Fujairah Martial Arts Club win Best Arab Club award in Egypt

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The Fujairah Martial Arts Club was named Best Arab Club by ‘The Best’ awards, organised by Tatweeg News in Egypt, for the third year in a row, in the ‘Club with the Most Globally, Regionally, and Locally Influential Achievements for 2022’ category.

The winners of the awards across all categories were announced during an official ceremony held in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, in the presence of Sharif Al Arian, Secretary General of the Egyptian Olympic Committee.

The remarkable new achievement embodies the vision of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah, and his continuous support for the development of the sports sector in the emirate, as well as his commitment to providing any means necessary for its success.

The victory also reflects the tremendous efforts and valuable initiatives recently undertaken by the Fujairah Martial Arts Club, where it has organised, over the past few years, a series of world-class championships in various games, including the Fujairah Open International Taekwondo Championship for 10 consecutive years, which achieved notable worldwide success and received praise and appreciation from the International Taekwondo Federation.

Furthermore, the club organised the closing ceremony of the International Taekwondo Federation in 2018, the Asian Judo Championship in 2019, the Karate World Championship in 2023, World Fencing Championship for Women in 2023, and many other international tournaments for judo and Jujitsu.

Dr Ahmed Hamdan Al Zeyoudi, President of the UAE Taekwondo Federation, said: “We dedicate this achievement to His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Fujairah, for his great support to all efforts to enhance the emirate’s presence on the local, regional, and international sports map, as well as to Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah, for his attention and directives to provide any means necessary to encourage Fujairah’s youth to play sports and exercise. The Crown Prince is committed to promoting a sports culture among the various social groups in the emirate, given its countless benefits to physical and psychological health.”

“The Fujairah Martial Arts Club is a strong supporter of the national teams in various games,” Zeyoudi added. “We can see clearly that this accomplishment is the result of the Club’s vast support for talents and its adherence to scientific foundations, where we work with the best and most experienced professionals.”

For his part, Nader Abu Shawish, Director of the Fujairah Martial Arts Club, said: “We thank the wise leadership of Fujairah for the great support it provides to sports in the emirate in general, and to martial arts, in particular. This support has had a direct impact on the success we are achieving today.

“On behalf of the Fujairah Martial Arts Club, I would like to reaffirm our commitment to continuously improving these sports by diligently scouting for talent at young ages and developing integrated action plans to develop them – from bringing in the best coaches and administrators to developing training programmes customised to each player’s capabilities, which would ultimately qualify them to compete and participate in tournaments.”

The Fujairah Martial Arts Club has hosted a range of meetings and workshops, welcoming renowned experts to discuss ways to develop this sport. This included the meetings of the International Taekwondo Federation and the Arab Taekwondo Federation. At the local level, the club is at the forefront in taekwondo and judo, competing in all games and providing national teams with distinguished and talented players.

‘The Best’ awards ceremony was organised by the Tatweeg News website, and aims to honour individual sports champions in Egypt, in addition to some nominations from other Arab countries.

The selection is based on accurate and transparent criteria to name the winners of the various awards, based on public voting by the fans, coaches, and media

professionals with an interest in the sector. Once the voting is closed to the public, phase two is when sports critics and specialised media add their votes. The public vote accounts for 60% of the final result, while sports critics’ vote accounts for 40%.