First edition of Emirates Community Sports Forum kick starts at General Authority of Sports headquarters in Dubai

• The forum attracts local community participation and delegations from GCC countries

• The main events of the second day of the forum will be inaugurated by His Excellency Dr Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi under the presence of Emirati and Gulf officials, dignitaries and researchers to discuss Sustainable Community Sports Solutions On the first day, representatives from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain convened to exhibit their expertise and best practices for promoting sports culture in the field of community sports.
• The General Authority of Sports considers community sports as key pillar of its working system in alignment with its vision to encourage community members to actively engage in sports activities, boost competitiveness and sustainability in sports sector.

The first edition of the Emirates Community Sports Forum launched at the headquarters of General Authority of Sports (GAS), in Dubai. The event, which is organised by GAS in collaboration with the UAE Sports for All Federation under the theme ‘Sports and Quality of Life’, is scheduled from November 22 to 24, 2023. The key goal of the forum is to foster the role of community sports in the GCC countries, encourage sports culture across various societal circles, strengthen the UAE’s reputation in a global level in the fields of sports science and boost its role in knowledge transfer.

On the second of the forum, His Excellency Dr Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Education and Chairman of GAS, will inaugurate the major events and activities. The second will feature significant dialogue sessions, that will address the critical issues in the field of community sports at both local and GCC levels and will propose ideal solutions. The Forum will have the participation of renowned researchers and specialists from the region.  Furthermore, the day will witness the launch of the sports exhibition on the sidelines of the forum, that will provide a platform to exhibit the advanced techniques and technologies contributing to the sustainability of community sports. The exhibition will be open for the visitors till the third day of the event.

During the inaugural day, the UAE along with the participating delegations from Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain, highlighted their expertise and best practices in encouraging community sports, while adhering to international standards. Furthermore, they emphasised on the significance of elevating research exchange across all fields, forging and activating partnerships both locally and across GCC countries. They also stressed on the need to share expertise in order to popularise various types of sports among all segments of society in the region and ensure their active participation.

The first day of the forum had the participation of His Excellency Abdullah Ali Al-Rubaie, Head of the Humanitarian and Environmental Affairs Sector at the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council. In addition, the forum witnessed the attendance of various key sports personalities from the National Olympic Committee, sports councils and heads of sports federations and representatives from various participating countries. It also had the participation of young researchers from all GCC countries.

The field of community sports is a main pillar within the framework of GAS to attain its key vision of build an active sports community, that is capable of attaining various global accomplishments.  The authority is relentlessly working to encourage all members of the society to engage in various sports activities, enhance competitiveness and sustainability in the sports sector. The forum is one of the most ambitious initiatives of the authority in line with its strategic plans to nurture a sports culture based on competitiveness, ethics and elevated sportsmanship, in order to position sports a key element in the daily lives of various members of the society