Sharjah Ramadan Majlis session cheers for UAE football, pins hopes on World Cup

Gulf Today Report

The Sharjah Press Club, a subsidiary of the Sharjah Government Media Bureau, hosted its third Ramadan Majlis session on Monday night, dedicated to the great game titled “Local Football ... Reality and Opportunities" at the Kalba Sports Union Club, in the presence of Sheikh Sultan Bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Media Council, Tariq Saeed Allay, Director of the Sharjah Government Media Bureau, and Khalid Al Naqbi, Executive Director of the Football Association, Kalba Union Club.

The session was headlined by Yousef Hussain Al Sahlawi, Second Vice President of the UAE Football Association, Chairman of the Teams and Technical Affairs Committee, and Captain Nawaf Mubarak, the former UAE national team player, and was moderated by Tariq Al Hammadi, sports journalist.

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The speakers lauded the rapid development witnessed by the city of Kalba at all levels in recent years, especially in the sports field, thanks to the special attention bestowed by His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. The support and patronage by HH the Ruler of Sharjah has had a clear and positive impact on Kalba, boosting its excellence in various fields, especially in sports and sports tourism, argued the panel.

The Sharjah Ramadan Majlis under way in Kalba.

Speaking on the occasion, Youssef Al Sahlawi pointed to the historic support of the UAE leadership for the sports sector in general and football in particular, arguing that this positive sporting climate and optimism in the country has been continuously raising the level of sportspersons’ ambitions and driving them to aspire for greater heights of professional glory.

The competition by five teams for advanced positions and the league championship this season reflects the level of the game and preparation that serves the national team and will help attract new talent besides promoting positive public engagement through a strong competitive environment, he added.

Al Sahlawi revealed that the Football Association has about 11 projects that would take care of all aspects of the game, including players, administrators, qualification plans, and training centres through specific timelines, in addition to planning joint sessions between the Association and the clubs with the aim of promoting positive cooperation and integration that serves the sports in the country.

The speakers agreed on the importance of providing support to the national team players in the next World Cup qualifiers by involving everyone to support Al Abyad (the men in white, the UAE national team) and push them to produce the best results.

He, however, stressed that the continuous development of sports is not the responsibility of relevant authorities alone but involves the support and involvement of various sectors. Football is a popular game that concerns all segments of society, he added.

Captain Nawaf Mubarak, the former star of the UAE national team, argued that the game of football is constantly changing and this demands keeping pace with these developments. He called for preparing young generations of players from an early age and educating them about all technical and necessary aspects of the game by laying constructive foundations.

Mubarak called for finding new ways of working around the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 to train and prepare young players and not allow the pandemic to affect the popular game.

He stressed that the inclusion of new elements in the teams cannot compensate for the importance of expertise capable of leading the team on the field. The emerging talents will critically benefit when expertise passes integrally from generation to generation within the ranks of the same team.

Both the speakers agreed on the importance of providing support to the national team players in the next World Cup qualifiers and creating a positive and appropriate climate by involving everyone, including officials, the media and the people to support Al Abyad (the men in white, the UAE national team) and push them to produce the best results.