SHEIKH NAHYAN AND PRINCESS RIMA WIN THE TOP HONOURS AT 9TH EDITION MBR CREATIVE SPORTS AWARDS

Omar Abdul Rahman Al Amoodi is UAE Athlete of the Year, while Egyptian Squash Star

Nour Atef El Sherbini picks up the Arab Athlete Award.

DUBAI – His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan has been named the

UAE Sports Personality of the Year at the 9th Edition 2017 of the Mohammed Bin Rashid

Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award, while Her Royal Highness Princess Rima bint Bandar

Bin Sultan Al Saud of Saudi Arabia has picked up the corresponding award for Arab Sports

Personality.

The winners were announced at a press conference on Monday afternoon at the Palazzo

Versace Hotel by His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for

the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award, which is one of the

entities under the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives.

Moaza Al Marri, Secretary General of the Award, Mustapha Larfaoui, Member of the

Award’s Board of Trustees and Chairman of the Jury Committee, were also present on the

occasion.

Sheikh Nahyan was bestowed the honour for his contributions as Chairman of the General

Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare, while Princess Rima – Deputy President of the

Sports Authority for Planning & Development and the first female to head a Saudi Sports

Federation, has picked up the award for her contributions in founding and regulating

women’s sport in Saudi Arabia by introducing sports among girls at public schools.

Omar Abdul Rahman, the UAE and Al Ain Football Superstar who was named AFC Player

of the Year for 2016, has picked up the UAE Outstanding Athlete Award, while Egytian

squash player Nour Atef El Sherbini, the Women’s World No1 who has won back-to-back

World Open titles in 2015 and 2016, has been named the Arab Outstanding Athlete.

The 9th Edition of the Awards considered the sporting achievements of individuals, teams

and organisations during the period September 20, 2016 to August 31, 2017 and all the

winners will be honoured at a glittering Awarding Ceremony on January 10, 2018.

Speaking on the occasion, Al Tayer, who is also Vice Chairman of Dubai Sports Council,

said: "On behalf of the Board of Trustees for Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Creative Sports Award and the sports sector, I would like to thank His Highness Sheikh

Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman

of the Executive Council of Dubai Government and Dubai Sports Council, and His

Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE

National Olympic Committee and Chairman of the Award, for their guidance and unlimited

support, which has strengthened the status of this prestigious award and put it at the

forefront of international awards, honouring innovation and creativity in the world of

sports.

"Thanks to the generous care and efforts of the Board of Trustees and employees of the

award, and the efforts of local and Arab media organisations in supporting the work of the

Award and the distribution of its message, the 9th Edition 2017 of the Award has grown

significantly in terms of numbers and the quality of entries.

"Although the qualifying period for the 9th Edition 2017 of the Awards - which was from

September 20, 2016 to August 31, 2017 – did not witness any Olympic Games and there

were few major international events during this period, there was a significant increase in

the number of entries – we received 297 entries for this edition, which is 99 more than

what we received for the 8th Edition of the Awards (198), a jump of 50 per cent.

"We saw an increase in the number of entries for the Awards in the different UAE

categories as well. Last time, we received 72 files; this time, that number has gone up to

87. The number of entries we received from International Sports Federations also went up

from 15 to 26, an increase of about 73 per cent."

Empowerment of Women, as decreed by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al

Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, was one of

the principal focus of the 9th Edition 2017 of the MBR Creative Sports Award and Al Tayer

was pleased to see the presence of a number of women, like Princess Rima and El Sherbini,

in the winners’ list.

"I am also very pleased to see a strong presence of women on the list of competitors for the

9th Edition of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award," Al Tayer

said. "This year, Empowerment of Women was the criteria for judging the best local and

international organisations, and that confirms the status of women’s sport in the awards and

our positive interaction with them."

THE AWARD WINNERS

UAE Sports Personality Award

HE Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan (UAE)

Arab Sports Personality Award

HRH Princess Rima bint Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud (KSA)

UAE Outstanding Athlete Award: Omar Abdul Rahman Al AMoodi (Football)

UAE Referee Award: Ebrahim Yousef Al Mansoori (Beach Soccer)

UAE Coach Award: Saeed Bin Suroor Al Khaldi (Horse Racing)

UAE Organisation Award: UAE Jiu Jitsu Federation

Arab Outstanding Athlete Award: Nour Atef El Sherbini (Egypt - Squash)

Arab Administrator Award: Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Al Gannas (KSA)

Arab Referee Award: Tarek Bin Mohamed Souei (Tunisia)

Arab Coach Award: Faris Ibrahim Al Assaf (Jordan)

Arab Team Award: Iraqi Youth Football Team U16

International Organisation Award (Association of Summer Olympic International

Federations)

Union Cycliste International (UCI)

International Organisation Award (Association of IOC Recognised International

Sports Federations)

International Cricket Council (ICC)

UAE Emerging Athlete Award (Nominees – voting to continue until Dec 31)

1. Hussain Yousuf Anwar (Football)

2. Ammar Mohammed Al Sedrani (Chess)

3. Maitha Abdulla Hasan (Judo)

4. Wadima Saeed Abdulla (Jiu Jitsu)

5. Omar Mohammed Alwan (Jiu Jitsu)

6. Abdalla Guhloom Al Maazimi (Taekwondo)

Arab Emerging Athlete Award: Mohammed Mustafa Al Sowaiq (KSA - Taekwondo)

Distinguished Athletes Achievement Sports Award: Farida Hisham Osman (Egypt -

Swimming)

Difficult Challenges Award (People of Determination Category)

1. Abdellatif Baka (Algeria - Athletics)

2. Fouad Baka (Algeria - Athletics)

Olympic Creative Sports Award

1. Mohammed Gammoudi (Tunisia - Athletics)

2. Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco - Athletics)

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