Dubai: In an effort to promote hockey in the UAE, the UAE Hockey Committee has signed a Dh1 million sponsorship deal with Dnata.
"We are all set to revive hockey in the UAE and have taken a few major decisions. We called a board meeting of the UAE Hockey Committee and have chalked out plans for the coming season," remarked Khalid Esmail, the vice president of the UAE Hockey Committee, to Gulf News.
In a major development, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has provided sanction to the UAE Hockey Committee to stage the Asia Cup tournament next year.
Dubai Sports City's state of the art hockey stadium, which is nearing completion, will stage the event in 2009. "The board met and discussed the Asia Cup event at length and submitted the necessary documents that a host country must submit to the FIH before staging an international event" added Esmail.
"The sponsorship deal with Dnata and the oncoming Asia Cup will give a big boost to the game here, We will utilise the sponsorship money for the extensive promotion of the game not only among the sub continent people but also among the Westerners and UAE nationals. We have worked out a very clear plan which will be announced soon," said Esmail.
Puma has also agreed to distribute their products among hockey players.
The UAEHC will be inviting all the hockey lovers, promoters of the game and media for a get-together party in October.
"We are keen to have more ideas through interaction and hope to gain maximum benefit from this party. We will also honour people who have tried to keep the game alive despite the obstacles," he added.
Following the board meeting, the UAEHC decided to seek the help of the Ministry of Youth and Sports to popularise the game in the school.
As a first step they have already sought the help of the Inter Schools Association to include hockey as one of their tournaments.
"We have sought technical support from the ministry. We also have decided to appoint a professional coach who can guide our teams as well as teach youngsters at the schools level," said Esmail, who was also one of UAE's leading soccer player.
The board meeting which was held at the UAEHC office was chaired by Esmail Al Banna, the president of the UAEHC. Atiq Jumma, the General Secretary also attended the meeting.
"We may be revamping the whole structure of the UAEHC and also create new posts to ensure that our activities will be in full swing," he said
The board meeting also passed a resolution thanking the Asian Federation, FIH and the Dubai Government for their support to promote the game.
