Dubai: Chairman Mohammad Juma Bu Amim has appealed for the International Federation of PGA Golf Tours to sanction the Mena Golf Tour in order for its players to start earning world rankings points.

At present, Mena Tour players are limited to invites, with 24 playing in this weekend’s inaugural Asian Tour season-ending Dubai Open at The Els Club.

The number is unprecedented, with such invites to the European Tour’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic or Hassan Trophy usually bestowed only on the Mena Tour’s top three professionals and leading amateur. The top three also get exemptions into the final round of the Asian Tour’s qualifying school.

But, although thankful for these growing opportunities, Bu Amim said the Mena Tour won’t truly develop until its players earn world rankings points, especially with Olympic Games qualification based on the rankings.

“Our players aren’t going to make world ranking points from one tournament,” he said. “We need a full sanction for our tour so that we can gain world ranking points throughout the year.

“If our [Mena Tour] players win here [at the Dubai Open], they get a card on the Asian Tour, which is a good incentive. Our players also get slots in the Desert Classic and the final stage of Asian Tour qualifying school.

“But to attract more players and to encourage the young generation, we have to give them more. If we are going to make the Olympics one day, we won’t get there if there is no world ranking.”

The Mena Tour has continually asked for International Federation of PGA Golf Tours sanctioning, but Bu Amim says his requests have been overlooked.

“Any tour of this size where we have 400 million people in the region needs financial support,” he said. “The logistics are big and, without sanctioning from the international body, it is becoming more difficult to say to sponsors that this tour will be successful.

“When we started four years ago, we were told after three years we would get it and then they extended it and introduced 13 different categories. I feel there is someone trying to stop it. Otherwise why introduce all these categories?

“We have done whatever we can to gain sanctioning but somebody doesn’t understand what our tour is all about. They think it’s a small tour that should feed into another small tour. But we are a region and should be given a full sanction. We have so many different countries. This is an ongoing battle to see how we can get sanctioning for the International Federation.”