1. Introduction

In line with the strategic directions of the United Arab Emirates in enhancing data governance and adopting data as a national asset that enables the development of government services and policies with efficiency and transparency, the Ministry of Sports has issued this policy as the approved regulatory and executive framework for the governance and management of sports data within its institutional scope.

This policy is based on best practices in data governance and management and constitutes an integral part of the digital transformation ecosystem.

It aims to enable the Ministry of Sports to manage its data as strategic assets by implementing unified methodologies and procedures for data management that ensure quality, accuracy, and security.

The policy further seeks to enhance the optimal use of data to support decision-making, achieve operational efficiency, and ensure compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements.

This policy aims to regulate the roles and responsibilities of organizational units, teams, and committees concerned within the Ministry of Sports.

It also defines their obligations in applying unified standards for data governance, including the development of institutional structures and roles, the implementation of quality management tools, the conduct of periodic compliance assessments, and the handling of data in accordance with the highest standards of governance and security.

This policy has been officially approved by the senior management of the Ministry of Sports and is considered a binding document for all departments, organizational units, committees, and teams affiliated with it.

Violations of, or circumvention of, this policy are strictly prohibited.

All concerned organizational units, committees, and teams within the Ministry of Sports, as well as sports entities licensed by it, are responsible for implementing the provisions of this policy.

They are also required to provide evidence of compliance with its principles and controls in accordance with the approved timelines and implementation plans.

2. Objective

This policy seeks to establish an integrated methodology for data governance and management within the Ministry of Sports, including the following:

• Enhance the unified institutional use of government data in the sports sector by building and adopting official and reliable data sources that represent the sports sector in the United Arab Emirates.
• Support mechanisms for sharing sports sector data among government entities in a controlled and secure manner.
• Enable integration between government services by unifying definitions and concepts related to data.
• Adopt shared working rules for data classification based on open data sharing standards, data confidentiality, and the impact of sharing as required and in accordance with the standards of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre and the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority.
• Reduce duplication and redundancy, and address inconsistencies and errors resulting from multiple unapproved data sources.
• Raise the maturity level, quality, and accuracy of sports data throughout all stages of its lifecycle.
• Enhance ethical practices in handling sports data and ensure compliance with legislation related to its protection and confidentiality.
• Support the government’s direction toward making decisions based on accurate, consistent, and up-to-date data.
• Promote the concept of open data sharing with the public.

3. Scope of Work

Compliance with the provisions of this policy is a mandatory institutional obligation for all organizational units in the Ministry of Sports and sports entities licensed by the Ministry of Sports, including senior management, technical departments, operational units, support units, and contracted external service providers.

The scope of application of this policy extends to include all types of data that fall within the jurisdiction and responsibility of the Ministry of Sports or are processed within its systems or digital or operational environment, whether:

• Player data (names, ages, nationalities, fitness, medical records, etc.).
• Data of workers in the sports sector.
• Sports facility data (locations, capacity, etc.).
• Event data (number of participants, results, evaluations, etc.).
• Institutional and operational performance data (budgets, projects, indicators, etc.).
• All items contained in the International Sports Data Guide adopted by the Ministry of Sports.
• Data created or produced internally by the Ministry of Sports systems or employees.
• Data received from external entities under data sharing or integration agreements.
• Data processed, analyzed, or modified for business support purposes within the Ministry of Sports.
• Data stored and archived in institutional repositories or databases.
• Data shared or reused by other government entities or third parties.
• Non-sports data or data related to entities outside the scope of sports is excluded from this policy.
• This obligation includes handling data in all its forms (digital or paper) and across all classifications (personal data, reference data, operational data, open data, and others), in accordance with approved quality, privacy, confidentiality, and data protection standards.
• Each organizational unit is committed to fulfilling its responsibilities to ensure compliance with this policy, including governance responsibilities, quality control, access control, documentation of data management–related activities, and providing the necessary support for audit, review, and periodic assessment procedures conducted by regulatory bodies or governance units within the Ministry of Sports.
• The scope of compliance also includes applying data management and protection requirements in accordance with national policies and approved regulatory frameworks, including those issued by authorities concerned with data governance, privacy protection, and information security.
• Organizational units are committed to applying data classification controls according to confidentiality and sensitivity levels, implementing the necessary procedures to protect data from unauthorized access, modification, or loss, and ensuring full alignment with national data protection regulations.

The Ministry of Sports has adopted an integrated operational model for data management and governance that serves as the reference framework for organizing roles and distributing responsibilities among relevant regulatory and technical entities.

This model ensures integration in managing data as a strategic asset that supports decision-making and enhances operational efficiency.

The Ministry of Sports based the adoption of this model on defining the key roles of the data management team as follows:

4. Responsibilities

• Data Management Officer

  Represents the leadership and strategic role in data governance and management within the Ministry of Sports, with responsibilities that include the following:

  • Representing the Ministry of Sports before the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre and other regulatory bodies in matters related to data indicators, and coordinating all related data exchange and processing operations.
  • Developing the data management strategy and compliance and implementation plans related to performance indicators, and overseeing the implementation of governance and technical integration policies.
  • Monitoring the implementation of data sharing plans and ensuring that all organizational units comply with approved work plans, timelines, quality levels, and required data classifications.
  • Overseeing the implementation of data-related agreements, reviewing templates, and applying policies to ensure the accuracy and integrity of exchanged data.
  • Monitoring the preparation and documentation of the data guide/catalog and ensuring that the technical infrastructure aligns with the requirements of regulatory authorities and data beneficiary entities.
  • Developing and applying methodologies for controlling and improving data quality, and leading audit activities and corrective reporting.
  • Overseeing the implementation of the record data classification framework and ensuring compliance with national data protection regulations.
  • Coordinating with responsible teams to identify and publish open data, monitoring its updates, and ensuring compliance with national standards.
  • Leading assessment, training, and capacity-building activities for teams involved in data management.
  • Managing the team responsible for data indicators and monitoring implementation in accordance with the approved timeline.

• Data Steward

  The executive officer within the relevant organizational units, whose scope of duties includes the following:

  • Reviewing and implementing data availability agreements and proposing improvements in accordance with applicable requirements and legislative rules.
  • Analyzing and classifying personal and sensitive data and ensuring compliance with national legislation and privacy protection requirements.
  • Documenting the data guide/catalog for each data source and maintaining data dictionaries and glossaries to ensure consistency and institutional knowledge.
  • Supporting data quality procedures in collaboration with the technical team and preparing periodic reports that include practical solutions to improve and maintain data quality levels in line with defined requirements.
  • Implementing data classification procedures and ensuring proper documentation of all related processes.
  • Verifying that data intended for sharing with regulatory bodies and data beneficiary entities complies with the required technical and regulatory standards.
  • Contributing to the identification and publication of open data while ensuring an appropriate balance between transparency and data protection.

• Data Technician

  The specialist responsible for implementing and documenting the technical aspects of data management, whose duties include the following:

  • Extracting and preparing data from systems and configuring it for interoperability with national data sharing platforms in accordance with approved specifications.
  • Creating and updating metadata and the data guide/catalog, and documenting the detailed technical characteristics of data sources.
  • Designing and implementing electronic integration with government platforms and ensuring secure and consistent data flow.
  • Monitoring procedures related to data integration and interconnection operations, and addressing technical failures in coordination with relevant entities.
  • Improving data quality by applying technical tools and procedures that ensure data accuracy, integrity, and compliance with operational requirements.
  • Collaborating with information security teams to protect data and ensure compliance with information security and privacy protection policies for data sources throughout the data lifecycle.

5. Terms and Definitions

• Ministry: Ministry of Sports.
• Sports Entities: Any non-governmental sports entity licensed by the Ministry or authorized by competent authorities, operating in the field of sports, such as federations, associations, clubs, companies, and sports institutions.
• Licensed Sports Entities: Any sports entity for which a licensing decision has been issued by the Ministry in accordance with Article (36) of this law, such as federations, associations, and sports clubs.
• Sports Federation: A sports entity licensed by the Ministry, responsible for managing one or more sports activities.
• Sports Clubs: A sports entity licensed by the Ministry, designated for practicing one or more sports, affiliated with one of the sports federations licensed by the Ministry.
• Data Management Officer: The person responsible at the Ministry of Sports who has the authority to manage the Ministry's data program, and is entrusted with the responsibility of leading and supporting data governance and management operations, effective data dissemination and exchange, and ensuring the achievement of the entity's strategic objectives regarding data.
• Data Steward: The person assigned data management tasks at the organizational unit level, including classification, quality, documentation, and sharing within a regulatory framework compliant with legislation.
• Data Technician: The person responsible for implementing the technical operations necessary for extracting, preparing, ensuring the quality of, integrating, and sharing data within and outside the Ministry of Sports.
• Data: A structured or unstructured set of facts, realities, concepts, instructions, information, observations, or measurements, in the form of numbers, letters, symbols, images, maps, or any other form.
• Information: A set of data, facts, knowledge, or details that have been organized, processed, or presented in an understandable or systematic manner.
• Data Sharing: Sharing or providing access to data granted to an entity different from the one that originally created and used that data.
• Data Governance: The secure management of institutional data in all its organizational forms through infrastructure, processes, rules, and defined responsibilities.
• Data Management: Systems and methods aimed at handling data as an asset owned by the Ministry of Sports.
• Government Data: Any data or information stored electronically or non-electronically belonging to the government or public authorities and institutions.
• Personal Data: Any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.
• Sports Data: Any electronic or non-electronic data related to sports, including performance and personal data.
• Metadata: A set of information organized according to a specific structure that enhances discovery, understanding, and use of data.
• Data Classification: The process of determining the sensitivity or importance level of data.
• Data Quality: The degree of accuracy, completeness, consistency, and currency of data.
• Data Lifecycle: The stages data goes through from creation to archiving or destruction.
• Audit Records: Digital records documenting operations performed on data.
• Open Data: Data published by government entities for public use with minimal restrictions.
• Open Data by Default: The assumption that all non-personal data is publicly available unless restricted.

• Data Management Principles: Permanent value statements guiding long-term decision-making.

  • Used to identify and support strategy developments.
  • Understood, agreed upon, and owned by stakeholders.

• Private Sector Entities: All entities not classified as government or semi-government entities.

  • Companies and institutions owned by individuals.
  • Private sector entities in the Emirate, including free zone authorities.
• Sensitive Personal Data: Data revealing sensitive attributes such as health, beliefs, or biometric data.
• Government Data Shared Digitally with Other Government Entities: Data shared through approved electronic platforms.
• Data Sources: Any system, database, or document containing data.
• Data Ownership: The formal responsibility of an organizational unit for data use, quality, and compliance.

6. References

• Federal Law No. (4) of 2023 concerning Sports and its Executive Regulations.
• Federal Law No. 45 of 2021 concerning Personal Data Protection.
• Federal Decree No. (28) of 2024 amending some provisions of Federal Law No. (1) of 1972 concerning the Competencies of Ministries and Powers of Ministers.
• Federal Decree-Law No. (46) of 2021 on Electronic Transactions and Trust Services.
• Cabinet Resolution No. (22) of 2025 concerning the Organizational Structure of the Ministry of Sports.
• Digital Government Policies in the Country (TDRA).
• Open Data Policy – UAE Digital Government Portal.
• General Principles of Data Governance (DAMA-DMBOK2), and Data Maturity Model from the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre.
• Government Data Standards Guide, and Data Privacy Laws (FCSC Data Maturity Framework).
• Federal Data Quality Guide, Data Maturity Model, Data Exchange Agreements (FCSC).
• Government Cybersecurity Standards (NESA).
• International Data Governance Standard (ISO 38505-1).
• Open Data Specifications Guide for Government Entities 2022.
• Open Data Guide 2011.