Former Qatari Defence Minister Hamad Bin Ali Al Attiyah will sponsor the TCD Horse Racing Society, as part of an agreement between the group and Arabian racing operation Alwasmiyah Stud.
Al Attiyah served as the Qatari Minister of State for Defence Affairs between 2013 and 2016, before becoming an advisor to the Emir. During his time as minister, Al Attiyah oversaw the introduction of conscription through a new national service programme.
In 2014, Qatar News Agency quoted Minister of State for Defence Major General Hamad bin Ali Al-Attiyah as saying that service would help make Qataris “ideal citizens” and that there would be no exceptions, though conditions for exemption from and postponement of the draft were later introduced.
In a press release announcing the sponsorship, Robert Riley Dargan, chairman of the society, said that it was “look[ing] forward to working with them to help promote the sport of horse racing to students in Trinity and Ireland’s next generation of horse owners and breeders”.
“This will help ensure Ireland remains as a global leader in the sport of horse racing”, he added.
The Qatar-based racing operation is owned by the former defence minister and managed by his sons Ali and Mohammed alongside Director Olven Esmaee.
Alwasmiyah Stud has various racing interests in England, France and Ireland, with some of its racehorses currently in training with Irish jockey Joseph O’Brien. In June, it was announced that Alwasmiyah Stud would sponsor the Pretty Polly Stakes in the Curragh Racecourse for the next three years, now titled “The Alwasmiyah Pretty Polly Stakes”.
In a statement to The University Times concerning Al Attiyah’s political background, Dargan said that “Alwasmiyah Stud is one of the main sponsors and largest supporters of the sport in Britain and Ireland, as well as throughout Europe”.
“We judge organizations by their actions and not by their race, religion or ethnicity”.
“We appreciate their support considering the scale of sponsorship withdrawals during the Academic year”, he added.
The Al Thani dynasty has ruled Qatar as a monarchy since 1825. The death penalty still exists in Qatar and the country allows brutal punishments such as stoning and flogging. Homosexual acts are also illegal and are punishable by death.
Correction: 19:46, September 9th, 2020
An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Hamad Bin Ali Al Attiyah aided rebel groups during the Libyan Civil War while he was minister for defence affairs. In fact, he admitted to the Guardian in 2011, before his appointment as minister, that Libya had been involved in the civil war.
