The Board of Trustees of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award, which is a Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiative, has thanked the country’s wise leadership for their protection and care of the different segments of the community, as well as their support of different countries in the face of COVID-19 pandemic, which made 2020 a challenging year in every sphere of life, including the sports.

The Board of Trustees also confirmed the implementation of the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, and patron of the award, and His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the National Olympic Committee and Chairman of the Award, in developing action plans and launching initiatives that contribute towards the return of sports activity and provides a platform for athletes to improve their levels and aim for the podium at different international tournaments, especially with the Tokyo Olympics taking place later in the summer this year.

This came during the 29th meeting of the Board of Trustees, which was held virtually via video conferencing. His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of Dubai Sports Council and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Award, headed the meeting, which was also attended by Khalid Ali bin Zayed, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and the members of the Board: Dr. Hassan Moustafa, Dr Khalifa Al Shaali, Mustapha Larfaoui, Moaza Al Marri, Secretary General of the Award, Ahmed Alosaymi, Muna Busamra, and Nasser Aman Al Rahma, Director of the Award.

His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer emphasized that this meeting comes after a year of challenges that faced the world in general and sports in particular, putting the world of sports on hiatus around the globe. Work on the Award, however, did not stop and plans were updated in line with emerging challenges and in accordance with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum because the award does not only honour creative athletes for their achievements, but encourages and enables them to achieve those accomplishments by instilling a spirit of creativity, and through cooperation with various sports institutions, international federations, and Olympic and Paralympic committees.

Creativity in the face of challenges

His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer also pointed out that the name of the award is the Creative Sports Award, and that one of the aspects of creativity and excellence is success in dealing with change and challenges, which is what the Award encourages and supports, and the contribution of entities towards the fight against COVID-19 will be one of the considerations in deciding the institutional winners of the 11^th MBR Creative Sports Award.

HE Al Tayer expressed his pride in the achievements made by United Arab Emirates, thanks to the vision and wisdom of the wise leadership, which contributed to the return to normal life in various fields, including sports, where we witnessed the organisation of a star-studded edition of Dubai International Sports Conference and Dubai Globe Soccer Awards on December 27, with top stars in attendance at a public event for the first time since the outbreak of COVID-19.

The Chairman of the Award’s Board of Trustees also expressed his confidence that the world will triumph over challenges through sheer will, correct plans and international cooperation, and wished everyone a Happy New Year – a year that will see the return of tournaments, achievements and innovation in sports, the first of which will be the 27th Men’s Handball World Championship in Egypt, starting January 13.

Al Tayer also congratulated, on behalf of himself and other members of the Board, His Excellency Dr. Hassan Moustafa, who is President of the International Handball Federation, on the occasion of him being appointed lifetime honorary president of the Egyptian Olympic Committee, as well as on the occasion of the Men’s Handball World Championship being held in Egypt.

The meeting also reviewed reports of the standing committees of Award, namely the Technical Committee, the Arbitration Committee, the Communication and Marketing Committee, as well as plans to organise different events in the lead up to the Award Ceremony, which will be held in January, 2022.