World Championships Latest

By Michael O’Neill

As we reported earlier this week the Irish squad for the 2015 AIBA World Championships are now at a training camp in Assisi together with Italy and Russia. There already are Darren O’Neill, Ceire Smith and Katie Taylor, whilst Paddy Barnes and Head Coach Billy Walsh joined them yesterday.

The Irish team leave Assisi October 2nd on the final leg of their journey to Qatar.

Preparations are well advanced for this year’s event in Doha and tickets, which went on sale this morning, are reported to be selling well which is good news not only for the organisers, but also for the significant Irish community in Qatar and the adjacent  countries.

Several local Irish organisations including the GAA club have been publicising the event and this writer and others have already had inquiries as to where they can obtain tickets and at what price. That information for them and for all our readers, is at the end of this article.

For the tournament, 260 boxers representing 70 nations have been confirmed, and will grace the state-of-the-art 2,500 seater Ali Bin Hamed Al Attiyah Arena in Doha between October 5 to 15.

The Arena has in fact held up to 7,700 for some recent major sporting events so is capable of being extended if the occasion arises.

 The event is hosted in the Middle East for the first time in history, and will see the global boxing elite from five confederations fight to be crowned world champions and for one of 23 qualifying spots to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Speaking today in Doha, Yousuf Ali Al Kazim, President of the Qatar Boxing Federation,and Executive Director for the Doha World Boxing Championships commented :

“This will be an historic and special occasion for boxing not only in Qatar, but throughout the entire Middle East. The fact that only the best boxers are qualified for the World Championships here in Doha is testament to the huge importance of this event, and through these exhilarating 10 days of sporting action, we hope to inspire a new generation of boxing heroes across the world.

“With tickets on sale from today, we call on local sports fans to come to the arena for what is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness world champions across the different weight categories try to protect their titles in the ring. We feel confident that Doha 2015 will be special, and we promise to deliver a fun and unforgettable experience for all the family.”

As with many major sporting events there are hundreds of volunteers in place  to augment the local organising committee and their team, 500 to be exact. The organisers tell us:

“Training for volunteers of the Doha 2015 AIBA World Championships started with the Media and Broadcasting Committee of the LOC at the Ali bin Hamad al-Attiyah Arena so all the camera angles are covered. The volunteers gained familiarity with the Ali bin Hamad al-Attiyah Arena and the important areas in which their work will focus. The LOC also provided the volunteers with training and vital information regarding the AIBA World Championships so as to fully prepare them to perform their assigned duties”.