Dubai: Neighbours Al Ahli and Al Shabab once again dominated the annual Dubai Sports Excellence Programme at the presentation ceremony held on Wednesday.
Al Ahli picked up the top prizes for the best football company, best football club and best medical unit, while neighbours and arch-rivals Al Shabab took the prize for the best football academy, best joint venture, best club for the development of women’s sports.
The two clubs shared the limelight in the individual categories as well with Al Ahli’s Ahmad Khalifa Hamad getting the ‘Best CEO Award’, while Al Shabab’s Adil Al Saeed and Majid Ahmad Abdullah winning the best UAE coach and best junior player awards.
Shaikh Mansour Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum presented the awards at a function held at Grand Hyatt on Wednesday morning in the presence of Mattar Al Tayer and Dr Ahmad Sa’ad Al Sharif from the Dubai Sports Council (DSC).
Shaikh Mansour also presented special recognition certificates to eight prominent sports personalities for their contribution to sports in the UAE. These included Abdullah Ebrahim Hussain, Abdullah Salem Al Rumaithi, Mohammad Ahmad Al Kaibtoob, Majid Khalfan Al Badwawi, Ahmad Nasser Al Lootah, Mohammad Khamis Al Merri, Nasser Abdullah Hussain Al Lootah and Saif Abdullah Al Shaffar.
Sami Al Qamzi, Chairman, Al Shabab told Gulf News that the string of awards was a fruit of the hard work put in by everyone at the club at the grassroots level. “These rewards mean everything to a club like Al Shabab. These awards send the right message across to all. The youngsters at the club are assets and we pay adequate attention to developing these assets to serve the interests of sports in the UAE,” Al Qamzi said.
“Our entire vision lies in focusing on our youngsters. We value these players as part of our assets and today when we get these awards it means we are doing the right thing to take Al Shabab forward,” he added.
This is the third year in-a-row that Al Ahli is winning the best club award and CEO Hamad — who also bagged the best CEO prize — was thrilled to see the results of their hard work. “At Al Ahli we do not stop working. These awards are a great achievement to us and a justification that we are on the right track. Al Ahli believes in success, both on and off the field and these awards are a proof,” Hamad said.
