Mohammed Khalfan Al Rumaithi reviews the work plan of the General Authority for Sport

His Excellency Major General Mohammed Khalfan Al-Rumaithi, Chairman of the General Authority for Sport, praised the success of the ceremony honoring the athletes and the honorable picture it came out with. He said that the ceremony was successful and expressive and that it will be witness bigger development in the coming years. He also revealed that the Authority is working hard to advance sport in the country and reach to prestigious ranks with it, through closer cooperation and consultation with the federations, in order to overcome the difficulties, develop the work and harvest the positive results. He pointed out that work is currently underway in more than one axis such as the administrative and financial organization between the Authority and the unions to achieve full transparency. There are technical projects to regulate the money spending and know the programs of the federations for the next four years in addition to the legal axis represented in the preparation of the sport law through the committee headed by Said Abdul Ghaffar, which includes 18 experts to complete the law during the coming summer. The Chairman of the Authority talked about the project of supporting the talented, which has so far collected 22 million and 500 thousand dirhams, after the launch of deposits from companies and institutions and businessmen on March 1st, in a positive move which will have a positive impact on giving attention to the talented athletes who can honor the UAE sport and raise its flag high. Al Rumaithi added that the Authority is in the process of preparing a regulation to act with the Fund, and will rely on the government soon to start implementation. His Excellency Maj. Gen. Mohammed Khalfan Al-Rumaithi revealed the focus of the General Authority for Sport in the coming period on five important axes, which will have a positive impact in pushing the work in the sports field such as amending the salary list for trainers, administrators and jobs in the unions, which is old has not changed for 20 years, it will be adjusted in line with the current situation in the country, and in line with the aspirations and objectives of the federations in the next stage. He added that the clubs will also be supported financially, as the support will be returned as it was previously out of the Authority to the clubs and not through the federations starting July 1, and that the Authority is working to find a list of standards through which the federations are supported. A committee has been formed to prepare and discuss support allocated for the unions. He added that work is also going on with regard to the electoral system in order to prepare a system that will serve the sport in the next stage. He pointed out that the current session ends in 2020, so there is sufficient time to focus on preparing an electoral system that meets the expectations and keeps pace with the next stage. Al-Rumaithi said that the Authority received some complaints from a number of athletes who did not receive the rewards that is worthy of their achievements. Therefore, the criteria for the award will be reviewed for development if development is necessary until the award goes to the one who deserves it. Al-Rumaithi also talked about the issue of full time athletes, pointing out that the Authority is working on preparing a study on the subject and those who refused the idea to presented it to the government, considering that the ministerial decision is good but not applied as required, where we did not reach 50% of its application which requires us to find the reasons and the causes. Mohammed Khalfan Al-Rumaithi stressed that the Authority attaches great importance to the subject of sport facilities, where there is an allocated budget from His Highness the President of the country. He said: "The projects will start soon, in addition to the budget allocated for some projects; the government will review them soon to be planned for next year”. He also revealed the construction of 5 new halls in Dibba Al Fujairah, Al Ta’awon, Masfout and two other clubs. He added that the projects are an important focus, and that the Authority will work to accomplish them during the next three years, in cooperation with the Initiatives Committee and the Infrastructure & Work Committee. Al-Rumaithi stressed that government funding will increase, as the Authority's perceptions and ideas will be presented to the government in order to convince them to increase the financial support for the federations. Regarding the issues that have spread in the sport street during the past period, such as the case of the Federation of Athletics, Al-Rumaithi stressed that all the issues put forward have taken their right of research, and now will be submitted to the committees concerned for decision-making, stressing that the issues will not remain locked in the drawers. He praised the continuous cooperation with the Olympic Committee, considering that the future is promising, and said: «The Authority will strive and work hard for the service of sport», stressing that with good administrative organization and clear regulations and financial discipline results are achieved. The head of the General Authority of Sport confirmed that the doping test will be circulated from next season on all games so as not to fall into the taboo. "We protect our athletes, because in the absence of a strict law, we will provide the budget for the committee and the federations, we seek to build a mobile laboratory that facilitates the application of doping tests."