General Authority of Sports and UAE Shooting Federation hold meeting to foster talent in priority sports

The General Authority of Sports held a meeting with the UAE Shooting Federation to chalk out strategies aimed at discovering and building new sports talents in the UAE. This comes in line with the UAE’s sports sector’s strategy 2032 that aims to enhance the country’s participation in the Olympics and prospects of international achievements and reiterates the crucial role that priority sports federations play in achieving this.

The meeting held at the Authority’s headquarters was attended by H. E Sheikh Suhail bin Butti Al Maktoum, Executive Director of the Sports Development Sector at General Sports Authority, Sheikh Ahmad bin Mohammad bin Hasher Al Maktoum, President of the UAE Shooting Federation, and Talal Hindi, Executive Director of the Federation, as well as Abdul Aziz Hosan, Director of the Competitive Sports Department at the Authority, and Omar Khalaf, Director of the Department of Sports Governance at the Authority.

H.E. Sheikh Suhail bin Butti Al Maktoum said: “Our collaboration with the federation reflects our commitment to the 'Principles of 50’ which aims to strengthen the international presence of UAE in sports. Our strategies seek to strengthen governance in administrative work and enhance the process of talent discovery and development, to encourage more participation and achievements in the Olympic games.”

“The most prominent sports achievement in the history of the UAE is the gold medal we received in Athens 2004 Olympics, achieved by Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Hasher Al Maktoum, in shooting. Therefore, we look forward to cooperating with him and the UAE Shooting Federation to prepare a new generation of champions who can raise the flag of the UAE in the international forums. We commend the UAE Shooting Federation's consistent efforts in promoting national tournaments and fostering fierce competition that serves as the greatest training ground for athletes competing in a variety of international events” he added.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Hasher Al Maktoum said: “The introduction of priority sports is a qualitative step toward upgrading the UAE's sports industry and enhancing our Olympic presence. The UAE Shooting Federation is committed to the UAE Sports Sector Strategy 2032 to identify the best approaches to develop a generation of future champions.”

Sheikh Ahmed added: “In cooperation with the General Authority of Sports, we hope to promote the popularity of shooting sports, draw more talents from the nation and develop them both mentally and physically to enable them to raise UAE’s flag in international forums. Our partnership with the Emirates Sports Federation for School and University Education Institutions is an ideal opportunity to collaborate with educational institutions, to further promote shooting sport among students.”

Forms addressed to the priority sports federation were presented during the meeting, which included the federation’s internal operations, list of outstanding talents of each age group and plans for nurturing them. This meeting comes as part of a series of workshops that bring together the General Authority of Sports and the UAE Shooting Federation to develop future strategies for each of the priority sports federations and adopt them as a roadmap to get further Olympic achievements.

The conference also reviewed the federation's operational and technical requirements, evaluated the infrastructure and facilities available in shooting sports and methods to enhance them in collaboration with the strategic partners represented by the Sports Coordinating Council. In addition, they also adopted new approaches to collaborate with clubs, so as to develop more sports talents by adhering to advanced training programs.

The Sports Coordinating Council announced recently the priority sports of Shooting, Judo, Fencing, Archery, and Athletics, following a detailed analysis of the sports sector in the UAE, as well as the potential to achieve Olympic successes in such sports.