NEW SPORTS MINISTER ON THE BALL, BUT OFF ECONOMIC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MUSCAT 002030

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR NEA/PPD (MQUINN),NEA/ARPI, ECA/PE
STATE PASS TO USTR:JBUNTIN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL ECON PINR SCUL OEXC SNAR TBIO ETRD MU
SUBJECT: NEW SPORTS MINISTER ON THE BALL, BUT OFF ECONOMIC
TEAM

REF: MUSCAT 1898

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Summary
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1. (SBU) Oman's energetic new Minister of Sports, Ali
al-Sunaidi, shared with the Ambassador his active agenda for
developing athletics in Oman. He is eager to build linkages
to the U.S. and other countries, both to develop sports
programs and training facilities, as well as to market Oman
as an ideal venue for regional tournaments. Acknowledging
that his October appointment to a newly established ministry
came as a surprise, Sunaidi is busy addressing the key
complaints he said the Sultan had with the predecessor
agency. As one of the USG's key economic interlocutors
during his stint as Ministry of Commerce Under Secretary,
Sunaidi admitted that his new duties will preclude him from
playing any role in the ongoing Free Trade Agreement talks
with the U.S. He had no insights when a new Commerce Under
Secretary might be appointed. The Embassy will look to the

SIPDIS
new Ministry of Sports as an ideal partner for engaging Omani
youth. End Summary.


2. (U) On November 22, the Ambassador, accompanied by Pol/E
Chief, paid a courtesy call on the new Minister of Sports,
Ali bin Masoud al-Sunaidi. Sunaidi, who had been a key
interlocutor with the USG on bilateral trade and investment
issues during his erstwhile stint as Under Secretary at the
Ministry of Commerce and Industry, was appointed to head the
newly created ministry in a surprise royal decree October 20
(reftel).

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A Surprise to All
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3. (SBU) Sunaidi admitted that his appointment as Minister of
Sport came as a surprise, though he said he had worked while
at the Ministry of Commerce (MOCI) on a number of committees
that dealt with sports and youth-related issues. The Sultan,
he said, wanted a "thematic" change in the way the
now-defunct General Organization for Youth, Sports and
Culture Affairs (GOYSCA) did business. One of GOYSCA's
greatest weaknesses was its relationship with the media,
which Sunaidi has immediately undertaken to address by
launching its own website during the recent Eid al-Fitr
holiday. Putting his Commerce Ministry expertise to good
use, Sunaidi teamed a trio of his Ministry's marketing
experts with an outside graphics firm (a pair of brothers
educated in the U.S.) and a local confectioner to further
publicize the new website with a candy give-away that went
from inception to distribution of 5000 gift boxes in just 3
days. The website (www.sportsoman.com) invites visitors to
"write to the Minister," and Sunaidi gleefully reported
getting messages from Oman, Europe and North America (on
everything from the high cost of tickets to the grammar on
the website).


4. (SBU) The Minister said the Sultan was also disappointed
with how little GOYSCA interacted with ordinary Omanis.
Demonstrating his hands-on approach, Sunaidi recalled working
out in a local club and observing suspiciously well-sculpted
weightlifters. He interviewed star Omani bodybuilder Haji
Shahban about the prevalence of steroid and other
performance-enhancing drug use, and was alarmed to hear that
indeed some Omani athletes are injecting banned substances.
Sunaidi teamed with an Under Secretary from the Ministry of
Health to talk to directors of several leading clubs and made
a carrot-and-stick offer. Sunaidi promised to use the
resources of his Ministry to promote and advertise those
clubs that enforced a zero-tolerance policy on illegal drugs,
while threatening to revoke the registration and drive out of
business any sports club that permitted such use. Haji
Shahban was enlisted to headline a public awareness campaign
that will feature warning posters in sports facilities around
the Sultanate. (An interview with Shahban is also featured
on the Ministry's website.) In another effort at outreach,
the Ministry is building an SMS network that will allow them
to instantly send out text messages to cellular subscribers
on sports events. Such an network, the Minister said, would
have been used to advertise the visit of two Georgetown
University basketball players who came to Oman (Nov 21-23) as
Embassy-sponsored cultural ambassadors.

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Seeking Foreign Partners
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5. (U) One of Sunaidi's top priorities is to put Oman on the
international sports map. He would like to see Oman take
advantage of its public facilities to host regional and
international events (everything from soccer tournaments and
track and field competitions to rally racing). He also
thinks Oman could carve out a unique niche as a year-round
high-altitude training center if such a facility could be
built in the Jebel Akhdar mountains inland from Muscat. The
Ambassador suggested the U.S. Olympic Training Center in
Colorado Springs or a similar facility in Flagstaff, Arizona
as potential resources and exemplars. Sunaidi is also
looking to foreign partners to help his Ministry to develop
its own lab and diagnostic center to assess the physical
capacity of young athletes. Oman's Ali al-Habsi, the leading
goalie in the Norwegian soccer league, was never envisioned
by his coaches and friends while growing up as a likely
world-class athlete, according to Sunaidi. He would like to
discover other potential gifted athletes at an earlier age.
Sunaidi also sees practical applications. There is an entire
industry of Omani skin divers who gather 7000 tons of abalone
each year off the coast of Salalah, who are able to dive to
great depths with no diving equipment. Studying how these
divers achieve this feat would serve both the fishing
industry and sports medicine.


6. (SBU) As a graduate himself (engineering) of the
sports-crazed University of Miami, Sunaidi is keen on
obtaining sports scholarships for more Omani athletes. He
said there are only three such scholarships currently
available, which ultimately means finding good athletes with
exceptional school records. As a "lifelong B-plus student,"
Sunaidi would prefer having many more scholarships available
so that they can be awarded instead to exceptional athletes
who are also good students. U.S. scholarships, he lobbied,
would give the USG excellent public relations benefit. He
envisions these student athletes becoming true leaders, both
in sports and life beyond. Building a culture of athlete
leaders is one of his goals as minister. (Though he used the
analogy of developing "quarterbacks," Sunaidi is opposed to
the idea of popularizing American football in Oman. Sunaidi
is satisfied with following the progress of the Miami
Hurricanes and Dolphins from afar.)


7. (SBU) Saying the ministry currently has "zero links to the
U.S.", Sunaidi seeks American interlocutors - not at the USOC
level per se, but at the mid-levels. He believes Omanis have
a great potential to develop in such sports as volleyball,
running, shooting, "throwing sports" (javelin, discus),
marine sports, and equestrian events. Oman already has
leagues ("associations") for soccer, cricket (established
earlier this month),field hockey, volleyball and basketball.
Rally racing is another potential growth sport, buoyed by
the popularity of Oman's star rally racer Hamed al-Wahaibi.
(Wahaibi started out racing motorcycles while pursuing a
business degree at the University of San Diego, and in 2001
became the first Arab to win a European rally race. In 2004,
he became a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF.) He is intrigued
by the notion of reality shows such as "The Amazing Race"
coming to Oman, and has an idea to create his own television
show centered around athletic competitions. (Note:
Curiously, Sunaidi gave no indication that he was tapping
into his own alma mater at the U. of Miami to build linkages.
End note.)

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Hanging Up His Economic Shoes (For Now)
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8. (SBU) Given the key role Sunaidi played in the bilateral
trade relationship as the rising young star at the Ministry
of Commerce, the Ambassador inquired if he foresaw playing
any role in the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) process now that
the USG and Omani government have embarked upon it. Sunaidi
noted that he will have an equal voice in issues that come
before the full cabinet, as any minister would. But as
Minister of Sports, he says he already has responsibility for
the roughly 40 percent of the Omani population that falls
between the ages of 10-26. Given the huge task he has in
bringing his new ministry up to the standards set by the
Sultan, he said he would have absolutely no time to be
involved in FTA. He expressed confidence that Commerce
Minister Maqbool Sultan will successfully navigate the Omani
government through the FTA process, and could offer no
insights into who or when a successor may be found as Under
Secretary for Commerce and Industry. (Comment: Officials at

SIPDIS
the Commerce Ministry likewise told EconOff November 23 there
is still no word on a likely successor to Sunaidi, whose
duties are currently being handled by the Under Secretary for
Administration and Financial Affairs at the Ministry. End
comment.)

9. (SBU) Again applying his economic expertise, Sunaidi plans
to achieve greater efficiencies in the Sports Ministry's
work. He admits that its cadre of 400 employees, working out
of a somewhat dilapidated 8-story building near the Central
Business District, is more than necessary. Rather than
reducing their number (a feat he termed problematic),he
intends to put them to more productive use. He also argued
that the 30 government-funded athletic clubs in the country
are not sustainable. He believes it would be more economical
to reduce their number to 15 and simply transport people to
the remaining venues, which would then get a larger share of
financial support.

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Comment
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10. (SBU) Sunaidi's energy and intellect has made him in
recent years a top candidate to become minister. In just his
first month on the job, he has done everything to reinforce
that view. Sunaidi's leadership undeniably affords us a key
opportunity to expand our youth engagement through the medium
of sports, as we happened to do with the Georgetown
University basketball players. We plan to work closely with
him in further exploiting such chances.
BALTIMORE