Dubai forum plans football, badminton matches
10 nations from the region will be invited to send in two women players each
Dubai: The BWF Peace and Sport Badminton Cup and a goodwill football match between Pakistan and the UAE are among the two initiatives that were announced during the Peace and Sport Forum Dubai 2013.
The Badminton Cup is a result of an initiative taken by former champion from Iran Kaveh Mehrabi, while the second is from Pakistan national football team captain Kashif Siddiqi under his ‘Football for Peace Foundation’. Both events will be held in Dubai in September this year.
The football match will be played between the Pakistan and UAE men and women’s teams to mark the UN International Day of Peace on September 21, while the Badminton Cup will be either in the second or third week of September. Proceeds from the match will be in support of the Malalah Yousafzai Foundation that through its legacy project supports women’s sport, education and equality.
“It’s not about the amount of money we can generate and hand over to the foundation, but more about doing something to promote a cause,” Siddiqi said at the announcement.
Mehrabi, who is still in the process of putting the final touches to the badminton competition was pleased with the reception it has received from Dubai. “The main objective of the Badminton Cup is to assure the development of the sport in the region. It’s something of a follow-up on the ‘ping-pong diplomacy’,” Mehrabi related.
Altogether 10 nations from the region will be invited to send in two women players each along with a coach. These players, however, will be mixed with other players so that everyone gets a chance to play against each other and thus foster friendship between players from participating nations. “There will be workshops organised on the sidelines so that they can assimilate the technical aspects of the game,” Mehrabi noted.
