HRH Prince Feisal praises growth of table tennis at inaugural ITTF Summit in Amman

6 December 2022

Amman, Jordan: Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC) President and International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board Member HRH Prince Feisal hailed the global appeal of table tennis in a video message to the International Table Tennis Federation’s (ITTF) Annual General Meeting at its inaugural Summit.

Addressing the Summit by video, after attending part of the ITTF Executive Committee meeting on December 3rd, Prince Feisal congratulated the ITTF on the World Team Table Tennis Championships held in Chengdu, China earlier this year, and on the record-breaking World Para Table Tennis Championships, which were played in Granada, Spain in November.

“I must congratulate you on your recent World Team Table Tennis Championships. These Championships were a great success, which was made all the more impressive due to the huge challenges you faced with COVID-19. The event itself demonstrated the significant progress that is being made in table tennis,” said HRH.

In his position as Chair of the IOC Prevention of Harassment and Abuse in Sport Working Group, Prince Feisal also reiterated the importance of safeguarding in sport and acknowledged the work being done in this area at the ITTF under President Petra Sörling.

The Prince further stressed the urgency and the need for National Olympic Committees and International Federations, to work together to ensure that everyone can train and compete in a safe sporting environment that is fair, equitable and free from all forms of harassment and abuse.

“All of us here have a responsibility to make sure everyone, wherever they are in the world, has access to safe, inclusive and accessible sport at all times. I know this is something, under the leadership of your President, that you all care about deeply. And so today, on a day when your Annual General Meeting will look to shape the future of your sport, there is no subject more important than safeguarding table tennis for your global family. “

The three-day event in Amman was the first of its kind for the sport and saw delegates from 227 Member Associations, ITTF executives, global representatives from the table tennis family and guests from the global sports community meet to look back at the success of 2022 and to plan for the future.