Dubai: Davis Cup, one of the oldest sports trophies, will be on display at the Dubai Mall from Sunday as a build-up to host the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
The trophy will be picked up by top officials from Tennis Emirates (TE) from Dubai Airport and transferred to Dubai Mall earlier on Sunday. The trophy will then be displayed at a prominent open spot at Dubai Mall after being officially unveiled by top dignitaries including Shaikh Hasher Al Maktoum, President, TE, Abdul Rahman Falaknaz, Vice-President, TE and Salah Tahlak, Tournament Director of the annual Dubai Tennis Championships.
TE are hosts of the annual ITF meeting scheduled to be held in Dubai from September 16 to 18 under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman, Dubai Sports Council (DSC).
Organisers of the ITF’s AGM have called upon people and sports lovers in the country to make use of this unique opportunity of having one of the oldest sporting trophies here. “This is such a huge opportunity for the multi-cultural society living in the UAE to have the actual Davis Cup trophy here. I am sure people will turn up in huge numbers and have their pictures taken with the trophy,” noted Tahlak, who is also doubling up as Chairman of the Higher Organising Committee, ITF AGM.
“And since such a meeting is being held in this part of the world for the very first time, I am convinced tennis will receive a huge boost. The presence of the trophy will bring in more value to the sport in the UAE,” he added.
The trophy that today stands for supremacy in men’s team tennis will be shifted to Madinat Jumeirah Hotel on September 18 in time for the draws for the 2015 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas the following day.
The trophy is also considered among the ten best trophies of the sporting world and today, it is the world’s largest annual international team competition in sport with 122 nations taking part in 2014.
Davis Cup by BNP Paribas is structured with a 16-nation World Group contested over four weekends during the season. The remaining countries are then divided into three regional zones depending on their location.
Yet another highlight on the side lines of the AGM will be an attempt to set a first-time Guinness World Record by creating a mosaic using tennis balls to depict the three-finger victory sign of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
The Guinness World Record attempt will be held at the events arena of Jumeirah Beach Hotel at 5.30 pm on September 17.
Backed by Tennis Emirates, Ministry of Interior, Dubai Sports Council (DSC), General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare (GAYSW), Road and Transport Authority (RTA), Dubai Convention Bureau and Jumeirah Beach Hotel, among others, this is the very first time that the ITF is hosting its AGM in West Asia and the Arab world following its grand centenary celebrations in Paris last year.
