A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the relevant bodies at GFH's headquarters in the Bahrain Financial Harbour, and the new facility is set to be located at the University of Technology Bahrain.

The centre of excellence will provide for a domestic talent programme and a regional development centre programme under plans unveiled.

Development athletes would receive on-site coaching and educational support.

Bahrain is set to add to World Aquatics' existing centres of excellence in Thanyapura in Thailand, the Senegalese capital Dakar, Cape Town in South Africa and Davie in the United States.

Under the agreement, World Aquatics additionally intends to open a regional office in Bahrain and construct pools capable of hosting swimming, water polo, artistic swimming, diving and high diving events.

Bahrain has competed in swimming at every Olympic Games since Sydney 2000, and entered four swimmers at last year's World Aquatics Championships in Budapest.

Faris Mustafa Al-Kooheji, secretary general of the BOC, hailed the impact of the agreement on the country.

"We will be witnessing a ground-breaking, or rather historic agreement, where the private sector will fully align with the Government's vision of promoting sports tourism in the Kingdom of Bahrain," he said.

"By constructing a truly one-of-a-kind high-performance centre for aquatic athletes, which will be one of the biggest investments as a standalone facility in Bahrain."

He added that World Aquatics is "one of the most important, if not the most important, International Federation".

Several athletes travelled to Bahrain to mark the signing of the agreement, including four-time Olympic swimming gold medallist Anthony Ervin of the US, two-time Olympic champion and International Olympic Committee member Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe, Greek artistic swimmer Evangelia Platanioti, two-time Olympic water polo champion Filip Filipovic of Serbia and Kazakhstan's Rio 2016 swimming gold medallist Dmitriy Balandin.

Coventry related the value of the centre of excellence to her career as an athlete.

"I think it's very exciting for the young generation that are up and coming, and I think not just for the region and for Bahrain, but also how they're wanting to include other continents, so specifically with Africa and being able to then potentially once it is built have scholarships for African athletes to come," Coventry told insidethegames.

"I know how a scholarship impacted my life when I got the opportunity to go to the US and how my life would probably be very different if I hadn’t had that opportunity, so I think that is really very exciting that they're extending their hand out and allowing for this to be a training centre and a centre of excellence.

"I am very excited that they are putting just as much emphasis on the educational side.

"That was something that my coaches did with us, and I think it's really important.

"Your life span as an athlete can be shortened by many different variants that you're sometimes out of control, so being able to fall back on a good education is something that is important."

World Aquatics chief executive Brent Nowicki explained the importance of education to the agreement, and believes that Bahrain's location and its connections around the world make it well-placed to host a centre of excellence and a regional office.

"It's a multifaceted project," he told insidethegames.

"Initially the idea is that we really want to focus on the longevity of our athletes, not only in the pool but also in their careers and their lives, so we believe that we have to really look at our individual athletes from a 360-degree approach, and part of that is education.

"To find a partner that is not only willing to support the athletic achievement of our athletes but also the academic side, it is a win-win for us.

"It's a win for the University, it's a win for the country of Bahrain and we're extremely fortunate that we're able to do that here.

"It's really situated in the world as far as the country is concerned, it provides easy transportation for many of our athletes, both development and elite."

The American official also said that Bahrain could become a host on the Swimming World Cup, and events could be held in water polo and artistic swimming in the country.

World Aquatics President Husain Al-Musallam underlined the significance of the partnership.

"I am extremely excited by this partnership with Bahrain," the Kuwaiti official said.

"Our bold plans for a centre of excellence here will serve as an example to the world.

"Our high-performance athletes are at their best when they can benefit from the right mix of facilities, coaching and sports science.

"World Aquatics is determined to ensure that this mix is available to athletes from all our National federations. And we are delighted to include an educational component with the help of the University of Technology Bahrain."