UAE full-time coaching at club level

The involvement of UAE coaches and trainers in the grassroots development of clubs received a huge boost with officials reiterating their belief in statutes laid down by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman, Dubai Sports Council. Coaches and trainers from various clubs in Dubai voiced their support for the Dubai Sports Council-organized annual forum for individual and team games under the "Local Coaches in Individual and Team Games Initiative" held in the presence of Dr. Ahmad Sa'ad Al Sharif, DSC Secretary General, earlier this week. Following several deliberations and mutual discussions during the forum, several UAE coaches and trainers voiced their intentions of taking on the challenges of full-time coaching at club level, so as to shoulder the burden of pruning grassroots in the country. The initiative follows directives laid down by Shaikh Hamdan who has backed appointment of local talent in coaching and training programmes through a resolution earlier this year. One of Shaikh Hamdan's prime objectives is to see UAE coaches at least as assistants to top managers recruited by clubs participating in the UAE Football League (UFL). "This DSC forum has helped us to open channels of contact with sports clubs and associations and enable us to share points of view to boost various sports and games in Dubai," noted Ali Omar, Acting Director of Clubs Department at the DSC. The forum was held in three sessions with former handball player Muhsin Salem coordinating the first session dealing with the role of national bodies and associations in qualifying local coaches. Ahmad Al Kamali, President, UAE Athletics Association; Rashid Al Sharifi, Assistant Secretary General UAE Cycling Association; Muhsin Al Damardash from the UAE Table Tennis Association; Mohammad Salah Al Din from Tennis Emirates and Khalid Al Jasimi from the Volleyball Association were among the speakers at this session. Top former athlete Jasim Mohammad coordinated the second session that had Khalid Darwish from Al Ahli Club; Emad Fikree from Al Shabab Club; Hisham Sirri from Al Nasr Club and Maarouf Mohammad from Al Wasl Club speaking on the role played by clubs in backing local coaching talent. The forum concluded with experiences of local coaches during a session coordinated by Ahmad Al Khoory from the Dubai Sports Channel with Abdullah Suwaidan, UAE national team cycling coach; Saeed Khalifa Gharib, UAE national handball team coach at Al Shabab; Mohammad Sharif, assistant national handball team coach and Abdul Hamid Ebrahim, Sharjah Club's basketball coach shared their experiences of coaching at the highest level From gulfnews.