Dubai Sports Council plans to develop Emirati coaches and nurture young talents

Dubai - Over the years, the number of Emirati coaches at the Dubai clubs has been on the steady rise

The Dubai Sports Council has reaffirmed its commitment to development plans and programmes dedicated to supporting Emirati coaches, young sporting talents and academies, as well as sports at schools, despite the challenges posed by Covid-19 since the first quarter of this year.
Empowering Emirati coaches and developing young Emirati talents has been one of the Council's primary focus since its inception and it has launched a number of programmes and initiatives over the years to meet those goals, and has achieved considerable success through optimal investment of resources.
The Council has organised a number of training workshops and seminars - in partnership with leading international federations and top stars - for their development and progress, and have opened many doors of opportunity for them in Dubai clubs.
Over the years, the number of Emirati coaches at the Dubai clubs has been on the steady rise and today, 70 of the 130 coaches - or 54 per cent - working at the clubs are Emiratis.
The initiative to empower and develop Emirati coaches started 10 years ago following directives from the then Chairman of DSC, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, to appoint Emiratis as assistant coaches of the first teams at all clubs in Dubai.
Following the decision, the Council launched programmes to identify and promote young Emirati coaches, and organised a number of workshops with top international coaches from countries like France and Spain for their development.
The Council also opened doors for them to work as assistant coaches with the first team and to obtain advanced training certificates, which has allowed many of them to take over the top position since.
Today, 10 Emiratis, who have emerged from these programmes, hold professional training licence (Pro Licence) which allows them to train first teams, and seven of them are working with clubs outside Dubai and with different national teams.
The Council also made a decision to allow only Emiratis to head reserve teams at Dubai clubs, and today the heads of all reserve teams are locals.
The Council has also launched similar initiatives and programmes to encourage and promote sports in schools, which it sees as the base of the sporting pyramid in Dubai. The most notable of these initiatives is the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Order of Merit for Sports Education School, which seeks to encourage both public and private schools in the Emirate of Dubai to achieve both academic and sporting excellence, and nurture young sports talents.