December 04, 2012 - The First International Sport For All Festival got underway with a colourful opening ceremony yesterday at the Khalifa Sports City in Isa Town.

Vice-chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa inaugurated the festival, aimed at enhancing the sport culture among all the generations and to bring the nations together in peace and love.

Shaikh Khalid welcomed all delegations which arrived in Bahrain to participate in this first-of-its-kind gathering, which underlines the significant role of sport in bolstering ties among nations from all around the globe.

He praised the programmes and activities of the festival, and noted the tremendous efforts of the Bahraini youth in organising this special event, which brings pride to the Kingdom as a whole.

It was also attended by Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) chief executive Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Bahrain Sport for All Federation president Isa Abdulrahim, sponsors representatives, delegations heads and a good crowd.

Twenty-one nations have come to Bahrain to gather for this three-day event, being organised by the Bahrain Sports For Al Federation (BSFA) and supervised by the International Sport For All Federation.

Participants have come from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Yemen, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Sudan, Tunisia, Turkey, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Brazil, Romania, Greece, Cameroon, Burundi and Bahrain.

The festival features four sporting disciplines - futsal, volleyball, basketball and table tennis - in addition to walking.

Matches in basketball and volleyball started yesterday as participants were divided into several teams of mixed nationalities as they competed among themselves in a friendly and fun environment.

The five-a-side futsal, table tennis and walking events are scheduled for today, to be followed by a special dinner ceremony to be held in a purpose-built camp in Sakhir, where delegations representatives will take this opportunity to exchange mementos among themselves. (Source: www.gulf-daily-news.com)

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