DOHA: The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC)'s sports calendar for 2024 has a wide-ranging 85 events, 15 of which are major international championships.
The country kicked off the year with football's Asian Cup from Jan 12-Feb 10, which comes after the successful organisation of the 2022 World Cup.
Apart from the magical boots of Lionel Messi and other superstars which have graced the fields of Qatar, the thundering hooves of champion horses reverberate in the Gulf state.
Horse racing is a major sport in Qatar, and the HE Sheikh Joaan Bin Hamad Al Thani Rifle Day is a great example.
Held at the Al Rayyan Racecourse from Jan 17-20, the competition entered its 13th week of the Qatari racing season.
The competition's deputy-chief steward, Abdulla Rashid Al Kubaisi, said it is a build-up to bigger races and there are two big races in Qatar annually.
"Emir Day, HH Amir Sword International Show Jumping Championship are the big events with over US$2 million up for grabs and no less than US$5 million could be earned from just the two races," said Abdulla.
HE Sheikh Joaan, QOC president, was crowned as the winner of the ninth and 10th rounds of the race. He was also named as the winner of the heritage race.
The ninth round saw an Arabian purebreed, named Abbes with jockey Mickael Barzalona, taking first place, while Simca Mille's 2,200-metre run produced them the trophy in the 10th round.
The others were won by Saleh Salem Ali Al Ghufrani Al Marri, Omar Ahmed Saeed Al Aujan Al Khayareen, Mohammed Kaman Saeed Al Khayareen Al Hajri and Abdullah Rashid Faleh Al Hajri.
When asked about the support that sports events received from the Qatari government, Abdulla said the main sectors that they focused on are sports, education and health.
"We've seen plenty of sport events in Qatar. If we look at the facilities in Qatar, we have big stadiums for football and we have new tracks for horse racing and we're in our second season," said Abdulla.
"For the races, we have 64 races in a season, so all these things come up to put Qatar on the map when it comes to horse racing which was primarily in Europe.
"The government supports in terms of sports, education and health, which is why there's been an influx of sporting events into the country."
Other events to be hosted by Qatar this year include the World Aquatics Championship (Feb 2-18), which serves as the 2024 Paris Olympic qualification, World Aquatics Masters Championship (Feb 23-Mar 3), Artistic Gymnastics World Cup, ISSF Final Olympic Qualification Championship Shotgun, FIBA 3x3 World Tour and the Volleyball World Beach Tour Finals, WTT Men's Finals, Qatar International Weightlifting Cup and Qatar International Handball Championship.