Dubai: The popular Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament 2019 will return for a seventh season during Ramadan with two sports making their debut.
Amateur cricket and snowboarding will feature among 13 different disciplines, including Futsal, Volleyball, Padel, Fencing, Wheelchair Basketball, Futsal for People with Hearing Disabilities, NAS Night Challenge, the 5km and 10km Runs, a 75km road Cycle Race, 3x3 Basketball and Jiu-Jitsu.
Held under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council (DSC), boasts a total prize fund of Dh6 million.
Organised by the DSC, the NAS Sports Tournament is the biggest event of its kind in terms of participation with more than 22,000 athletes — including amateurs and international legends like Zinedine Zidane and Falcao, and even Ambassadors and Consuls General of different countries — having taken part in the tournament over the past six years.
The seventh season, being held under the slogan ‘Unlimited Capabilities’, will run from May 7 to May 24.
“The NAS Sports Tournament was launched seven years ago, under the guidance and patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, as a pioneering community sports initiative and it has made a significant impact on our sports sector since, embracing every segment of our diverse community, which includes people from 200 different countries,” said Salah Amin, Chairman of the tournament’s executive committee, at a press conference on Monday evening at NAS Sports Complex.
“Today, as we celebrate the Year of Tolerance, we are pleased to announce the expansion of the tournament to include cricket and snowboarding, and we are looking forward to what should be a really special edition of the tournament.
“The unique thing about this tournament is that it is not just for professional athletes, but for all members of the community, whatever their age, gender or ability, including People of Determination. So this is a pure community initiative, which aims to keep our residents physically active during the Holy Month of Ramadan.”
Thanking Shaikh Hamdan for his unlimited support, Hassan Al Mazrouei, Director of NAS Sports Tournament, said: “The NAS Sports Tournament has achieved record success in a very short span, thanks to Shaikh Hamdan’s guidance and generous support. It has become a major sporting event, providing individuals and teams with an opportunity to play sport and remain physically active during the Holy Month of Ramadan.
“Last year, we added three new events to the tournament and this year, in keeping with our promise of involving greater segments of our society every year, we have added cricket and snowboarding to the roster.
The inaugural NAS Cricket Tournament featuring 12 teams will be played under the T10 format and will take place at the Wombats Cricket Ground in DP World (Jebel Ali).
The NAS Snowboarding competition will take place at Ski Dubai on May 10.
