Athletes from 18 nations to prove mettle at fifth edition of AWST

The fifth edition of the Arab Women Sports Tournament (AWST) will kick off on Sunday, with the participation of 78 clubs from 18 countries.

The event will be held Under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and Chairperson of Sharjah Women’s Sports (SWS),

This is the tournament’s largest-ever participation, and is expected to witness fierce competition across nine disciplines during the 11-day event, which runs until Feb.12, 2020, in Sharjah.

The opening ceremony will be attended by Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Head of the Supreme Organising Committee (SOC) of AWST; Sheikha Hayat Bint Abdulaziz Al Khalifa, Chairperson of AWST’s Preparatory Committee; as well as ambassadors, consul generals from different Arab countries, and several high-ranking sports officials.

Media sports personality, Mustafa Al Agha, is the official host of the opening ceremony, which will see Extraordinaire Goodwill Ambassador and well-known Emirati singer, Hussain Al Jassmi, performs AWST’s anthem, ‘Arab Women’, an ode to the growing status of Arab women’s sports, and will highlight Sharjah’s role as an incubator for female athletes. The event will also have attractive light shows.

AWST’s SOC has invited sports fans from across the UAE to attend the opening ceremony as well as the competitions, having confirmed that preparations for the opening ceremony, carried out in cooperation with the Sharjah Sports Club in Samnan, are fully  complete.

Nada Askar Al Naqbi, Deputy Head of AWST’s Supreme Organising Committee, Head of AWST’s Executive Committee and Director General of Sharjah Women’s Sports (SWS) noted: “With all preparations for the tournament absolutely complete, we are excited to embark on a new journey and celebration of women’s sports, which will be decorated by sentiments of fair play and will strengthen friendships among our fraternal Arab nations.

“We hope to see some terrific competitions in the coming days, which will further the advancement of women in sports. We are certain that AWST’s participants will conduct themselves in a way that befits them and the countries they represents.”

For his part, Mohamed Juma Bin Hindi, Chairman of Sharjah Sports Club, commented: “We are ready to write a new chapter of accomplishments in regional women’s sports, and our Club is proud to be AWST’s opening ceremony venue. The tournament was an outcome of the unwavering support of Dr Sheikh Sultan, and reflects the importance of creating equitable opportunities in sports. We hope to witness an extraordinary tournament, which will add to Sharjah’s rich history of developing the sporting landscape as a key pillar of progress.”

Launched in 2012, the biyearly Olympics-themed women sports tournament, hosts a number of women’s sports clubs from more than 15 Arab nations.

In 2018, AWST hosted 67 women sports clubs from 16 Arab nations who competed across nine sporting event.

The fifth edition of the tournament will play a major role in building on the five-years of success of the AWST brand, and support the growth and development of the regional sports industry and women sports initiatives.