Sports lovers from Egypt residing in the UAE and across the region have reason to celebrate as talented sportswomen and female athletes representing four renowned clubs in Egypt will be competing in the upcoming edition of the Arab Women Sports Tournament (AWST) 2020 – thelargest women’s sporting event in the Arab world, February 2 – 12, in Sharjah.This is Egypt’s fifth participation in the event since the tournament’s inception in 2012. The country will be competing in four AWST competition disciplines, namely, basketball, volleyball, fencing and karate.Egypt plays a leading role in the Arab world in supporting and promoting women’s sports, and is one of the region’s first countries to establish sports clubs for females. The representation of Egyptian sportswomen in AWST has always been outstanding, who have won 28 medals competing in AWST’s previous editions. In the 2018 edition, six Egyptian clubs participated taking home 13 medals.
HE Nada Askar Al Naqbi, Deputy Head of AWST’s Supreme Organising Committee, Head of its Executive Committee, and Director General of SWS, said: “Egypt has always been superb in sports. It has a long history of brilliance and innovation in all sports, including women’s sports. The country’s dedication to enhancing the capabilities of women in sports is reflected in the nation’s unrivalled representation at AWST who play with utmost professionalism to defend their titles,inspiring their peers from other countries. We look forward to Egypt bringing a high level of excellence and sporting spirit to AWST 2020.”The fifth edition of AWST 2020 will see the participation of 16 Arab countries who will compete across nine sports: shooting, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, athletics, show jumping, fencing, archery and karate.
About the Arab Women Sports Tournament
Held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Wife of His Highness Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of the Sharjah Women’s Sports (SWS), the Arab Women Sports Tournament (AWST), is organised by the Sharjah Women Sports (SWS) in partnership with the UAE Sports Council, Sharjah Sports Council and the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees.Launched in 2012, the bi-yearly Olympics-themed women sports tournament, hosts a number of women's sports clubs from more than 15 Arab nations to compete across 9 sports: Karate, Basketball, Volleyball, Fencing, Show Jumping, Shooting, Archery, Athletics and Table Tennis.In 2018, AWST hosted 67 women sports clubs from 16 Arab nations who competed across 9 games, and received media coverage from more than 380 outlets across the Arab region. The fifth edition of the tournament, which is scheduled to kick-start on February 2 - 12, 2020, will play a major role in building on the 5-year success of the AWST brand, and support the growth and development of the regional sports industry and women sports initiatives.