Today's Edition
KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)
Leading experts and strategists discussed and shared trends and news from their respective fields across many topics in a rich exchange of information at the Sports Industry Forum that concluded after two days at the Conference Centre on the campus of New York University, Abu Dhabi.
A leading government official declared the UAE, as part of the 2031 National Sports Strategy (NSS), has set a target to double the participation of Emiratis at the Olympics and Paralympic stages to 28 from this year's Summer Games in Paris.
Officials from government entities such as the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Dubai Racing Club and others contributed on aspects of the sporting movement, while there were viewpoints shared by Mubadala, the sovereign investment company, and from across the border in Naif Al Dossary, Advisor to Strategic Planning and Investment at the Saudi Ministry of Sport.
The Sport Industry Forum brought together over 300 key figures associated with the industry, as well as related sectors such as health, community, and education. Ghanim Al Hajeri, Director General of the General Authority of Sports, opened the Forum with a detailed update on NSS 2031.
"UAE sports are moving in the right direction, thanks to the continuous support from our wise leadership and the efforts of all those involved in the sports sector."
"Especially after launching the NSS 2031, a phased approach has been adopted to implement the 17 projects of the strategy over three stages until 2031, to lead the system to new levels of sports development, through creating new benchmarks for participation and talent development to lead us building a sustainable national sports system."
Dr. Ahmed AlKhazraji, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre, emphasised the intersection of physical activity and health.
"Our health transformation initiatives harness the latest technological advancements to tackle obesity and elevate public well-being. By increasing physical activity, we aim to foster a healthier lifestyle for all Abu Dhabi residents," he said.
Mohamed Al Balooshi, Executive Director of the Department of Community Development, stressed the importance of inclusivity.
Ahmed Ismail Al Hosani, Executive Director of Strategic Planning and Corporate Excellence at Abu Dhabi Sports Council said ,"The Council organises a series of sporting events across Abu Dhabi, to encourage residents to participate while supporting talented and skilled individuals in fulfilling their potential."
Al Dossary explained how Saudi Arabia's vision is not to just hold standalone events but ensure that other walks of life in operations, logistics, etc are benefitted.
"We see how we can add jobs and move to a non-oil revenue economy by 2030. Since the drive over the recent years, we have 22,000 people working; the target is to generate 160,000 jobs and any revenue generated from the event is being put in back to feed the system."
Speaking on collaboration with the UAE and other Gulf countries, the Advisor added, "When we have an event in the region and people are coming to the Kingdom to attend, for example, we will work with Aletihad [Airways] to fly them here and so everyone benefits."
Brian Lott, Chief Communications Officer at Mubadala, revealed that tennis and sailing are the company's focus and how each initiative is designed to create jobs or products sourced domestically and in a sustainable fashion.
Ali Al Ali, the Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Racing Club, also talked about how the bar will be raised when one of the biggest symbols of sport in UAE, the horse racing's Dubai World Cup, will be celebrating its 30th milestone staging.
