Dubai: The annual UAE National Sports Day will only get bigger and better following the tremendous success of the inaugural edition on Wednesday.
Saeed Hareb, General Secretary, Dubai Sports Council (DSC) and one of the members of the Higher Organising Committee told Gulf News that Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President UAE National Olympic Committee (UAE NOC), has challenged the committee to take the next logical step forward.
“We accept this challenge thrown at us. Shaikh Ahmad was pleased with what he witnessed. He told us specifically that he doesn’t want us to compete with others. On the contrary, he wants us to challenge ourselves to do better than what we have done today,” Hareb reported.
“For us this is a huge achievement. Shaikh Ahmad was genuinely interested in what was happening around at the Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) and all other venues around the UAE. He wants us to now take stock at the positives and the negatives and see how we can build on this achievement while also improving on the negatives,” Hareb added.
He further related that the DIMC would continue as the headquarters for the annual event. “Shaikh Ahmad loved the venue and how it had been transformed with so many sporting activities all over the DIMC. He witnessed different generations and different people doing a whole range of activities. And this is the motive behind the UAE National Sports Day,” Hareb noted.
“This is a special day in our life as citizens of the UAE. It is left to us to follow the aspirations of our leaders who have shown us the importance of sport in our lives. This brings in added value into our life and we need to carry on from here,” he added.
The Higher Organising Committee will meet sometime next week to take stock of what has happened and iron out the creases, if any, in preparation for next year’s edition.
