The Dubai Sports Council are working towards creating a ‘Sports Strategic Plan In Dubai 2016-2021’ that will encompass all aspects of sports in the emirates.
In a press conference held on Tuesday, Mattar Al Tayer, vice-chairman of Dubai Sports Council (DSC); Saeed Hareb, secretary general of DSC and Mariam Al Hammady, president of Strategic Planning Committee, announced that the strategic plan would be in line with the broader guidelines issued for Dubai by the government and will help standardise the various events held in the emirates.
Speaking to Sport360, Hareb explained the rationale behind the announcement.
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“Dubai will be unveiling its comprehensive strategy for 2021 soon, and our part in it is to do with sports, which has become extremely important for the city,” said Hareb.
“We had a strategic plan in place until the end of 2015, and now we have to think about the next five years. This will not only include how we introduce new sporting events, but also how we can make the existing ones even better.”
As part of the process, a hashtag was also launched (#Dubai_Sports_Pulse) and general public was encouraged to share its thoughts through various social media platforms with the DSC on what they would like to see happening with sports in the future.
The committee will be meeting regularly over the next few weeks and Hareb expected the plan to be finalised and presented within the next three months.
“We want the people of Dubai to tell us what facilities they want for sports. We want them to give us feedback on tournaments, what they liked and what they did not. We want them to tell us about what sporting activities they would like to see in schools, and what they think about the various academies,” Hareb added.
“Last year, there were 444 sporting events organised in Dubai. What we want is for each of them to be better. We introduced the ranking system and the goal will be for each event to move towards the five-star ranking.
That is what HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and the Ruler of Dubai, has always stressed…to be the No1 in everything that we do.
#DSC aims to create a new strategy in line with Dubai 2021 vision to improve sports #Dubai_Sports_Pulse pic.twitter.com/bQhcFxGcMV
— مجلس دبي الرياضي (@DubaiSC) January 5, 2016
“What His Highness also insists is that every plan should be flexibile. We will never say no to a new event if it is good for the image of Dubai.
As I said, these are the basic guidelines, but we will adapt if a situation so demands.”
Hareb insisted that getting the residents of Dubai to play, instead of just watch the world-class events, was one of their main objectives.
“That is what we want to do. We want them to watch the world’s best, and then aspire to be like them. And we will provide them with the facilities like we have already done with the Sheikh Hamdan Sports Complex and the Al Qudra Cycling Track,” Hareb added.
