Dubai: The Dubai Sports Council (DSC) will form a new Sports Investment Committee with immediate effect to encourage and ensure investment into the sports sector. The decision was taken at a meeting of DSC Board of Directors presided over by Mattar Al Tayer, vice-chairman of the council on Saturday.
Early in February, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai amended Law No. 11 of 2009 and issued amendment of some provisions of the law pertaining to the functioning and running of the DSC. The new law gives DSC under the chairmanship of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and chairman of DSC, a bigger role to play in the upliftment of communities and society at large with sport as the main medium.
“We are clear in what we are required to do under the new law and guidelines given to us by Shaikh Mohammad. We need to lead and run the sports sector in such a way that it copes and keeps pace with the latest developments taking place here,” Al Tayer told media after the meeting.
“Sport plays a vital and fundamental part in community movement while also helping individuals to enjoy a happy and positive outlook towards life. At the same time, it also enables individuals, irrespective of their fields and professions, to boost social ties while maintaining a healthy life and contributing towards economic investment,” he added.
The new DSC law also calls for self-sustenance of sports bodies and entities wherein various associations and clubs hitherto benefiting from government support will head towards financial independence. “The powers of the council have been increased and it is our right now to take the lead and launch various new programmes and initiatives to achieve financial parity in sports associations and allied bodies running sport,” Al Tayer noted.
“We also need total professional governance that looks at prudent spending while using the name of Dubai judiciously at events that can only achieve a distinct level of excellence in keeping with the high standards laid down by our leaders,” he added.
Al Tayer cautioned that there will be a further clampdown on sports bodies and events organised without prior permission from the DSC. “We need to fix policies to enhance the level of work in sports corporations and at sports events, which are organised in Dubai and come under DSC’s framework and powers,” he said.
“We will also endeavour to make these policies, practices and initiatives as applicable models in all national sports corporations in the UAE at a later date,” he added.
The DSC Board of Directors will also form a new organising committee to handle the 12th Dubai International Sports Conference that brings together some of the most prominent minds in the field of football at the end of each year. The annual conference will now be incorporated into the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives.
