are also eagerly awaited sports with a lot of spectators and fans.
NEW SPORTS ADDED TO THE ROSTER In addition to the 3x3 Basketball, Artistic Gymnastics, Shooting, Athletics, Football, Wrestling, Weightlifting, Handball, Judo, Karate, Table Tennis, Para Athletics, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Taekwondo, Volleyball, and Swimming sports that took place in the Baku 2017 ISG, the Konya 2021 ISG will include: Aerobic Gymnastics, Cycling Track, Cycling Road, Bocce, Fencing, Kickboxing, Archery, Para Archery, Para Swimming, Para Table Tennis, and Traditional Turkish Archery.
A GAMER CHANGER FOR TURKEY To carry out the preparatory work for organising the Islamic Solidarity Games in a way benefitting Turkey and the Islamic world, all necessary periodic, administrative and technical units were formed within the General Coordination of the Games. 14 Committees were established to carry out transportation, health, security, sports organizations, media, communication, information technologies and foreign relations works.
For the 5th Islamic Solidarity Games, Turkey made an investment of 300 million dollars on the newest and first indoor Olympic velodrome, which has a track and field, and an Olympic swimming pool which were commissioned by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports worked together with Konya's Metropolitan Municipality to organise cultural programmes where the athletes could spend their time fruitfully, and easily access all venues. In addition, Konya became the first city in Turkey and the second city in Europe, after Madrid, to receive the ranking title of “World Capital of Sport”, one of the most prestigious sports titles globally by ACES Europe.
The Games are expanding edition by edition - back in 2005 females were not allowed to compete in the ISG, and now female champions continue to shine with more sports included in the Games. According to Konya 2021's LOC; a total of 4197 athletes; 1495 women and 2702 men from over 56 countries will be participating in Konya 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games from 9-18 August.
Istanbul was originally intended to be the host city, but further consideration led to the change to Konya. While Istanbul is a city of many Islamic highlights with a long Ottoman history, Konya was deemed to have priority due to its historical importance. The city of origin for Seljuks, and the birth city of the famous Sufi, Jalaluddin Rumi, who was and remains a universal symbol of peace and love for all humanity.
AIPS had an exclusive interview with the Local Organising Committee of ISG Konya 2021, here are some interesting facts about the Games:
ISLAMIC SOLIDARITY GAMES RISE The initial idea for the ISG came from Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz, during the Third Islamic Summit in 1981, intended to strengthen solidarity and friendship between Islamic countries and reinforce the values of Islam, primarily among the youth. After an interlude of almost a quarter century, the first Solidarity Games were held in 2005 in Saudi Arabia. There are currently 57 members of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), all of which are expected to participate in the Games. In 2005, the Games were male-only with 7,000 athletes from fifty-four countries competing in thirteen different sports. Females are now allowed to participate in the Games. Non-Muslim citizens in the member countries are also allowed to take part.
TURKEY GAINED HOSTING RIGHTS During a Coordination Meeting with the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation (ISSF) held in Istanbul, Turkey during 22-23 December 2016, the Turkish Olympic Committee submitted its bid for the 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games.
On 13 April 2017, Istanbul was awarded the event during the 25th ISSF Executive Board meeting held in Baku, Azerbaijan. In December 2019, Turkey requested a change of the host city from Istanbul to Konya, which was approved by the ISSF. The host city contract was signed in a meeting on 19 December 2019 in Ankara, Turkey.
The event, which was previously scheduled to take place between 20-29 August 2021, was postponed to August 2022 by ISSF in May 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation in the participating countries.
PANDEMIC-DELAYED ISG DIFFICULTIES Like the rest of the world, Turkey suffered losses during the pandemic. During the preparation phase, we had colleagues who caught Covid-19 in the local organizing committee, and also colleagues who lost families to Covid-19, but we worked devotedly together without interruption at any stage. Our health directorate also worked very hard during this period, taking precautions by considering not only the danger of the Covid-19 virus but also all other possible threats.
UNIQUE SPORTS One sport of interest should be Traditional Turkish archery. It is a part of Turkish cultural heritage and includes the principles, rules, rituals and social practices determined over the centuries. In addition, the competitions to be held in Turkey's first Olympic Velodrome are expected to be exciting. Volleyball, especially the women's volleyball competitions, attracts great attention in Turkey. Our women's volleyball squad represents our nation, our values, the importance we give to women, and our strong team collaboration. Taekwondo and Wrestling are also eagerly awaited sports with a lot of spectators and fans.
NEW SPORTS ADDED TO THE ROSTER In addition to the 3x3 Basketball, Artistic Gymnastics, Shooting, Athletics, Football, Wrestling, Weightlifting, Handball, Judo, Karate, Table Tennis, Para Athletics, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Taekwondo, Volleyball, and Swimming sports that took place in the Baku 2017 ISG, the Konya 2021 ISG will include: Aerobic Gymnastics, Cycling Track, Cycling Road, Bocce, Fencing, Kickboxing, Archery, Para Archery, Para Swimming, Para Table Tennis, and Traditional Turkish Archery.
A GAMER CHANGER FOR TURKEY To carry out the preparatory work for organising the Islamic Solidarity Games in a way benefitting Turkey and the Islamic world, all necessary periodic, administrative and technical units were formed within the General Coordination of the Games. 14 Committees were established to carry out transportation, health, security, sports organizations, media, communication, information technologies and foreign relations works.
For the 5th Islamic Solidarity Games, Turkey made an investment of 300 million dollars on the newest and first indoor Olympic velodrome, which has a track and field, and an Olympic swimming pool which were commissioned by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports worked together with Konya's Metropolitan Municipality to organise cultural programmes where the athletes could spend their time fruitfully, and easily access all venues. In addition, Konya became the first city in Turkey and the second city in Europe, after Madrid, to receive the ranking title of “World Capital of Sport”, one of the most prestigious sports titles globally by ACES Europe.
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