Niazmand: Qom's Sports-Hosting Opportunity Turned into 'Qom-phobia' by Wrong Decisions

Qom – A member of the Qom City Council, criticizing the management of the Motai competitions, said weak coordination and wrong decisions had turned the sports-hosting opportunity into 'Qom-phobia.'

According to the reporter of Mehr, Narjes Najasdish, at the meeting of the Islamic Council of the city of Qom on Monday, referring to the issues created around the Muay Thai competitions in Qom, said: Holding a big sports event in this city, without the knowledge of the members of the Islamic Council of the city and raising the issue in the board of directors of the cultural and sports organization, raises questions about how to plan and manage these competitions.

He added: "If the various aspects of this event were reviewed before the cultural commission of the Shura, it would be possible to predict the cultural connection and take the necessary measures to manage the situation, and the capacity of such an event could be used to strengthen cultural interactions."

The member of the Qom Islamic Council emphasized his support for the athletes and stated: Support for sports and athletes has always been of interest, but in some cases, athletes face difficulties in providing the initial expenses of participating in competitions, and this issue shows the necessity of examining the way of distribution of municipal support among disciplines and sports boards.

Pointing to the request of one of the athlete's daughters to cover the cost of traveling to an international competition, he said: About three weeks ago, an athlete was facing a problem to cover the cost of around 100 million Tomans, and her family and those around her had to provide this amount, while there are also questions about the amount of support the municipality provides to various sports boards.

He pointed out: It was expected that before the Muay Thai competitions, the necessary information about the dimensions of the event, the responsibility of related institutions and the way of participation of the municipality would be provided to the members of the council so that it would be possible to review and monitor the implementation process.

The member of the Qom Islamic Council, referring to the way of inviting the members of the council to attend this event, said: only about an hour before the opening of the tournament, he was contacted by the Sports and Youth Department and invited to attend the ceremony, while the municipality did not inform or invite before that.

Referring to the conditions of holding the competitions, he said: These competitions were held in a field approved by the Ministry of Sports and Youth, and the athletes present were in the lower age groups, including about 8 years old and above, and they had their coaches and families with them.

The member of Islamic Council of Qom city continued: Athletes were present in the competition environment wearing sports clothes and observing hijab and they held a regular parade when entering the hall, so that many of them expressed their satisfaction with hosting Qom.

He emphasized: The main issue was the way the provincial officials managed the situation and made decisions, and it must be determined why, despite the possibility of planning and making a timely decision, the situation developed in such a way that a sports event became a controversial issue.

It was possible to avoid accidents with timely planning

Referring to the possibility of using the cultural capacity of this event, he said: If the officials had acted with proper planning, they could have planned appropriate cultural programs in addition to holding the competitions, and taken advantage of the opportunity of the presence of female athletes for cultural interaction and conveying the desired concepts.

The member of the Qom Islamic Council added: In his opinion, even allocating half a day to complete the final stages of the competitions and holding the finals could be effective in managing the situation and prevent the formation of a part of the margins.

Pointing to the specific conditions of the athletes' weight-lifting, Nazad said: The participants' weight-lifting was done on a daily basis and the athletes faced some restrictions to maintain the set weight, but with coordinated management and timely decision-making, it was possible to hold the finals in the same half-day.

He stated: There was enough opportunity to manage the situation, but what is important is to investigate why the decisions were made and to clarify the responsibility of the organizing bodies in shaping the margins of this event.

The perpetrators of damage to the reputation of Qom must be held accountable

A member of the Qom Islamic Council criticized the turning of the margins of the competitions into a space against the city and stated: After these incidents, the criticism was directed at the municipality and the city council, while it is necessary to carefully examine the role of the organizers and the way the event is managed.

He added: During these events, a negative image of Qom was formed in some media spaces and the issue led to a kind of Qom-phobia, while according to his observations, many athletes and their companions were satisfied with hosting the city.

Referring to the publication of materials about this event in the virtual space, he pointed out: it is necessary to examine the dimensions of this flow and the role of individuals and groups involved in its formation in order to determine what factors have caused the expansion of the margins and damage to the reputation of Qom.

A member of the Qom Islamic Council requested a judicial review of this issue and said: I request the prosecutor to investigate the dimensions of this flow and the role of individuals and groups involved in its formation and direction.

In the end, the needy emphasized: Just as any action against the rules and norms expected by the city should be investigated, people who harm the reputation of Qom with their actions should also be held accountable, and it is necessary for the authorities to prevent the repetition of such incidents by clarifying the dimensions of this event.