Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Creative Sports Awards announced

Dubai: Shaikh Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, rallying ace Mohammad Bin Sulayem, football coach Mehdi Ali and jockey Ahmad Al Ketbi (Ajtebi) were among the recepients of the first Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Awards on Sunday.

Shaikh Hazza was chosen as the 'UAE sports personality of the year' for his contribution to the upliftment of sports in the UAE, while Bin Sulayem was chosen for his efforts in putting the country on the international map with his exploits first as a rallying driver and now as the president of the Automobile Touring Club of the UAE (ATCUAE).

Football coach Mehdi Ali led the UAE's junior team to the Asian title earlier this year and then was at the helm when they fell in the quarterfinals of the Fifa World U-20 Championship that concluded in Egypt earlier this month.

Jockey Al Ketbi, who is with the Dubai-based Al Aasfer Stables, has been a consistent performer for Dubai at major horse races all over the world. The season gone by has been his best ever after he raked in access of Dh26 million, including a remarable win in the Dubai Duty Free Group 1 on Dubai World Cup night.

"We received hundreds of recommendations from all across the Middle East, but we ensured we maintained a very fair and transparent method of choosing the winners," Dr Ahmad Sa'ad Al Sharif, General Secretary of the Dubai Sports Council, said.

"This award is not just about sports and performances, but more about the creativity involved in taking sports to a higher level," he said.

When the details of the award were announced a few months back, the budget had been set at Dh5 million, but subsequently, this has been doubled to Dh10 million. The cash prize will be shared between all 20 winners – ten each from the UAE and the Arab world.

The awards are expected to be presented at a special function to be held in Dubai as per the convenience of the winners by the end of this year.

Also on the anvil is the upgrading of the award for a separate international category most probably by 2011.

Awards

(UAE)

• 1. Shaikh Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan
• 2. Ahmad Al Ketbi
• 3. Mehdi Ali
• 4. Mohammad Bin Sulayem
• 5. U-20 UAE football team
• 6. Sharjah Ladies Club and UAE Athletics Federation
• 7. Mohammad Khamis Khalaf (Dubai Club for Special Sports)
• 8. Dubai Club for Special Sports
• 9. Dubai Sports Channel

(ARAB REGION)

• 1. Shaikh Ahmad Bin Fahad Al Sabah (Kuwait)
• 2. Ousamma Al Mellouli (Swimmer, Tunisia)
• 3. Hassan Shahatah (Football coach, Egypt)
• 4. Sa'ad Kamil (Football referee, Kuwait)
• 5. Oman football team
• 6. National Centre for Medicine and Sports Sciences, Tunisia
• 7. Mohammad Saeed Hamman (Inventor of Eye Ball, Morocco)
• 8. Dr Esmail Mohammad and his team (Olympic Model Plan, Egypt)
• 9. Saudi Sports Medicine Association
• 10. Abu Bakr Kaki Khamis (800m runner, Sudan)
• 11. Al Wahdat, Jordan (Best team)