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‘5,000 Emirati rugby players’

ABU DHABI Rugby is set to get even bigger in the UAE.

In an effort to have more Emiratis take up the sport, the UAE Rugby Association has entered into a partnership with the Vocational Education Development Centre (VEDC), an accredited Centre by the Ministry of Education and governed by Abu Dhabi Vocational Education and Training Institute (ADVETI).

As part of the partnership, the UAE Rugby Association and VEDC will share the responsibility of educating and training Emiratis studying at the Centre, in the game of rugby, and also provide career opportunities to assist these students to become productive members of the community.

VEDC will also be home to the first UAE Rugby Regional Development Centre. The facility will provide Emiratis enrolled in the various vocational programmes, access to high quality coaching and competitive programmes.

The UAE Rugby Association hopes to have 5,000 Emirati players playing the game by 2016.

“This is a landmark partnership which we have signed between the UAE Rugby Association and VEDC. We were formed in 2009 and in 2010, we were operational. Currently, we have five full-time coaching staff to foster the sport in the UAE. “We have also appointed a development officer for the Abu Dhabi region. One of the points in our agenda is to increase the number of stakeholders and today is a great example of that,” Ian Bremner, Chief Executive of the UAE Rugby Association, said on Monday.

Tom Hatfield, who has coached a girls team in the USA, and who has also had coaching stints in Kenya and Uganda, has been appointed as the Rugby Development Manager for Abu Dhabi.

“Today signifies VEDC joining the global sport of rugby. Their organisation is joining an Olympic sport. Our mission is to grow the game in the UAE. By 2016, we hope to have 5,000 Emirati players. Growing the game among Emiratis is our top priority,” he added.

The UAE Rugby Association was recently nominated by the General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare as one of four strategic governing body leaders and a member of the UAE Olympic Committee.

The UAE Rugby Association will closely work with VEDC’s Physical Education Department to develop the existing rugby programme to fast track young players.

“This partnership is integral to the development of Emiratis into the game of rugby and will also create sustainable futures for young Emirati men in sport and their careers,” Mohammad Abdulrahman Falaknaz, Chairman of the UAE Rugby Association, said.

“We are also pleased to welcome Tom Hatfield to the UAE Rugby team. His appointment signifies our commitment to the development of the game in every Emirate. We will be making a similar appointment soon for Al Ain,” Falaknaz added.

“VEDC and ADVETI see this partnership as an important long term strategy in our aim to provide our students with the right pathways of personal and career growth” said James Roberts, Principal of VEDC.

“As future integral members of the Emirati community, the values that can we learnt through rugby will benefit our education programmes and our students considerably,” he added.

james@khaleejtimes.com