His Highness Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, has issued Decree No. 4 of 2020, which makes it mandatory for all government clubs of Dubai to appoint an Emirati assistant coach for all their first teams, in all team sports, starting with the current 2020-21 season.

His Highness Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed has directed the clubs and sports companies in Dubai’s public sports sector to expedite and start with the recruitment process immediately, selecting Emirati coaches to join their first teams’ technical staff and providing them with all the necessary tools and training to succeed.

The aim of the decision is to enable Emirati coaches to work at different clubs and sports companies, and gain confidence and invaluable experience; to give them an opportunity to enhance their capabilities and develop their skills; and to support and encourage Emirati coaches, and contribute to the refinement and development of their technical abilities.

The decree also stipulates the terms and conditions for the implementation of the decision, which include: The trainer must be a citizen of United Arab Emirates; should have obtained the minimum training qualification required for the job as prescribed by the governing association of that particular sport; and he should be devoted to performing his work at the specified times for training.

The decree provides great support for Emirati sports cadres and represents a new phase for Dubai Sports Council in supporting, empowering and developing national coaches, which began years ago with the decision to appoint Emiratis as assistant coach in the first football team in all Dubai football clubs and companies, in addition to appointing Emirati coaches to lead all the reserve teams at Dubai clubs.

In addition to that, the Council has been conducting regular workshops for Emirati coaches, inviting experts from around the globe to share their knowledge with local coaches, and giving them opportunities to develop their training skills and obtain advanced training certificates (Pro Licence), which qualifies them to train first teams.

Thanks to these initiatives of Dubai Sports Council, the number of Emirati coaches at Dubai clubs has seen a steady rise and today, 70 of the 130 coaches – or 54 per cent – working at the clubs are Emiratis. Also, there are more than 10 Emiratis who have received their professional training licence (Pro Licence) from Dubai Sports Council-conducted programs, and 7 of them are working with clubs outside Dubai and with different national teams.

The new decree will only serve to boost these programs and further increase the number of Emirati coaches working in Dubai clubs, and provide them with the necessary training and credentials to qualify to lead the first team in the future.