DUBAI – His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan has been named the UAE Sports Personality of the Year at the 9^th 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 NourAtef 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 9^th 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 9^th Edition 2017 of the Award has grown significantly in terms of numbers and the quality of entries.

“Although the qualifying period for the 9^th 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 8^th 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 9^th 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 9^th 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:
EbrahimYousef Al Mansoori (Beach Soccer)

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

UAE Organisation Award:
UAE JiuJitsu Federation

Arab Outstanding Athlete Award:
NourAtef 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. WadimaSaeed Abdulla (JiuJitsu)
5. Omar Mohammed Alwan (JiuJitsu)
6. AbdallaGuhloom 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. AbdellatifBaka (Algeria – Athletics)
2. FouadBaka (Algeria – Athletics)

Olympic Creative Sports Award

1. Mohammed Gammoudi (Tunisia – Athletics)
2. Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco – Athletics)