KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)
The ongoing inaugural UAE University Games represents a starting point towards great sporting ambitions to continue expanding, growing and spreading excellence across the region, according to Noura Al Hammadi, General Manager of Abu Dhabi Entertainment Company (ADEC).
The University Games were conceptualised and put in motion at the Sports Future Retreat late last year by the Ministry of Sports. The ball has since been set rolling by ADEC in cooperation with the UAE Sports Federation for School and University Education Institutions and with the support of Solution+ and MBME Group. It is the first and largest of its kind in the country dedicated to university students.
Commending the leadership of the country and her pride in being part of the organisation of the Games, Al Hammadi told Aletihad, “The tournament represents a first step on the road to continuing growth and development to increase the number of games and participants, and to reach greater and broader horizons at the regional level.
“We will provide all the necessary components to achieve this through our long-standing experience in the field of managing sports and entertainment events, according to the best practices, to achieve the best outcomes in the long term. This is the largest... and represents a new pivotal step for Emirati sports; the aim is to promote university students by holding high-level sports competitions on an annual basis, and contribute to attracting talented players to support professional sports with young talents from within Emirati universities that embrace all categories of youth from all over the region.”
Al Hammadi reminded that the Games’ debut is one of the outcomes of the unique “Sports Future Retreat”, held by the Ministry of Sports, which brought together higher education institutions from all over the country in a sports tournament that started in November and will run over a period of five months.
Currently, the participation of 1,585 students from 28 universities has been confirmed, with 55% male students and 45% female students, competing in three sports: basketball, football, and volleyball. A total of 382 matches will be held during the session, while the final round will conclude with 42 matches.
“The Games will be a platform for discovering distinguished national sports talents and for establishing a sports culture among the sons and daughters of the UAE’s universities. This initiative, which will be held every year, comes as part of the country’s future vision to create a distinguished university sports environment that enhances the country’s position as a leading sports destination regionally and globally.”
Al Hammadi revealed that the tournament’s competitions are being held at universities and between them in several areas in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai, and Sharjah.
The teams compete in the qualifying system, where eight teams from each sports competition qualify to compete for the title. The tournament concludes with the final matches in March, which determine the winner of six championship categories, followed by a ceremony to crown the winners next April.
Regarding the tournament’s gains in supporting the female players, Al Hammadi said, “We support women’s sports in trying to expand the horizons through their successes. There is an emphasis on the importance of women practicing sports activities, to reflect the role of sports in improving the psychological and social aspects of women’s lives, and the importance of using sports as an ideal means of expression and an effective tool for change.
“Therefore, we were keen on the active participation of girls in this university tournament, by dividing the number of competitions equally between the sexes, by holding three football, basketball and volleyball tournaments for girls, in the same way as for the boys.”