UAE National Olympic Committee has formally granted membership to the Emirates Golf Federation
The UAE National Olympic Committee has formally granted membership to the Emirates Golf Federation in recognition of the national team’s impressive achievements on the regional circuit, especially the Doha Arab Games where it won the team and individual gold medals.
The membership was endorsed by the committee’s General Assembly recently hosted by Shaikh Ahmad bin Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE National Olympic Committee.
“This is a momentous occasion for UAE golf and we are really pleased to be officially recognised by the National Olympic Committee (NOC),” said Shaikh Fahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi, president of the Emirates Golf Federation.
“The past couple of years have been pretty productive for the UAE national teams as we celebrated a string of successes, both at home and abroad. We won the team and individual gold medals in the Arab Games held in Doha last year and repeated the feat in the recently-concluded GCC Championship in Dubai.
“Our National Junior Programme which we started two years back has also started yielding results with many young Emiratis taking to the sport and showing a vast improvement in their game. Already, we have over100 Emiratis who are enrolled with the programme, and many of them have started competing regionally,” he added
“The membership to NOC will motivate us to raise the bar and strive for more glory. It will also open up more opportunities for the national teams to compete on the bigger stage like the Asian Games.
“With golf returning to the Olympics for the first time in over 100 years, we can always start planning for the biggest sporting spectacle on the Earth. We are grateful to the NOC for recognizing our efforts,” he said.
The UAE national team will be competing in the Eisenhower Trophy and Arab Championships later this year. A victory in the Arab Championship, to be held in September, will crown the UAE as the undisputed golf champions of the Arab world.
“That’s the immediate target,” said Saeed Albudoor, general manager of the Emirates Golf Federation.
“Every member of the team has contributed to the success of the team and I do hope they will continue to work hard and keep the momentum going.”
Caption – H.E. Shaikh Fahim Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of Emirates Golf Federation receiving affiliation certificate from H.H. Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE National Olympic Committee
