3rd Arab Women Sports Tournament 2016 is set to go in seven days

Final preparations are under way for the Arab Women Sports Tournament (AWST 2016) to take place in Sharjah in seven days. The tournament will run from February 2-12 with 17 countries participating in eight competitions. 

The organizing committee for AWST, held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, the Wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, is putting together the final list of attendees and VIPs for the opening ceremony, which will be held at the Sharjah Equestrian & Racing Club. 

A number of important people will be attending the tournament including His Royal Highness Prince Talal bin Badr bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Chairman of the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees, HE Shaikh Issa bin Rashid Al Khalifa, First Deputy Chairman of the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees, HE Khalid Abdul Aziz, Egyptian Minister of Youth and Sports, Minister of Arab Youth and Sports, Chairman of the Executive Bureau of the Arab Ministers of Youth and Sports Council, Tunisian runner Habiba Al Ghariba, as well as a number of other people from the sports industry. 

Nada Al Naqbi, Deputy Head of the Supreme Organizing Committee for the Arab Women Sports Tournament, Head of the Executive Committee, and Tournament Manager, said, “Most of the logistics for the tournament have been dealt with thanks to all the hard work and dedication of the organising committees".

Kuwait and Oman recently joined the list of countries participating in the tournament, raising the total number to 17 that includes Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan, Palestine, Somalia, Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, Iraq, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan, and the host country, the United Arab Emirates.

Nada Al Naqbi added, “We are all expecting a great turn out, more so since the tournament has been receiving a lot of coverage. Many people are talking about it and asking questions so we are expecting a lot of people to attend,” 

According to Al Naqbi the tournament has received a lot of support from leading Arab institutions including the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees and the League of Arab States. It is organised by the Women Sports Department and Sharjah Ladies Club and their partners the General Authority for Youth Welfare and Sports, the National Olympic Committee, and Sharjah Sport Council, who have all contributed in making AWST a success.

AWST is hosted by Sharjah every two years under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi. Following the success of Gulf Countries Competition (GCC), a sports competition organised by the Sharjah Ladies Club, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi established the Women Sports Department in 2008 and opened the GCC to all Arab countries in order to raise the profile of women's sports in the region. The tournament is the first of its kind in the Arab World and was launched in 2012. Contestants participate in eight games including basketball, volleyball, table tennis, fencing, archery, shooting, athletics and show jumping.