Doha: The fifth category, Safeguarding Sports from Corruption, celebrates individuals and entities with tangible efforts to thwart corruption in sport locally and regionally.
According to Qatar News Agency, the first round of the ACE Award was held in 2016 in Vienna. The subsequent rounds were held respectively in the UN Office in Geneva (2017), Malaysia (2018), Rwanda (2019), Tunisia (2020), Qatar (2022), and Uzbekistan (2023). A total of 51 activists claimed the award since its inception.
In 2016, HH the Amir honored seven winners in a ceremony held at the Hofburg Palace, Vienna. In the 2017 edition, on behalf of HH the Amir, HH Personal Representative of HH the Amir, Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani honored six winners at the UNOG.
HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, along with then Prime Minister of Malaysia Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, and late UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Executive Director Yury Fedotov honored the eight claimants of the 2018 Award at a ceremony held at the Putrajaya Intern
ational Convention Center in Kuala Lumpur.
In 2019, HH the Amir, along with HE President of the Republic of Rwanda Paul Kagame, honored the winners of the fourth edition at a ceremony held at the Kigali Convention Center.
Seven winners claimed the 2020 edition at a ceremony in Tunis. In 2022, HH the Amir honored seven winners at a ceremony held at the Sheraton Doha Hotel before His Highness, along with HE President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, honored nine winners in the 2023 edition at a ceremony at the Tashkent Congress Center.
The ACE Award has cemented the State of Qatar’s ongoing local, regional, and international efforts and initiatives aimed at backing international organizations concerned with battling corruption. With a keen eye for eliminating corruption and establishing the rule of law as preconditions for sustainable development, the ACE Award has been striving for the implementation of decisive measures stipulated in the UN Convention against Corruption, by honoring except
ional anti-corruption efforts.