The Board of Trustees of Sharjah Sports Family Award (SSFA) has concluded two workshops, one at the Sharjah Chess and Cultural Club, and the other at the Al Dhaid Sports and Cultural Club, to raise awareness about the awards, terms of participation, as well as highlightedthe benefits of engaging with the local community through sports.SSFA is organised by the Sharjah Sports Council (SSC), and held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs (SCFA) and Chairperson of the Sharjah Sports Family AwardThe workshops, attended by more than 100 Emirati female and male athletes representing a variety of teams and clubs, were held in the presence of HE Issa Hilal Al Hazami, Secretary General of SSC, Chairman of the SSFA Board of Trustees; HE NadaAskar Al Naqbi, SSFA Board of Trustees Secretary General; Dr. Salah Taher, Head of SSFA’s Technical and Arbitrarily Committee;and Dr. Mohamed Abdul Azim, Deputy Head of the award’s Technical and Arbitral Committee.The activities form part of the SSFA strategy to enhancecooperation betweendifferent UAE sports institutions, clubs, councils and entities, expand people’s awareness and increase participation.
Al Hazamiemphasised the importance of fostering a sense of belonging and comraderyamong young athletes by awarding efforts, which is in line with Her HighnessSheikhaJawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi’scommitment to encouraging talents in all fields and encourage a community spirit among individuals and families.
He also noted that the award encourages a healthy lifestyle in societythrough the promotion of sports, and furthers contributions of other family-centric and sporting entities in the UAE that are dedicated to honing Emirati families’skills in an array of fields.HE Nada Askar Al Naqbi said that SSFA plays a unique role in celebrating achievements in sports in the Emirati community, and creates local examples for the community. “Imagine you see your neighbour being awarded a prestigious recognition that has been launched under Sharjah’s royal family, wouldn’t you be inspired to do the same? Sports also has a binding effect on the community. Through SSFA, we are building stronger bonds between family members and among fellow Emiratis.”She also noted that SSFA is looking into ways to further develop this award by bringing in expertise of local sport clubs to make the award more relevant, especially to young athletes, as well as heighten its status on both regional and international levels. During the workshops, Dr Abdul Azim, highlighted that all entries for both SSFA’s individual and collective and collective categories must have been recognised for their achievements by official competitions organised locally, regionallyor internationally.He also offered a detail explanation on the registrations procedure. Competition winners will be announced in February next year, he said.
The workshop held at the Sharjah Cultural and Chess Club saw the participation of Sheikh Saud Abdulaziz Al Mualla, Chairman of the Sharjah Cultural and Chess Club, Rajai Naaman Al Sousi, director of the Sharjah Chess Club, Yacoub Yussef Barakat, Public Relations Officer and coach, Suhaib Al Okla.Meanwhile, the workshop in Al Dhaid Sports and Cultural Club was attended by HE Salim Mohammed Bin Huaiden Al Ketbi, Chairmanof Al Dhaid Club and Ing, Dr.HamoudKhalaf Salem, Director of Al-Dhaid Club and Obaid Matar bin Ali bin Gharir Al Ketbi,Member of the municipal Council of Dhaid.Founded in 2014, SSFA exemplifies Sharjah’s dedication to leveraging people’s health and safety. It aims to encourage Emirati families to adopt healthy lifestyles through sports, foster a sense of loyalty and belonging of athletes, enhance their national identity. SSFA also seeks to stimulate families to support talented members and encourage them to participate in sports clubs, institutions and national sports teams (leagues). The award thrives to strengthen the relationship between families and sports institutions to further the accomplishments in sports and harness participants’ expertise in inspiring other families.
About The Sharjah Sports Family Award
Founded in 2014, the Sharjah Sports Family Awards (SSFA) is held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammad Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs (SCFA) and Chairperson of the Sharjah Sports Family Award (SSFA); and is organised by the Sharjah Sports Council (SSC).SSFA aims to encourage Emirati families to adopt healthy lifestyles through sports, foster a sense of loyalty and belonging of athletes, enhance their national identity, and recognise Emirati achievements in sports and their commitment to building healthy generations. Now in its second edition, the Board of Trustees allocated a total of AED 600,000 in prize money, with nominations opened across 4 categories which include ‘Sporting Family’, ‘Family of Sports Heroes’, ‘Hero/Heroine with Disability’ and ‘Family Participation in Community and Health Sports’.The second SSFA is built on the success of its first edition, by adding two new categories which are Hero/Heroine with Disability’ and ‘Family Participation in Community and Health Sports’. SSFA requires that all members of the nominated families must be Emirati, and bring to the table achievements from sports and athletics competitions organised officially at local, regional and international levels. Documents recognising these achievements, either individual or collective representing all members of a family, should be from competitions or events held within the last five years.