Umm Al Quwain: UAE’s domestic cricket, already reeling at the lack of venues, has been dealt a huge blow as 15 grounds in Umm Al Quwain (UAQ) have been stopped from staging matches.
UAQ, currently the most active cricketing centre in the UAE, has now been left with only one ground to stage their tournaments.
UAQ Cricket Club has been organising nearly 1,000 matches every year through their 18 tournaments for over a decade.
Every weekend, close to 48 cricket teams converge from all over the UAE to participate in the tournaments here. It is the second biggest blow for the UAE’s domestic cricket after Dubai Cricket Council had lost its seven grounds in Al Jadaf area in 2006. Nearly 500 matches used to be held in Dubai every season.
When Mushtaq Ahmad, secretary of the UAQ Cricket Club set up nearly 15 grounds with permission from the UAQ Municipality, cricket teams from all over the UAE flocked this venue. The conduct of the tournaments earned popularity with the cricketers and Mushtaq went on to create floodlit facility for day-night matches.
Speaking to Gulf News, Mushtaq said: “We are now left with only one ground, though the 15 cement grounds which we created and used to stage 18 tournaments every year will now not be available. The UAQ Municipality has stopped the permission to stage matches on those grounds. So far only seven tournaments have been held and 11 tournaments are remaining. With only one ground, it will take two years to complete our regular tournaments. We stage 24 matches every weekend and 68 teams from the UAE play here.”
Mushtaq has approached the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), under whose aegis he conducts all his tournaments for help. “The ECB has sent a letter to Shaikh Ahmad Bin Khalid Al Mualla (Head of UAQ Municipality) on behalf of Shaikh Nahyan Al Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development and chairman of ECB, requesting permission to help continue Umm Al Quwain’s cricket activities.”
When contacted, Obaid Tuwerish, acting director of UAQ Municipality as well as Director of Planning and survey Department, said: “The plot on which they organised the tournaments was rented and belonged to the government. The cricket organisers have been told that they would be allotted another plot to host the tournaments on it ... it will take some time to find another option,” he said.
The Umm Al Quwain cricket organisers are willing to move out once construction begins but has requested for permission to continue matches till then. “We have been paying rent to the Municipality for the use of the land for over a decade and also renew our license regularly, paying the fees to the Economic department. We have followed the rules and ensured no illegal activities are held here and after matches, we ensure that whole stretch is cleaned with no litter. As much as we want to stage cricket, we have also ensured that the name of Umm Al Quwain is projected through our tournaments. Our club is called Umm Al Quwain Cricket Club, tournaments are staged on behalf of UAQ Municipality and our Facebook page is named after Umm Al Quwain with over 52,000 likes and 35,000 visits regularly.
“We ensure that UAQ logo is in every team uniform when we supply dress for tournaments. So far, 36,785 cricketers have played here and we only hope we can continue to provide joy for cricketers in the UAE through our tournaments,” Mushtaq added.
