'Glory Makers' honoured at Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award in Dubai

DEC was transformed into a lavish venue fitting for those who were to be honoured, in the presence of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, and patron of the Awards, and Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Sports Council.

A Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiative, the event is the largest award of its kind, in terms of prize money and categories, and the first dedicated to creativity in sports.

Sponsored by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, the awards are organised under the chairmanship of Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the National Olympic Committee.

The list of winners in the 11th edition of the Award was topped by leading sports personalities and decision-makers, alongside Arab champions and heroes from the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, and other national and Arab achievers — all labelled ‘Glory Makers’ at this year’s event.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan took the prestigious International Sports Personality Award in appreciation of his efforts in turning Pakistan into one of the world’s leading cricketing nations. He was captain of the Pakistan team that emerged victorious in the 1992 Cricket World Cup, defeating England in the final.

One of the highlights on Sunday was the sought-after and highly anticipated Local Youth Athlete Award. Voted for by the public and racking up more than 250,00 votes through Dubai Sports Channel, the top six youngsters were each celebrated on stage, including Yousuf Rashed Al Matrooshi (swimming), Salma Ahmed Al Mansoori (karate), Rahma Khalfan Al Murshidi (boxing), Alyaziah Tariq Abdulsalam (gymnastics), Mohammed Saeed Binham Al Ameri (endurance racing) and Saif Jasem Al Mansoori (jiu-jitsu).

Speaking to Gulf News after picking up his award, Al Matrooshi said: “I feel pretty excited right now. It is great to inspire youth, not only in the UAE but all around the world, especially the Arab nations. I hope this will allow me to go on to even bigger achievements. It is great knowing we are getting voted for by the public, not only in the UAE but all around the world. I’m pretty happy.”

One of the biggest cheers at the ceremony was for Ahmed Ayoub Hafnaoui, the Tunisian hero who became the first Arab to win an Olympic swimming gold at the Tokyo 2020 in the 400m freestyle.

The 11th MBR Award saw a record total of 409 applications — 54 in the Institutional Creativity category, 29 in the Team Sports Creativity category and 326 in the Individual Sports Creativity category.

In their previous 10 seasons, 2,188 individuals, teams and organisations from 188 different countries — including 583 from the UAE, 1,386 from Arab countries, and 219 from the rest of the world — have sent in their nominations for the awards. The honours list includes 230 winners — 110 from the UAE, 104 from the Arab region and 16 from the rest of the world. Some 165 of the winners have been individuals, while 19 teams have received the coveted awards and 46 local, Arab and international institutions have been honoured for their creativity.

Sheikh Mansoor said the UAE will always remain the home of creativity in all areas of life, and that it will continue in its role of a pioneer in sponsoring and honouring creators, and spreading and promoting a culture of creativity in various sectors, including the sports sector. Every year, initiatives to support excellence and creativity, and care for distinguished and creative people in all fields have made the UAE take the lead in this field.

“The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award, which is sponsored by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and chaired by Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the National Olympic Committee, translates the directives of our wise leadership to support and raise the level of creativity in sports.”

Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Award’s Board of Trustees and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said: “Despite the challenges faced by the sports worldwide, which led to a decline in the number of events, the eleventh edition of the Award achieved a growth in the number of participants, which reached 409 candidates, an increase of 14 per cent over the previous session, in addition to an increase in the number of honourees to 28 winners, which confirms the great status of the Award and the keenness of everyone to compete for the honour of winning it. We are pleased that the 11th edition of the Award coincides with the country’s celebrations of the Year of the 50th and the Expo 2020 Dubai, the largest event in the world.”

Award winners

The International Sports Personality Award
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for turning the nation into a cricketing powerhouse.
The Arab Sports Personality Award
Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of Qatar Olympic Committee, for the unprecedented success of Qatari athletes at the Tokyo Olympic Games
The Local Administrator Award
Anas Nasser Al Otaiba, for winning the presidency of the Asian Boxing Confederation and becoming Vice President of the International Boxing Association.
The Local Referee Award
Ahmed Mohammed Al Hammadi, for being the first Arab to be chosen as the head referee for the International Weightlifting Federation for People of Determination, and for his participation for the seventh time in a row as a referee at the Paralympic Games.
The Local Coach Awards
Abdulaziz Muhammad Al-Yasi for winning the Arab Gulf Football League title in the 2018/2019 season for the first time in the history of Sharjah Club since the start of the Professional League, as well as winning the Arabian Gulf Super Cup in 2019.
Abdul Hamid Ibrahim Al Hosani, the dean of basketball coaches in the UAE
The Local Team Award
The UAE National Endurance Team, for winning the gold medal in the World Championships for Youth and Juniors, for endurance races over a distance of 120km in Italy.
The Local Organisation Award
Zayed Higher Organization for People of Determination, for the success and excellence in organising the 2021 Paralympic Shooting World Cup for the fifth time in a row.
The Arab Athlete Award
Feryal Ashraf Abdel Aziz (Egypt) for winning a historic gold medal in karate at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020, which is the first Olympic gold medal for Arabs in karate.
Ahmed Ayoub Hafnaoui (Tunisia) for winning the gold medal in swimming at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020, the first Arab Olympic medal in swimming in the 400m freestyle competition.
Soufiane El Bakkali (Morocco) for winning the gold in the 3000m steeplechase at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, becoming the first Arab athlete to win an Olympic gold in the 3,000m steeplechase.
Tarek Ali Hamdi (Saudi Arabia) for winning the silver medal in Karate at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020.
The Arab Administrator Award
Aya Medany (Egypt) for being the first Arab and African to be elected as the President of the Players Committee and a member of the Executive Office of the International Modern Pentathlon Federation.
The Arab Referee Award
Zitouni Metyout (Morocco) for being the first international Karate referee to officiate 4 finals in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, in addition to receiving the best African Continental Karate referee and the Arab Excellence Award in Arbitration 2021.
The Arab Team Award
The Algerian national football team for winning the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt and continuing to shine by breaking the African record of matches without defeat and winning the award for the best African team, as well as for not losing in 33 games in a row.
The Arab Organisation Award
Al-Ahly Club for Physical Sports — Egypt for its distinguished initiative for the sports institution in dealing with a pandemic, and coming out with excellent results and lessons in institutional work, and the returns of the financial, human and knowledge initiative will continue for several years to come.
The International Organisation Award
The International Handball Federation (based in Switzerland) for their success and excellence in organising the World Handball Championship in Egypt.
The Local Youth Athlete Awards
Mohammad Saeed Binham Al Ameri, for obtaining first place three times in the International Championship for Endurance — Slovakia 2019 and ranking fourth at the level of the world rankings for the adult riders category.
Saif Jasem Al Mansoori, for winning the gold medal in the World Junior Championships under 16 years in Romania for the year 2019 and the silver medal in the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship for juniors category — 2019.
Tariq Abdulsalam, for winning the silver medal in the International Gymnastics Championships, which was held in Hungary.
Rahma Khalfan Al Murshidi, for winning the silver medal in the Asian Junior and Junior Boxing Championship, which was held in the UAE.
Salwa Ahmed Al Mansoori, for winning the bronze medal in the Asian Karate Championship for juniors, youth and under 21 years old in Malaysia.
Yousuf Rashed Al Matrooshi, for winning four gold medals in the Gulf Swimming Championships held in Kuwait and Qatar, in addition to his participation at Tokyo 2020.
The Athlete Accomplished an Achievement within Difficult Challenges Award (People of determination Category)
Walid Katila (Tunisia) for winning two gold medals at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in the 100 and 800 meters wheelchair races and breaking the Paralympic record.
Garrah Nassar Tnaiash (Iraq) for winning the silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games under difficult conditions and challenges.
The Athlete Accomplished an Outstanding Achievement Award
Maan Abdel Moeen Asaad (Syria) for winning a bronze medal in the weightlifting competition at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020.
An Outstanding Local Athlete Award
Zayed Abdulnaser Al Katheeri for winning three gold medals in international jiu-jitsu championships.