Launching the "Sports Federations Governance Guide"

The General Authority of Sports (GAS), in cooperation with the National Olympic Committee, announced during a press conference held today in Dubai the launch of the "Guide to Governance of Sports Federations". This Guide is the first of its kind in the Middle East region, which constitutes a qualitative leap in the process of developing local sports sector. It establishes a new approach to institutional models for sports federations according to frameworks that support the development of diverse sports, which will contribute to creating an environment and a sports community capable of making regional and global achievements. The conference was attended by H.E. Saeed Abdul Ghaffar Hussein, Secretary-General of GAS, and H.E. Mohammed bin Sulayem, Secretary-General of the National Olympic Committee. During the conference, they reviewed most prominent components of the Guide and its features, which reflect GAS's keenness to build a regulatory environment that enables sports federations to achieve outstanding results at all regional and global levels. The Guide comes within the framework of GAS's plan to develop sports sector and its facilities and empower national sports leaders. It includes many general principles that constitute an organizational framework for the establishment of any UAE sports federation, including formation of board of directors, its goals, competencies and responsibilities, in addition to its obligations, its components and mechanisms for selecting members, permanent and temporary committees, its administrative and technical bodies, its financial systems and governance frameworks. H.E. Saeed Abdul Ghaffar Hussein said: “Developing sports sector and all its components and institutions is a priority for our wise leadership, which believes in the importance of sports in building societies, and making achievements that contribute to strengthening the UAE’s position at all regional and global levels. That’s why we are focusing at present on setting of forward-looking visions that guarantee achieving qualitative leaps in the performance of various sports sectors to be more able to build a generation of athletes capable of raising the UAE flag high in all regional and international championships and competitions. "The launch of " Guide to Governance of Sports Federations ", the first of its kind in the region, which comes with the support and guidance of H.E. Dr. Ahmed Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and Small and Medium Enterprises, and GAS Chairman is an example of effective partnership that supports UAE progress and prosperity in all fields. This Guide, which is the fruit of relentless efforts with the National Olympic Committee, provides a forward-looking vision for the development of our sports sector with all its components based on strong foundations implementing best practices and global governance standards to be more competitive on the international scene,” continued His Excellency. "The Guide to Sports Federations Governance” adopts an integrated model to promote sports federations and is based on a set of key pillars that motivate federations to play a more effective role in enriching the UAE sports scene, disseminating and developing the culture of sports practice on the widest scale in the country. This will contribute to building a sports community, especially the youth and talented athletes and make the most of them in all sports in international competitions and championships,” added His Excellency. For his part, H.E. Mohammed bin Sulayem, Secretary-General of the National Olympic Committee, praised the prominent role that the “Guide to Governance of Sports Federations” will play in clarifying and defining many concepts and organizational matters of federations, which are in line with the Olympic Charter of the International Olympic Committee and the laws of international sports federations. In his speech at the press conference to announce the Guide, Bin Sulayem said: “We are meeting today to announce a qualitative kick-off and a new work strategy that aims primarily to provide the ideal environment for our sports federations. The core of this Guide is derived from the directives and vision of HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE National Olympic Committee, which represents the nation and carries its flag in various events and forums, through the launch of the Guide, which was developed in accordance with the best practices and standards by an elite of specialists in legal and sports affairs. Hence, this Guide is considered a beacon that will determine the correct paths for sports federations in formulating their regulations, statutes and internal laws. " Bin Sulayem praised GAS’s complementary role and full coordination to come up with this Guide this important time, in which the UAE is witnessing tangible leaps in all fields thanks to the continued support and attention from His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President to sports sector, as well as our wise leadership’s relentless efforts and dedication. The Guide aims to present the goals, commitments and competencies of sports federations, including spreading sports culture on the UAE widest scale, enhancing the UAE reputation and the federations’ position in various sports forums, preparing national teams in all age groups, promoting women’s participation in sports activities, and improving the performance of technical cadres, referees and administrators, spreading the culture of combating doping and harmful substances, and taking into account the policy and general directions of the UAE sports work. H.E. Secretary-General of the National Olympic Committee also referred to the obligations and competencies of the 10 sports federations included in the Guide, which summarize the various responsibilities and tasks such as managing and monitoring sports affairs in accordance with the provisions of the statutes, organizing sports competitions within the federation’s scope of competency, developing a plan to discover and nurture talented athletes, spreading sportsmanship and principles of fair competition, as well as spreading games and building public bases for them. Bin Sulayem pointed out the importance of sport and its role in building the cultures of nations and peoples. "We, Emirati people, are blessed with a wise and visionary leadership that is satisfied only with excellence and the lead in all fields, including the sports sector. Our wise leadership believes in sports’ great importance in highlighting the UAE unique image and its many gains through our athletes who are the UAE ambassadors before the whole world in various sporting events and forums. Therefore, it was necessary for us to join hands to develop this unified Guide in line with the Olympic Charter and the statutes of international sports federations.” H.E. Mohammed bin Sulayem concluded: "In this regard, I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE National Olympic Committee, for his continued support and relentless efforts to promote and make successful the UAE sports march in all aspects. Thanks are also extended to H.E. Dr. Ahmed Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and Small and Medium Enterprises, Chairman of GAS, H.E. Ali Mohammed Bu Jassim, President of the Emirates Sports Arbitration Center, and all sports federations and councils for their appreciated efforts to promote sports and athletes.