The Slovak Swimming Federation (SPF) is disputing a report last week by Israeli newspaper Haaretz that claimed Slovakia was one of several countries whose officials were pushing for the 2024 World Championships to be moved away from Doha, Qatar, due to the country’s ties to Hamas.
Last Thursday, Haaretz said that “officials from Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Azerbaijan, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Scandinavian countries” asked World Aquatics to relocate Worlds, but the report did not clarify who the officials were or which organizations they represented.
“First and foremost, we want to emphasize that we are deeply saddened by the ongoing conflicts, and we stand firmly against any form of violence or war,” SPF general secretary Ivana Lange told SwimSwam. “I must clarify that any representative of Slovak Swimming Federation has neither contacted nor submitted any official letter to the World Aquatics organization (WA) with regards to the upcoming World Championships in Doha. We maintain complete confidence in the governing bodies of our sport and their decision-making processes, which are underpinned by expertise and consideration of factors such as the political situation, safety, and security.
“It is essential to underscore that the Slovak Swimming Federation is steadfast in its commitment to remain apolitical,” Lange added. “We do not engage in the presentation of political preferences at any time. Our primary focus is the promotion and development of aquatic sports while adhering to the principles of fairness, sportsmanship, and international cooperation.”
As SwimSwam reported last week, Qatar has provided asylum for Hamas leadership in Doha for the past decade while also supporting the Palestinian group financially. That partnership is under the microscope again after a surprise attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 that left more than 1,300 Israelis dead, at least 32 U.S. citizens deceased, and about 200 people taken as hostages. Israel responded by declaring a war that has killed more than 4,000 Palestinians over the past two weeks — including more than 2,000 children — while also displacing more than a million Gaza residents.
Qatar, a wealthy nation with less than half a million citizens, is in a unique position as an ally of both Hamas and the U.S. military, which operates a command base not far from the swanky Doha hotels and villas hosting Hamas leaders. Last year, the U.S. declared Qatar a “Major Non-NATO Ally.”
Qatar was reportedly the lead negotiator in Friday’s release of two American hostages taken Oct. 7 and earned thanks from President Joe Biden. According to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, 10 other Americans remain unaccounted for in the conflict.
Last week, World Aquatics moved the final stop of the Open Water World Cup Series from Eilat, Israel to Funchal, Portugal amid the ongoing war between Israel and Palestine. World Aquatics did not make a broader statement on the ongoing war, referring to the war as “recent occurrences in Israel.”
World Aquatics president Husain Al-Musallam is a native of Kuwait, where the government has no diplomatic relations with Israel and has blamed the Israelis for the war and sided with Palestine in the decades-long conflict. Al-Musallam is not a government official and the statements of the Kuwaiti government do not seem to have impacted World Aquatics’ stance on Israel in the past, awarding the country several high-profile events, including the recent World Junior Swimming Championships.
The 2024 World Championships next February are set to be the first edition ever held in the Middle East, but Doha has hosted the Short Course World Championships in 2014 as well as nine legs of the World Cup series between 2012 and 2021.
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