Dubai: The Executive Board of the UAE National Olympic Committee (UAE NOC) has voted in favour of postponing elections to have a new board of directors at least until the end of 2021.
The existing board submitted the proposal to the General Assembly so that they could continue in their positions at least until the conclusion of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics that have been postponed to be held next year from July 23-August 8.
Thursday’s meeting of the UAE NOC Executive Board that was held via video-conferencing, was chaired by Humaid Bin Mohammed Al Qatami, Vice President of the NOC, and was attended by Mohammed Bin Sulayem, General Secretary of the UAE NOC, along with members Maj Gen Dr Ahmed Nasser Al Raisi, Sheikh Salem Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Maj Gen Esmail Al Gergawi, Brigadier Ahmed Hamdan Al Ziyoudi, Dr Mai Al Jaber and Azza Bint Sulaiman. Mohammed Bin Darwish, Executive Director of the UAE NOC and Ahmed Al Tayeb, Director of Technical and Sports Affairs Department, UAE NOC also joined in.
The Board’s proposal has already been endorsed by Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE NOC.
The Board also unanimously voted in favour of postponing the inaugural edition of the Gulf Youth Games at least until 2022.
The Executive Board endorsed the postponement of the Gulf Youth Games by a year from 2021 to 2022 due to the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. Members felt that this year would not be the most suitable one to host this event as the international sporting calendar for 2021 is bound to be congested due to the Tokyo Olympic Games, the Sixth Asian Beach Games, Asian Children’s Games in Mongolia and the Asian Indoor Games, among others.
The meeting further approved allocation of funds to equip the Olympic Library and purchase material and reference books for various sciences of sport and the Olympic movement so that the library will be the largest of its kind and a ready reference in the Middle East region.
The meeting also reviewed the strategy behind the working strategy for the National Olympic Academy, while opting to complete the appointment of chairpersons and members to various standing committees during their next meeting.
Attendees reviewed the deliverables of the Webinar about the future of the national and international Olympic movement post Covid-19. The event, which was held last month, saw the participation of officials and stakeholders of the Olympic Movement in the UAE.
The Executive Board also hailed the resolution of Sheikh Ahmed following the formation of the UAE Sports Arbitration Centre as per the Federal Law No. 16 of 2016 that was issued by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE. The Board highlighted the importance of this important step as it sets rules and principles that govern various sectors.
