UAE SPORTS

Basketball

The UAE National Basketball Team will take part in two Championships within the following three months. The Arab Basketball Championship will be held in Cairo during the first week of September, followed by the GCC Basketball Championship which will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between the 4th and 10th of October. The team is presently under training in Budapest, in a three week training camp.

Back to contents.

Bowling

UAE citizen Mohammed Al Qubaisi is a past World Champion in this sport.
The UAE won a bronze medal in the 13th Asian Bowling championship held in June 1995 in Guam. Mohammed Al Qubaisi won the individual title.
The UAE hosted the World Bowling Championships held in Abu Dhabi from November 25 to December 10 1995. Ninety-one countries participated at the specially built 36 Lane Bowling venue.
UAE Bowling Association has selected ten players to represent the country in the Asian Championship to be held in South Korea.
On the first of September, 1996, the Under Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, His Excellency Sultan Saqr Al Suweidi, on behalf of His Highness Sheikh Saeed Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, Chairman the UAE Bowling Association, signed the World Cup Bowling Championship contract, officially declaring the UAE as the country in which the Championships will be held, in 1999.

Back to contents.

Camel Racing

The quest for the perfect racing camel received a boost from research taking place at the Embryo Transfer Research Centre for Racing Camels in Al Ain. The first baby to be raised from a frozen embryo was born to a surrogate mother. Both baby and mother were reported to be doing well.
A new surface was laid on the camel-race track at Al-Wathba, Abu Dhabi, in April 1995.
The first race of the "Pure Arabian Camel Races" for the 1996 year was held on the 10th and 11th of October, 1996 on the "Sweihan" camel race track. The race marked the opening of the 1996 camel racing season.

Back to contents.

Car Rallying

An International Car Rally was held in Abu Dhabi on 9th and 10th March 1995, under the patronage of the International Federation for Motor Car Racing.
A new Motor Race Track was announced for construction in Abu Dhabi.
Top UAE driver, Mohammed bin Sulayem bids for his eighth Middle East title in Jordan rally.
The 1000 Dunes 4x4 Rally took place in Dubai between September 19th and 20th, 1996. The race was part of the 3rd round of the UAE National Rally Championships. His Highness Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum presented the winner, Khalifa Al Mutaywi, with the trophy.The Emirates Motor Sports Federation organized the event.
UAE champion Mohammed Bin Sulayem won the Qatar International Rally, which finished in Doha, Qatar, on the25th of October, 1996. Sulayem is heading the Middle East Rally Championship positions with a current total of 72 points after round 4 of 6 rounds.

Back to contents.

Cycling

The UAE National Cycling Team started its training in the UAE in August 1996, after which it will be leaving for France for a three week training camp in preparation for the GCC Cycling Championship which will be held in Abha, Saudi Arabia from November 1st to 7th.

Back to contents.

Diving

The UAE Diving Association was founded during the year. SCUBA diving has become a popular sport in the Emirates.

Back to contents.

Equestrian

There are simply too many UAE successes in the fields of international horse racing and eventing to list them all here. On a national level the Emirates Equestrian Racing Federation, in just under 3 years, has made impressive progress in promoting the sport. Thoroughbred horse racing in the UAE took off following formation of the EERF in 1993. Facilities include the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club; a new track laid in Dubai which is used for training and tracks in Sharjah, Jebel Ali and Sweihan, together with a new track at Al Ain. The UAE is also deeply involved in horse breeding.

At the Kempton Park Horse racing tracks, five UAE horses were able to win five of the seven rounds of the Race for Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan’s Pure Arabian Horses prize. Four of the horses belonged to HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al- Maktoum and one of them belonged to his brother HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The Race, which takes place under the directions of HH Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and the support of HH Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is organized in cooperation with the British Committee for Pure Arabian Horses, under the patronage of HH Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, head of the UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation.

Back to contents.

Football

The Sharjah Football Club won the prestigious Sheikh Zayed Cup in the UAE Football Championship for 1994-1995.

The UAE is hosting the 11th ASIA CUP Championships which is held between the 3rd and the 21st of December, 1996.
The UAE Football Association signed an agreement with UK’s Byrom Consultants on Monday August 26th to handle the Asian Cup Championship’s foreign visitors’ accommodations.
In September 1996, the UAE Football Association general secretary and Asia Cup Championship manager Ibrahim Al Mahmood signed a contract with Intertec systems LLC , which will be providing press centers of the championship, hotels, and Abu Dhabi and Dubai airports with internet-linked computers. The computers will provide information about the Asia Cup as well as the UAE as a tourist center. Intrenet Address: http://www.asiacup96.org.ae
The 11th Asia Cup Championship Draw Ceremony was held at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the 16th of September, 1996. All the participating countries were represented and a number of famous UAE sports personalities attended.
Etisalat, the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation, will be the official sponsor of the UAE national team. Etisalat will pay Dh 1 million to sponsor the team and will provide all of the telecommunication services for the Asia Cup.

The twelve participating teams were drawn into three groups: Group A (in Abu Dhabi): UAE, Indonesia, Kuwait, Korea. Group B (in Dubai): Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Thailand. Group C (in Al Ain): Japan, China, Uzbekistan and Syria.

The UAE passed their first examination with flying colours, beating Indonesia 2-0 to qualify for the quarterfinals of the XI Asian Cup Finals. The prestigious football tournament, being hosted by the UAE, also saw Kuwait pulling off an upset, beating Korea by the same margin to keep alive their hopes of qualifying. Korea needed only a draw to make the grade in the 12-team tournament.

The 23rd UAE Soccer League season officially began on the 12th of September, 1996. The preliminary round of the Division One League (Mumtaz) will last 81 days.
The team’s national team players who are currently partcipating in the13th Gulf Cup in Muscat, Oman, will only be available during the final league in December, after the Asia Cup Finals and before the World Cup Qualifier in March of 1997.
The UAE Division One League (Mumtaz) teams are Al Wasl, Al Nasr, Al Shaab, Al Ain, Sharjah, Al Shabab, Ittihad Kalba, Bani Yas, Al Wahda and Al Khaleej.
The UAE first division league began in the 1974/75 season and has been held annually for 23 years, except for the 90’91 season, when it was canceled due to the Gulf war. The Wasl Club is the record holder, having won 5 championships over the years.

Back to contents

.Handball

Under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the competition for the Asian Youth Handball Championship took place between the 20th and 30th of August, 1996. The UAE emerged as the winning team and will be representing Asia in the youth World Cup to be held in Turkey in 1997.

Hockey

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the Dubai Gold Cup International Hockey Tournament will be held at the CMC Stadium in Dubai from November 5th to 8th, 1996. The Emirates XI Team and the Dubai XI Team will participate in the Championships along with Pakistan Veteran International, India Veteran International, Tanzania International and Oman International.

Handicapped Olympiad

The days between the 20th and 29th of July, 1996, saw the UAE flag raised with honor, yet again, with the extraordinary performance of UAE sportsmen, in the International Stocke Mandeville Championships for Handicapped Sports, which took place in England. With the continuous encouragement of HH Sheikh Diyab Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE sportsmen were able to collect, through their hard work and dedication, a total number of ten medals, five of which were gold, four bronze and one silver. The UAE National Team has grown accustomed to winning, after performing well in the Championships held in Australia, Belgium, Syria, Egypt and now in England. The Team has added new meaning to the word "handicapped", proving through their accomplishments, their equality to any other sports team. Returning with medals on their chests and proudly raising the UAE flag, the Team is a source of pride and honor to the United Arab Emirates.

The UAE Handicapped Association National Team arrived in Atlanta on the 15th of August, 1996 to participate in the Paralympic Games. 3500 players from over 120 countries are participating in the ten day event.

Back to contents.

Karate

The UAE Karate team returned on the 8th of September, 1996 from the 2nd AGCC Karate Championships which was held in Kuwait from September 4th to 6th. The team returned weighted with 22 medals, 2 gold, 10 silver and 10 bronze.

Parachute Jumping

In January 1995 the UAE Armed Forces Parachute Jumping Team won gold, silver, and bronze medals at an International Competition held in Victoria, Australia.

Back to contents.

Powerboat Racing

Tragic Loss of Powerboat Racing Hero

Among all of the sporting events that took place over the past year, there was one which everyone wishes had never happened. The loss of one of the Middle East's greatest sportsmen, Victory Team power boat racing star, Hamed Buhaleeba, who was tragically killed during the second round of the Class Two World Championship held off the Isle of Wight in late August 1995, was a severe blow. At the time of the accident Hamed's boat, the 32 ft Victory M1, driven by himself and his brother Rashid, was in the lead. Weather conditions were quite windy and a large wave hit the boat at an awkward angle, causing it to flip upside down. Despite the efforts of his team mates Khalfan Harib and Ali Nasser who were in second place but abandoned the race to come to the rescue, and despite a quick response from the emergency services, Hamed was trapped in the cockpit for too long and was pronounced dead after being rushed to hospital.

Hamed Buhaleeba was a world-class sportsman whose determination, bravery and skills took him to the very pinnacle of international competitive powerboat racing. Born in 1955, in Dubai, Hamed won more than 25 titles, including the 1993 Belgian Grand Prix in Ostend, the 1993 Emirates Grand Prix in Dubai, and the 1994 Italian and Scottish Grands Prix. The third most successful driver in the history of the Class One World Championship series Buhaleeba also won the 1989-90 Middle East Class Two driver's title and set a Class Two World Kilo Speed Record of 119.67 mph. in Florida in 1990. Although the UAE team was winning the overall championship they withdrew from the series as a mark of respect to their late team-mate.

Prior to the tragic death of Hamed Buhaleeba, in August 1995, the UAE was achieving considerable international success in powerboat racing.

National Events

Abu Dhabi hosted the last round in the World Championship for Formula One Powerboats. Twenty-three boats from 13 countries vied for honours in three classes.
The 8th round race in the series for the World Championship for Formula One Powerboats was held in Dubai on 18th November 1994. It was organised by the Dubai International Club for Marine Sports.
Rashid Jaber al Hamili and Abdulla Salem al Qubaisi, in their Abu Dhabi Aviation-sponsored boat, won the six-litre Class III Power-boating Race held in Abu Dhabi.
In Class II, Victory Marine's M-2, with veteran Val Ash and Jaber al Tayer, snatched first place from power-boating giants Victory Team's Ali Nasser and Henry Simon in M-5 which held the lead until the penultimate lap..
Dubai hosted races in the Continental Championship for Speedboats on January 13th 1995, in which the UAE Victory team took honours in all three classes.
Dubai hosted races for class two and three in the Continental Championship for Speedboats on April 8th. UAE won first and second places in the Class II race.
Abu Dhabi was the venue for races in the Continental Championship for Speedboats, held on April 21st 1995. UAE's Victory team won the first three places in Class II, in which 27 boats took part; and first place in Class III, where 21 boats competed.
The Abu Dhabi Club for Marine Sports was inducted as a member of the technical committee for Formula One Powerboat Racing. Humaid Bakhit from the UAE powered his Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club boat all the way to the end, in the opening round of the 1996 FI World Powerboat Championship in Sardinia.
Harib, Nasser, poised for Class II title: final round of "Union Internationale Moto-Nautique" (UIM) Offshore Championship powerboating in Abu Dhabi.
Al Kubaisi Group triumphs at Dubai's second Wooden Powerboat race of the season.

International Events

Victory M1 of the UAE's Victory Team landed first place in a race for Britain's Open Speedboat (Category II) Championship. The boat was driven by skipper Sheikh Saeed bin Hamdan al Nahyan, assisted by Veel Dejan.
The UAE Powerboat Racing team’s Humaid Bakhit took part, for the first time, in the World Formula One Powerboat Championships, bringing the UAE team under an international spotlight by claiming his first podium position in the John Player Gold Leaf Grand Prix, in China. Bakhit took a lead in the Asian Championship by assuming first place in its first round. Ranking 5th by the end of the sixth round, Bakhit recently came 7th in the the 7th round.
The UAE’s Dubai Victory Team headed for Montreux, Switzerland for the 6th round of the 1996 UIM Class One World Offshore Championship on Lake Leman, which was held on Sunday September 8th, 1996. Having won 20 Class One races over the past three and a half years, the team was both confident and enthusiastically awaiting the race. Saeed Al Tayer and Felix Seralles's Victory 1 came in third place while the other two Victory boats came in fourth and fifth places. After 7 rounds of the Class One World Championship, Al Tayer and Seralles’s Victory 1 headed the overall Championship positions with 108 points.
Dubai Victory Team’s Khalfan Harib and Ed Coyler of the Lamborghini-powered Victory 4 won the French Grand Prix in St. Tropez on September 15th, 1996.
On Friday October 11th, 1996, the Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) staged the first round of the 1996-1997 "Union Intrenationale Moto-Nautique" (UIM) Middle East and Central Asia Continental championship. Dubai’s own Victory Team M3 (Saeed Al Tayer and Obaid Gharieb) zoomed into first place.
The DIMC is hosting the final two rounds of the "Union Internationale Moto-Nautique" (UIM) Class One World Championship in Dubai on October 25th and November 1st, 1996.
Dubai Victory Team's Al Tayer and Seralles (V1) zoomed to their second successive Class One World Championship title in the Emirates Grand Prix on the 25th of October, 1996, with Victory 7 and Victory 8 in second and third place respectively. Victory 1 is currently heading the Overall World Championship with 138 points.
The Victory Teams will be participating in the 1996 UIM Class 2 World Offshore Championship in November, 1996. The championship will be held in Oman.

Back to contents.

Golf

Dubai hosted the Desert Classic Golf Championship from January 18th to 22nd 1995.
The Dubai Golf Team of four will compete in the 1996 Mercedes Benz Trophy World Final in Stuttgart, Germany between October 24-26.

Back to contents.

Rugby

The International Dubai Championship for Rugby '95 was held in November. Seventy teams participated.

Back to contents.

Sailing

Regular sailing races take place in the UAE, throughout the year.

Traditional sailing boat races were held off Abu Dhabi at various times during the year. Organised by the Emirates Heritage Club, large numbers of the traditional Arabian racing yachts participated in these events.

Dubai hosted a major Regatta for modern sailing boats with 200 taking part.

Chris Graham emerged supreme in the annual Dutco Balfour Beatty sponsored Ocean Trophy held at Jebel Ali Sailing Club over the Eid holiday, in rough seas and high winds.

Back to contents.

Snooker

The UAE won the 4th GCC Snooker Championship for Gulf Countries, held in April 1995.
The Emirates Billiard and Snooker Association is presently preparing to organise and host the Fifth AGCC Snooker Championship, at the Wasl Club in Dubai between the 15th and 22nd of September, 1996. The Championship will be held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The participating countries will be Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
The official opening ceremony for the 3rd UAE Open Snooker Championship was held on October 7th, 1996.

Back to contents.

Volleyball

The GCC Volleyball Championship was held in Dubai in January 1995.
The UAE national youth volleyball team will be training at the Dubai Police College in preparation for the Arab Youth Championship which will be taking place in Cairo, Egypt between the 20th and 28th of September, 1996.

Back to contents.

Chess

Forty Asian cities will take part in the 1996 Dubai Cup Chess Tournament.
On the 18th of August, 1996, HH Sheikh Eisa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE Chess Federation, inaugurated the HH Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan 1996 Chess Championship, in Sharjah. The event was organised by the Sharjah Chess Cultural Club in cooperation with the UAE Chess Associtaion.
The 6th Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival will be held between September 1-12 at the Abu Dhabi Chess Club. The Organizing Committee has already started to take in participation requests at the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation. Requests will be accepted until 25/8/96. Information brochures have been sent out and many requests to join the championships have followed. The Festival will offer five Championships, and expects 400 players to participate. The Championships are: the Open Championship, which includes the Men’s and Beginners’ Championship, the Masters Championship, the Ladies’ Championship, the Children’s’ Championship and finally the "Fast Chess" Championship.

Back to contents.

Cricket

Dubai Port Authority get the better of Dubai Diamonds in the Sony Cup 40 Cricket Tourney.

Back to contents.

Emirates Travelers

The Emirates Travelers, a group of active and adventurous young men from the UAE, which is traveling around the world in order to promote the country’s rich cultural and social heritage, create educational ties with other countries and identify and promote the country’s open trade policy with the world had completed the first phase of its travels, when it arrived in Madrid, Spain on August 2nd, 1996. During the first phase the group had covered 19,000 km in 25 days and hopes to cover another 70,000 km in the next two months in which it will be continuing the 4 remaining phases of its travels throughout each of the North American, South American, Asian, Australian and African continents. The group is scheduled to return by December 2nd 1996, in order to join in its country’s Silver Jubilee celebrations which will commemorate the passage of 25 fascinating years in which the UAE has remained a strong united federal state.

Back to contents.