Based on the choices of our Sport360 writers, we’ve whittled down the region’s top male sportswomen of 2016 to this shortlist.
Their fate is now in your hands and you can vote for your Regional Team of the Year by voting in our poll both at the top and bottom of this page.
Voting closes at midnight on December 26, so be sure to make your pick before then for your vote to count.
Don’t forget you can also still vote in the three international categories and remaining two regional ones so go to www.sport360.com/awards to vote for all your favourite athletes and teams of 2016.
You can also find each of the award pages below, with full bios and voting polls for each category.
But, for those wanting to cast their vote in the regional team categories you can do here, while also reading up on why these teams made it to the final stage.
AL AIN
The Boss were on the cusp of greatness – nearly winning a second AFC Champions League title and extending their great name across Asia – after becoming the second UAE side to reach the final in succession following Al Ahli’s progress in 2015. Their voyage to the final belied a fairly substandard campaign domestically, one in which they lost their AGL crown to the Red Knights and were beaten on penalties by Al Jazira in the final of the President’s Cup. But on the continent they were very nearly imperious following two opening group stage defeats to Qatar’s El Jaish – winning six and drawing five of their next 12, with their only defeat coming in a 2-1 first leg defeat in the final they lost against South Korea’s Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.
UAE PARALYMPIC TEAM
Sergiu Toma won the UAE’s second-ever Olympic Games medal at Rio, but for the UAE Paralympic squad, it was a golden trip with seven medals won. The 18 members of the squad won two golds, four silvers and a bronze in the most successful ever Paralympics for the nation, easily beating the previous best haul of four medals in both Sydney and Athens. Shooter Abdullah Sultan Al Aryani, who won gold at London 2012, secured three silvers. Powerlifter Mohammed Khamis Khalaf and wheelchair athlete Mohamed Al Hammadi won gold while Sara Al Senaani and Noura Al Ktebi became the first Emirati women to win medals with shot put bronze and silver.
UAE JIU-JITSU TEAM
It’s been a glittering year for the UAE national jiu-jitsu team who underlined their reputation as the top jiu-jitsu nation in Asia. They topped a fine 2016 off earlier this month after winning eight medals at the First Asian Championship, held in Turkmenistan. Faisal Al Ketbi, who has had a standout year, won a gold and silver medal, while Zayed Al Mansouri won a silver and Taleb Al Karbi and Yahya Al Hammadi both brought home bronze. The UAE team won three golds, three silvers and two bronzes overall. All 12 members had returned with a medal from the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Tokyo in October. Success was even more plentiful on the domestic front as Emiratis won 147 medals at the Dubai International Pro Jiu-Jitsu Championship in September, with thousands of youngsters thriving in the sport.
DUBAI EXILES
The oldest team in the Gulf returned to prominence in 2016, sweeping all before them as they stormed to the UAE Premiership title and also became kings of Gulf rugby by winning the West Asia Championship. It was a remarkable turnaround from the previous season, during which Exiles finished fifth domestically and didn’t even qualify for the elite cross-border Gulf competition. Astute South African coach Jacques Benade’s arrival coincided with Exiles – celebrating their 50th anniversary this year – winning their first silverware in over a decade, since the 2006 Arabian Gulf Cup and Dubai Sevens double.
ABU DHABI PROTON RACING
An historic year for the team who finished third in the LMGTE Am class at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in June, becoming the first Emirati team to claim a podium place at the race. It was also a wonderful season overall as they won the final race of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season, the 6 Hours of Bahrain, in November to finish the season second overall in the LMGTE Am class. The result in Bahrain was the team’s second victory of the season, having also triumphed in Mexico. A fine effort from Khaled Al Qubaisi, David Heinemeier Hansson and Patrick Long.
