Abu Dhabi: The 13th edition of the popular Jimmy George Memorial Ramadan Volleyball Tournament organised by Kerala Social Centre (KSC) promises to be a much more thrilling event this year.
The championship starts tomorrow with Dubai Duty Free taking on Sharjah's Geo Electricals.
With six teams battling it out for the UAE Exchange Trophy, KSC officials have this year restricted the number of invited international players to four per team to make it a more balanced championship.
K.B. Murali, KSC President, said the total prize money including daily awards totalled Dh40,000. "With the NMC Group's UAE Exchange supporting this event for the 13th successive year, we are all set for another exciting 8-day championship," he said.
Evenly balanced
"In the past just two teams had most of the internationals and that made it an uneven competition. However this year all six teams will have nearly three to four internationals so all matches will be closely-contested," he said.
"Supporting such events is part of responsibility towards society. This event is one of the most popular and during Ramadan it brings together players from all nationalities together," said B.R. Shetty, Managing Director of NMC Group of companies.
UAE Exchange Centre's General Manager Sudhir Kumar Shetty said, "This championship is the second most popular volleyball event in the UAE after the Rashid Championship in Dubai. Its popularity has been enhanced by the quality of teams."
"Former champions Ahalia Exchange are back after missing last year's event while the other five teams are ADSO Abu Dhabi, Lebanese Club-Dubai, India Social Centre-Al Ain, Geo Electricals-Sharjah and Dubai Duty Free-Dubai," said KSC General Secretary.
"The teams will be divided into two groups and after a league format the top two teams from each group will play the knockout semis," he added.
While UAE Exchange are the main sponsors, Abu Dhabi Co-op Society and Al Mawasim Watch Co. are the associate sponsors with General Medical Centre and D4 Swiss the co-sponsors of this annual event which is being held in memory of former Indian international Jimmy George who played league volleyball here in the UAE in the 80s.
