Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has signed an agreement to support grassroots soccer in the Sultanate by being the main sponsor of the Oman Schools League football finals for the 2016/17 season.
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The nationwide competition, which is organised in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Al Swayni Sport Services, is the first official league organised annually for all government public and private schools in Oman.
It aims to develop the football talents of young players aged 15-18 years and around 250 schools will participate. It is also hoped the tournament will spur the development of qualified cadres of students in sports administration and technical management, sports medicine and physiotherapy, and refereeing.
The tournament starts in October and the finals will be held in March 2017 at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat where the 12 qualifying teams from the first round in each region will compete over 28 games in a nine-day period to determine the winner.
A Memorandum of Understanding covering the finals was signed today (23 August) by PDO External Affairs and Value Creation Director Abdul-Amir bin Hussein Al Ajmi and Oman Schools League Chief Executive Officer Amin bin Saad Al Sawayni Bait-Saleem.
Mr Al Ajmi said: “The agreement demonstrates PDO’s continuous commitment to support the local community and develop the talents of Oman’s youth, whether in the vocational, educational or sporting realm.
“This football competition will bring together the cream of young Omani soccer talent from the 10th to 12th grades and generate a lot of excitement and interest across the nation, with an estimated fan base of 350,000.
“We are looking forward to working with our partners at the Oman Schools League in helping to take youth football in the Sultanate to the next level.”
Oman Schools League CEO Mr Al Sawayni said, “We appreciate and admire PDO’s long-standing history of supporting corporate social responsibility initiatives around the Sultanate and express gratitude to the Company for proactively taking part in sponsoring the finals of the first official school football league in Oman.”
Over the years, PDO, working with the Ministry of Education, has supported a range of diverse school initiatives, such as the construction of facilities, the supply of equipment and provision of training. It recently backed health, safety and environment training for more than 200 staff and also organised a defensive driving course for around 220 school bus drivers.
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Note to editors: Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) is the major exploration and production company in the Sultanate. It accounts for about 70% of the country's crude-oil production and nearly all of its natural-gas supply. The Company is owned by the Government of Oman (which has a 60% interest), the Shell Group (which has a 34% interest), Total (which has a 4% interest) and Partex (which has a 2% interest). Gas fields and processing plants are operated by PDO exclusively on behalf of the Government.
For further information please contact the PDO External Affairs Directorate: David Brown, Tel: 24673977; E-mail: david.DB.brown@pdo.co.om