Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa and Al-Musallam during the inauguration ceremony

MANAMA, Oct 2: World Aquatics President Captain Hussain Al-Musallam inaugurated the World Aquatics Center in the Kingdom of Bahrain, in the presence of Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, President of the General Sports Authority, and President of the Bahrain Olympic Committee.

The new center, launched in cooperation with GFH Financial Group and the Bahrain Aquatics Sports Federation, features facilities for swimming, diving, water polo, and artistic swimming.

Al-Musallam highlighted that the center serves not only as a training hub but also as residential accommodation for athletes, offering 87 rooms and welcoming 150 swimmers from 150 countries, all training under the supervision of World Aquatics-certified coaches.

He expressed his appreciation to the University of Bahrain for its key role in supporting the project, describing the facility as one of the federation’s finest global initiatives, joining similar centers in the United States, Australia, Thailand, France, and Hungary.

Al-Musallam emphasized that the Bahrain center offers a practical, integrated environment that combines training and academic opportunities through the University of Bahrain. The Bahrain Swimming Federation will also benefit from the partnership, using the facility to raise the level of local athletes and develop young swimmers aged six and under under the guidance of World Aquatics experts.

He added that plans are underway to form national diving and water polo teams in Bahrain, and the center will host regional and international championships, helping to boost sports tourism in the kingdom and across the region. The center will also serve as a winter training destination for European national teams.