The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award honors individuals, teams and organizations who have made significant sporting contributions in the United Arab Emirates and globally. It is designed to celebrate and promote the best initiatives in projects or programmes in the sporting field, such as Tolerance, Knowledge Management, Empowering Communities and tackling global challenges like the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
History
The Award, one of the
Mohammed bin Rashid Global Initiatives
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI) is a philanthropic foundation based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). MBRGI was launched in 2015, consolidating some 33 philanthropic initiatives undertaken by Mohammed bin Rashid Al ...
, was launched in 2009 and in 2021 offered Dhs7.5 million (US$2 million) in prize money.
The 11th edition of the Award was postponed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2021 award has been used to highlight the role of women in sports. Prominent Middle Eastern female winners of the award have included Moroccan Paralympian Najat El Garaa; Hayat bint Abdulaziz Al Khalifa, Member of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, Member of the Board of Directors of the Bahrain Olympic Committee, and Chairperson of the Bahraini Women’s Sports Committee and Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Ambassador of
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...
to the United States, who won the Arab Sports Personality of the Award in the 9th Edition. Female members of the Award's Board of Trustees have included Moroccan Olympic champion Nawal El Moutawakel, Dr Mona Al Bahar and Mona Bou Samra, the editor-in-chief of
Al Bayan newspaper.
The award maintains links with 204 National Olympic Committees, 178 Paralympic Committees, 33 international sports federations for summer Olympic sports and seven international sports federations for winter Olympic sports, as well as with 69 Arab national Olympic federations and committees, and 34 international federations recognized by the International Olympic Committee.
The International category of the award is open to Summer Olympic International Federations.
In 2018, a number of Egyptian athletes were awarded, including footballer
Mohammed Salah
Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly ( ar, محمد صلاح حامد محروس غالي, ; born 15 June 1992), also known as Mo Salah, is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Liverpool and captains the Egypt ...
. International sporting bodies receiving the award have included
UWW,
ICC and
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
.
Board of Trustees
Following are the Board of Trustees for the award.
Award Categories
There are three main categories:
;Individual Sports Creativity
This award is given to Individuals such as players, coaches, referees, and administrators who have accomplished creative sports achievements on the local, Arab, continental or international level.
;Group Sports Creativity
This award is given to sports groups which have achieved creative sports works on the local, Arab, continental or international level.
;Corporate Sports Creativity
This award is given to sports institutes which have achieved creative sports works and best initiatives on the local, Arab, continental or international level.
Local Awards
These awards are given to athletes, officials or organisations of
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...
only.
Best Local Athlete
Best Local Referee
Best Local Coach
Best Local Team
Best Local Administrator
Best Local Organisation
Arab Awards
These awards are given to the athletes of
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
countries.
Best Arab Player
Best Arab Coach
Best Arab Team
Best Arab Organisation
Best International Organisation
Other Awards
2009
2010
References
{{reflist
2009 establishments in the United Arab Emirates
Awards established in 2009
Emirati awards
Asian sports trophies and awards
Annual events in the United Arab Emirates
Sport in the United Arab Emirates