Dubai: The UAE made a clean sweep of the key positions at the historic first elections for the newly-formed Arab Boxing Federation (ABF).
Abdullah Al Sheibani was elected unopposed as the president for a two-year term till 2017 while Najeeb Abdullah Al Fadlani was handed the position of general secretary. Ganem Al Mazroui will be the treasurer at the ABF’s new Dubai headquarters.
Meanwhile, Abdul Karim Al Hilali (Morocco) and Mohammad Ali Al Zaidi (Palestine) were elected vice-presidents, while Taher Al Harzi (Tunisia), Ahmad Al Shaikh (Iraq), Dr Al Dah Walid Adaba (Mauritania), Ahmad Mehrat (Jordan) and Ms. Rukayya Abdul Latif (UAE) were elected as the five board members.
“Our primary task is to work on the unification of our sport,” Al Sheibani told Gulf News. “There are variants of our sport such as boxing, kickboxing and Muay Thai and we would do well to have all these disciplines come under one umbrella.
“Each promoter has his own programme and we need to ensure everyone is on the same page so that our sport can move forward.”
Al Sheibani also highlighted his priorities for the new body that will oversee the development of the sport among all 22 member nations affiliated to the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees (UANOC).
“We need to start from the beginning in all aspects. We need to look at marketing, promotion, media and the financial aspects of our sport,” he said.
Al Sheibani, who also heads the Asian Boxing Federation, acknowledged the ABF has the added responsibility of bringing in new talent to the sport.
“We need to engage our youth and encourage them to practice Arab Boxing,” he said. “Among the points of agenda for our first meeting we will take a look at how we can tap in new talent at the grassroots level.
“The idea is to send the right signals, not just in the Arab world, but throughout the region. Sports has nothing to do with politics and the other way around as well. Our first destination will be Palestine where we can give the right signals to the rest of the world.
Saud Bin Ali Al Abdul Aziz, General Secretary, UANOC, presided over the election ceremony.
“Arab Boxing is one of the fastest growing sports in our region,” he said. “By establishing this federation we are merely keeping up with changing times.
“I am pleased with the unity and enthusiasm of the members and I expect this aspect to take Arab Boxing to the next level.”
Arab Boxing is similar to Mua Thai in that it is characterized by the combined use of fists, elbows, knees and shins to score punches.
Dubai has been at the forefront of promoting this discipline in the region for the past few years.
