Dubai: Top officials have pre-empted a bigger involvement from member nations as the bidding process for the next edition of the Islamic Solidarity Games got under way.
The International Solidarity Sports Federation (ISSF) yesterday announced the formation of the ISSF Marketing and Broadcasting Commission, a joint body tasked to provide hands-on support to the 2017 Baku organising committee and to manage the 2021 ISG Host City Bidding Process.
“We have already circulated letters to all 57 member nations and we expect a huge response from quite a few of our members in the next one or two months,” Saeed Abdul Gaffar Hussain, Chairman, Marketing and Broadcasting Commission, told Gulf News.
“In all likelihood we will have a May deadline, after which we will take a serious look at potential candidates who would be in the best position to do justice in organising such an elaborate sporting event,” he added.
Planning for the next edition is already under way with the ISSF appointing Dubai-based Events Lab and MMC Sports as its exclusive marketing partners.
“The challenges today are bigger, and we need to reach out to the world through global television and social media. Most often host cities are looking at an income through the Games, and as organisers, we ought to show them how organising such an event can promote their cities,” Hussain said.
