DUBAI: The 6th Dubai Labour Sports Tournament is all set for a mega launch across the emirate from 15th September.
Organised and staged by the Dubai Sports Council (DSC) in cooperation with the Permanent Committee of Labour Affairs in Dubai, Dubai Police, and Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship, customs and Port Security, the event will go on from 15th September to23rd February 2025.
Held under the slogan ‘Making them happy is our goal’, organisers are expecting the participation of more than 46,000 male and female workers representing 270 companies. The organisers have gone one better this year while increasing the number of sports disciplines to 12 in ten different locations across Dubai.
The sixth edition of the annual event was announced at a press conference that attended by Khalfan Belhoul, Vice Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, along with Saeed Hareb, Secretary General of Dubai Sports Council and Major General Obaid Muhair bin Suroor, Chairman of the Permanent Committee of Labour Affairs
in Dubai and Brigadier Ali Khalfan Al Mansouri, Director of the General Department of Community Happiness at Dubai Police.
Saeed Hareb said, ‘The Dubai Labour Sports Tournament is a joint initiative between the Dubai Sports Council and the Permanent Committee of Labour Affairs in Dubai, which is held under the slogan ‘Making them happy is our goal’, which we are proud of because it translates the vision of the wise leadership for the status of workers of different nationalities in our society and represents our appreciation for their sincere efforts in building the nation and contributing to the development movement. We are pleased to meet again to continue the journey of success together by organizing this distinguished community sporting event that aims to make workers happy.”
‘This tournament occupies a special place in our annual sports calendar and we are keen on its continuity and development, based on our eagerness to provide everyone with the opportunity to practice sports as it is one of the most
important sources of health, happiness and activity, which is reflected in increasing their productivity and positive spirit in order to achieve sustainability and progress,’ Hareb added.
The DSC Secretary General further stressed the importance of such an event for the labour class in Dubai. ‘We are keen to ensure that the competition programme includes various sporting events that suit the cultures, abilities and hobbies of workers of different nationalities, and we provide all means to ensure that their participation is full of happiness and enthusiasm. The wide participation in the tournament is the best evidence that sports have become an essential part of the life of our society with all its components, and workers in particular have a great love for sports, and possess great skills and good technical levels,’ Hareb said.
‘We thank our partners and supporting bodies from the public and private sectors and their keenness to cooperate to organise this event. We also thank the hosts of the competitions,
which we are confident will be a special event and will contribute to making workers happy and enhancing engagement and cooperation between participating workers of different nationalities and specialisations,’ he added.
Major General Obaid Muhair bin Surour said, ‘We thank the Dubai Sports Council, the strategic partner of the Permanent Committee for Labour Affairs, and we thank all partners and sponsors for this session, which has been successful since the past five years while continuing to achieve more excellence each year. The session contributes to achieving important goals for the health and happiness of society and to occupying workers’ free time. We will continue our partnership with the Council to achieve these goals by launching various initiatives directed at workers and their children as well,’ Major General Obaid noted.
‘The workers play a crucial role in our development process, and their happiness is an important part of our message and strategy while making the UAE and Dubai the best place
to work and live in,’ he added.
Major General Obaid further added: ‘We aspire for the number of male and female participants to cross the 100,000-mark. This current session will be held over a six-month period, and the activities directed at workers will extend throughout the year, where other tournaments will be organized such as football, volleyball and cricket leagues, after which the winners of each tournament will meet in the Champions League.’
Brigadier Ali Al Mansouri said, ‘We thank the Dubai Sports Council for its kind efforts and distinguished partnership with Dubai Police in various fields to achieve the important goal of a happy and content society.
”The success of this event will only push us to continue our successful partnership with the Dubai Sports Council as we realise the importance of sports initiatives that target different segments of society and work to make them happy.”
‘We realise the importance of workers in our plan as they are the main partners in development and sustainabili
ty in our society. This year, the tournament is witnessing an increase in the number of sports and participants, and this is an indicator of the soundness of the plan we have put in place to make the Emirate of Dubai the happiest and safest city in the world,’ he added.
Now in its sixth year, the annual competition is witnessing a growth in the number of sports and participants, thus confirming its success and continuous development. The number of participants this year has increased to more than 46,000 male and female workers belonging to 31 nationalities from 270 companies, forming 873 teams competing in 12 diverse sports, including 18 sports championships, distributed across 10 different locations within a distinguished labour environment.
This year, the tournament is also witnessing an increase in the number of tournaments dedicated to working women, namely badminton, yoga and the thrash ball championship.
Source: Emirates News Agency