Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid tops winners list at Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award

Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the president of Al Nasr club and one of the most influential figures in the world of horse racing, tops a star-studded list of Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award winners for 2016, which was announced on Monday.

Sheikh Hamdan, the deputy ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance, has been named winner of the Sports Figure Contributed to the Enrichment of Local Sports Movement Award, while Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, the president of the Jordan Football Association, has won the same award at the Arab level.

Cyclist Yousuf Mirza, who represented the UAE at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, has been named as the Outstanding Local Athlete and he, along with all the other winners, which includes a number of medal winners from the Olympic and Paralympic Games, will receive their award at a ceremony on January 9, 2017.

"The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award have become truly global award," said Matar Al Tayer, chairman of the board of trustees of the award. "In this eighth edition of the awards, we witnessed great competition, at both the local and the Arabic level, receiving 198 entries compared to 180 in the previous year.

"The entries included most of the Arab athletes who took part in the Rio Olympic Games and this reflects the significance of the awards. I congratulate all the winners and, of course, we thank all those who sent in their entries."

Atef Odaibat, vice-chairman of the adjudicating committee, said: "We, as the jury, faced something unprecedented as the majority of Arab athletes who took part in Rio applied for these awards.

"When you have so many great achievements, you have an additional pressure as members of the jury. This was a challenge, but it was positive. We also noticed the number of young athletes who applied has increased."

FULL LIST OF AWARD WINNERS

Sports Figure Contributed to the Enrichment of the Local Sports Movement Award

• Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Sports Figure Contributed to the Enrichment of the Arab Sports Movement Award

• Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein (President, Jordan Football Association)

Local Administration Award

• Naser Mohammed Al Tamimi (secretary general of the UAE Wrestling, Judo and Kick Boxing Federation)

Local Referee Award

• Khamis Al Shamsi (Fifa futsal referee)

Local Coach Award

• Ismail Al Jazeri (Equestrian, has trained a number of champion jockeys)

Local Organisation Award

• UAE Paralympic Committee (UAE won seven medals at the Rio Paralympic Games)

The Arab Athlete Award

• Ahmed Abu Ghaush (Jordan, winner of a taekwondo gold at the Rio Olympic Games)

• Fehaid Al Deehani (Kuwait, won a shooting gold at the Rio Olympics)

Arab Referee Award

• Ahmed Koura (Egypt, archery)

Arab Coach Award

• Ali Al Zahrani (Saudi Arabia, karate)

Arab Team Award

• Royal Endurance Team of Bahrain

Arab Organisation Award

• Sheikha Al Thani (SATUC — Sheikha Al Thani Charity for Underprivileged Children)

International Organisation

• Badminton World Federation

• National Paralympic Association

• British Paralympic Association

Local Junior Athlete Achieved Tremendous Success in the Field of Sports (Nominees)

• Mai Al Madani (Weightlifting)

• Abdulrahman Al Ketbi (Taekwondo)

• Reem Al Shamaa (Fencing)

• Mahra Al Rumaithi (Chess)

• Abdullah Al Nuaimi (Motorcycles)

• Rima Al Heloo (Golf)

Athlete Achieved Success within Major Humanitarian Challenges — Disabled Category

• Maroua Brahmi (Tunisia, won two gold medals at the Rio Paralympics)

The best applied scientific/intellectual sports production/innovation

• Mohanned Kamel (Iraq)

An Athelete/Administrator Achieved Outstanding Success

• Inas Boubakri (Tunisia, Fencing)

• Marwa Amri (Tunisia, Wrestling)

• Hedaya Malak (Egypt, Taekwondo)

• Sarah Samir (Egypt, Weightlifting)

An Outstanding Media Initiative Promoting Sports

• Arab States Broadcasting Union

Outstanding Local Athlete

• Yousuf Mirza (cycling)