FUJAIRAH: His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Fujairah, has awarded

Dhs 10 million to the members of UAE national football team for winning the Gulf Cup last Friday in Bahrain.

Sheikh Hamad congratulated the President, His Highness, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, affirming that all this could not be achieved without the great support from the wise leadership.

“We are proud of what the national team has achieved both in the performance and the outcome in all matches they played with other Arab teams, reflecting the true spirit of one team binding in the characteristics of harmony, understanding and love among the players, who earned esteem for UAE in this championship,” he said.

He added: “Truly they have made us happy with their performance and sportsmanship, they are young but they are great due to what they have achieved and we are waiting more victories in the coming competitions.”

The Ruler commended coach Mahdi Ali, in shaping up the team to give their best performance.

GULF CUP TV VIEWERS

The UAE’s Gulf Cup win over Iraq last Friday, has set new records for television viewing in the country, according to figures from tview, the UAE’s official television audience measurement system.

A tview statement said that at its peak, more than 397,000 people were watching the game in their homes on the Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah sport channels, with many more viewing in cafes and other locations.

Average viewing across the whole match was nearly 264,000 viewers, which represents audience share of 47.2 per cent among Emiratis and Arab Expats, meaning that nearly half the number of people watching at that time were viewing the Gulf Cup match.

The Abu Dhabi Sports channel picked up the majority of the viewing with an overall rating of 7.38 per cent.

The figure for the event eclipsed the highest viewed programme of 2012, which was the final episode of Arab Idol.

tview is the name of the TV ratings system of EMMC, a joint venture of leading broadcast entities, Abu Dhabi Media, Sharjah Media, Rotana Media, and Etisalat, which is also supported by du. It is based on People Meters - measurement devices in the homes of a panel designed to represent the TV viewing population of the UAE.

The project was established following a Cabinet decision. It was overseen by the National Media Council with the support of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority.