President and members of the International and Asian Karate Federation visit the Sports Authority

Saeed Hareb, Vice Chairman of the General Authority for Sport, met with Antonio Spinos, President of the International Karate Federation and a number of members of the Asian Karate Federation this morning at the headquarters of the Authority in Dubai on the sidelines of their scheduled meeting to discuss the 2020 Olympics this week.

Saeed Hareb welcomed the delegation at the beginning of the meeting and conveyed greetings from Major General Mohammed Khalfan Al Rumaithi, Chairman of the General Authority for Sports, and wished them the desired success of the visit and meetings.

Hareb said: "Today, we are delighted that such a meeting will be held in the UAE, where more than 25 presidents of the Karate Federations from Asia will participate. This reflects the efforts of the Emirates Karate Federation to translate the vision and aspirations of our government in leadership, positivity and happiness in all walks of life, and the keenness to raise the flag of the UAE high in all Arab and international forums. This testimony by the President of the International Federation, confirms that the UAE has gone a long way in the technical and administrative levels of the Karate Federation”.

Hareb added that the selection of the UAE as the venue of the meeting underscores the confidence shown by the International Federation and Asia in the UAE's contribution to the sport. The sport of Karate in the UAE is growing stronger and has a global impact on the National Sports Day. This sport held its activities in Dubai with the participation of six thousand participants in the game, and this participation with the number of participants is the highest in the world.

He attributed this achievement to the Board of Directors of the Emirates Karate Federation, the technical and administrative bodies of the Federation and the players, who have joined together to develop a UAE national footprint for the game and to strengthen the UAE's position, thanking and appreciating and praising these efforts.

Saeed Hareb also expressed his pride that the UAE is the gateway to karate towards the global spectrum, as it was the first stop of the President of the International Federation of Karate, after the inclusion of the game in the Olympic Games.

For his part, President of the International Federation of Karate Antonio Spinos thanked the General Authority of Sport for its efforts and its support for all sports in general and for karate in particular. He praised the role of the Emirates Karate Federation, represented by the President of the Federation Nasser Abdul Razzaq Al-Razouqi, describing him as an effective sport icon.

Antonio said that the UAE is one of the strongest supporters of this game, whether by its officials or players.

He praised the level achieved by the Karate game in the UAE, the level of players and the achievements achieved during the past period, and expressed his admiration for the technical and administrative expertise of the UAE federation.

Nasser Abdul Razzaq Al-Razzouqi, Vice President of the International Federation, President of the Emirates Karate Federation, expressed his pride with the presence of this elite of Asian karate leaders, which reached 25 heads of federation in the UAE, pointing out that this reflects the status reached by the UAE and becoming an important center for this game.

Al-Razzouqi added that the Emirates Karate Federation is the largest federation at the local level; its members hold many international, Asian, Western Asian and Arab positions.

He attributed that to the directives of HE Mohammed Khalfan Al Rumaithi, Chairman of the General Authority for Sport, members of the Board of Directors of the Authority and the Olympic Committee, wishing UAE and its youth success in achieving the highest positions in regional and international forums.

At the end of the meeting, Saeed Hareb, Vice Chairman of the General Authority for Sport, presented a commemorative shield to the President of the International Karate Federation Antonio Spinos. He then took commemorative pictures with all the heads of the Karate federations participating in the 2020 Olympic meetings.