Nada Al Naqbi, Deputy Head of the Supreme Organising Committee for the Arab Women Sports Tournament (AWST), Head of the Executive Committee and Tournament Manager has said Arab women's sports is witnessing remarkable progress in various Arab countries, marking a new phase of real development towards advancing their performance to the level of professionalism that enables them to compete globally.

"This progress has clearly been reflected through the results sportswomen and female athletes achieved in local, Arab and international tournaments and sporting events," she said during an internal meeting, held as part of the Organising Committee's preparations for the third Arab Women Sports Tournament (AWST 2016), which will take place in Sharjah from 2nd -12th February.

The 2016 tournament will see the participation of 56 clubs from 17 countries, which will compete for the title in basketball, volleyball, table tennis, fencing, archery, shooting, athletics and showjumping.

She said that participation of Emirati women in sporting activities is an excellent opportunity for them to develop their skills. "We are very excited about Emirati women's participation in this edition in light of the support and directives of H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and H.H. Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Wife of H.H. the Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, who works hard to advance Arab women in all areas."

Al Naqbi praised the efforts made by H.H. Sheikha Jawaher in promoting community awareness about the importance of women's sports as a lifestyle, its promotion in the UAE, and her continuous support to enable women to enter the playing field.

She added, "Emirati women have so far made many achievements and are determined to make further accomplishments, thanks to the great support of the UAE's wise leadership, especially the care and support extended by the Mother of the nation, H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union (GWU), Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (FDF) and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood."

Kuwait and Oman are the latest countries to sign up for AWST 2016, this brings the number of clubs to 57 and the number of Arab countries participating in the tournament to 17, including Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan, Palestine, Somalia, Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, Iraq, Tunis, Morocco, Sudan, and the host country, the UAE.
Source: WAM