Abu Dhabi, September 13, 2009: Mohammed bin Hammam Al-Abdullah, President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), visited Saturday the premises of the Armed Forces Officers Club (AFOC) to have first hand information about the facility and the ongoing sports activities there.
He and his entourage were received on arrival by Lt. General (Rtd) Mohammed Hilal Surour Al-Ka'abi, Chairman of both the AFOC Board and the Higher Organising Committee of the AFOC Open Sports Festival.
Members of the delegation accompanying the AFC President include Mohammed Khalfan Al-Rumaithy, Chairman of the UAE Football Association, Abdul Mohsen Fahd Al-Dossari, Assistant Secretary General for Sports Affairs at the General Authority for Youth and Sports, Yusuf Al-Sarkal, 4th Vice President of the AFC, Saeed Abdul Ghaffar, Deputy Chairman of UAE Football Association and other sports officials and personalities.
The visitors were taken round the various parts of the facilities during which Mr. Bin Hammam was briefed about the facilities which include the 25metre long Olympic-standard state-of-the-art swimming pool, the media centre, the Karakal Shooting club, the gym, the bowling facility and many others. They later watched a portion of the semi-final football match for the men's five-a-side indoor football event.
At the end of the visit, Lt. General (Rtd) Mohammed Hilal Surour Al-Ka'abi, presented to the AFC President and the UAE FA chairman special AFOC souvenir in appreciation of their visit.
In a statement, Mr. Bin Hammam commended the AFOC for the important role it is playing as a sporting and recreational facility which serves members of the armed forces and the society, in general, in the areas of sports, culture and social activities. He said the AFOC undoubtedly is a source of great pride for all as it continues to serve both the military and the civilian sectors. He expressed happiness on what he had seen during the visit. "Undoubtedly, what I have seen has made us all happy. We are proud to have in Asia such a great sports facility which can accommodate more than 10,000 sportsmen and women at a time," he said adding that it is really heart warming to see such a great number of sportsmen and women taking part in 13 various sports events with proactive participation of UAE women and their counterparts from various countries of the world. He saluted the UAE FA and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, led by H.H. Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Advisor and Honorary Chairman of the UAE FA for such a great achievement. He said Asia is rich in talents, which must be properly nurtured and harnessed for more achievements, adding that the AFOC Games represents a mini Olympics as it had succeeded in attracting 2,800 sports men and women of various nationalities, including 18 Arab nationalities and featuring 13 various sports events.
Also commenting after the visit, Mohammed Khalfan Al-Rumaithy, Chairman of the UAE Football Association, who warmly welcomed the AFC President for visiting the country at the invitation of H.H. Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Advisor and Honorary Chairman of the UAE FA, said the visit provides great opportunity for the two sides to share ideas on issues of mutual interest for further development of football in Asia, in general and in the UAE, in particular. He noted that the visit came at a time when the UAE is seriously preparing to host in Abu Dhabi in December this year the FIFA Club World Cup, a very important sports event of great interest to Asia and the world at large.
Al-Rumaithy praised the AFOC for its successful organising and hosting of the annual Ramadan Sports Festival putting its fabulous sports facilities into good use.
Meanwhile, Al-Ka'abi and all members of the AFOC Higher Organising committee have expressed profound happiness on the visit of the prominent sports personalities to the AFOC. He said the AFOC board and the higher organising committee will continue to work harder and closer to further improve the facilities to host more local, regional and international sports events, adding that the praise the AFOC had won from the AFC President had added more responsibilities on the shoulders of AFOC and the organising committee to maintain and sustain the good reputation the AFOC had earned for itself and the nation, in general.

Football:

Meanwhile, the semi final matches of the Men's Five-a-side Indoor Football event, played Saturday night saw Istishaariyya and National Archives Centre booking their tickets to the final showdown billed for tonight (Sunday night).
In the first clash of Saturday night, Istishaariyya routed Ground Forces 3:0 to move to the final, while National Archives Centre picked the other ticket after defeating Capital Police 5:3 in a penalty shoot-out after a 1:1 draw game.
As the curtains of the 13th AFOC Games comes down tonight to mark the end of this year's edition of the Games, two clashes feature on the bill. The first clash will involve losers in yesterday's semi final matches, as Ground Forces lock horns with Capital Police for the 3rd and 4th places. The final match follows with a clash between Istishaariyya and National Archives Centre for the Championship title at stake.
In the goal king race, Ahmed Fat'hi of Wadi Land maintains his lead with 11 goals to his credit despite the elimination of his team in the quarter final. Ibrahim Muaz Al-Sharqawi of National Archives Centre follows with 9 goals and will be playing for his side tonight, but the one million dollar question is, can he score three goals to snatch the goal king title from Fat'hi?

Abu Dhabi, September 11, 2009: Patrick Helly has been crowned champion of the Professional Bowling event of the 13th AFOC Open Sports Festival. The American peeped Mahmoud Al-Attar, who has been leading the pack throughout the quarter final stage, in the last shot to clinch the title leaving the second spot for Al-Attar in a closely fought game that ended in the early hours of Friday morning.
The new champion and others who made it to the top eight were honoured in a prize giving ceremony attended by Lt. General (Rtd) Mohammed Hilal Surour Al-Ka’abi, AFOC Board Chairman and Chairman of the Higher Organising Committee and other dignitaries and a large number of bowling fans.
The championship, which kicked-off with 80 contestants representing 16 countries, saw major surprises in the preliminary round when top contenders for the title, including former world champion, Saeed Al-Hajiri of Qatar and UAE and Asian champion, Hussein Al-Suwaidi, were eliminated for UAE’s promising star, Al-Attar, to jump into the front seat until the last stroke when the American overtook him leaving him at 2nd spot with 2304 points followed by former world champion, Mohammed Khalifa Al-Qubaisi of the UAE at 3rd with 2177 points, Sayyid Ibrahim of UAE was 4th with 2104 points, Shakir placed 5th and Nayef Eqab placed 6th, while the 7th and 8th spot went to Ibrahim Bahair and Abdul Rahman Salim respectively.
In a comment, Ibrahim Abdul Malik, Secretary General of the General Authority for Youth and Sports, who was among the dignitaries who attended the final match and the prize giving ceremony, praised the high standard of the various championships of the 13th AFOC Game, which, he said, he has been following keenly since the Games opened. He said he was happy to see that the AFOC Games continuing to grow better and stronger every year and attributed those successes to the unstinting support of the UAE’s wise leadership and the hard work of the Higher Organising Committee led by Lt. General (Rtd) Mohammed Hilal Surour Al-Ka’abi.
He also expressed happiness on the proactive participation of Emirati ladies in 7 of the 13 events featuring at the 13th AFOC Games and praised the Mother of the Nation, Her Highness Shaikha Fatima bint Mubarak, President of the UAE General Women’s Union for motivating women to venture into all areas of development, including sports of all kinds. He praised the sports writers for their great and generous contributions to the success story of the AFOC Games.

PlayStation:

UAE’s Mohammed Tariq Badawi has retained his title in the PlayStation championship following a splendid performance in the last day of the event. Mohammed Ali Al-Jenaibi placed 2nd leaving the 3rd and 4th places for Faisal Mohammed Al-Luqaiti and Jamal Hamad Al-Aremi respectively. All the four will be honoured for their achievements in a prize giving ceremony slated for Sunday. The championship started with 512 contestants.

Football:

The semi final round of the men’s five-a-side indoor football event kicks-off tomorrow, Saturday night, with the final slated for Sunday, September 13, which ironically, is the final day of the 13th AFOC Games. The men’s football event started with 32 teams, divided into eight groups of four. The number kept on decreasing during the knock-out stage, leaving only four now for the semi final and final stages.
Winners of Saturday’s encounters will meet in the final for the champion and 1st runner up, while the losers play for the 3rd and 4th places match, which will precede the final match on Sunday.

Jiu-Jitsu:

The Jiu-Jitsu championship of the 13th AFOC Games kicked-off Thursday night attracting a number of dignitaries, including Lt. General (Rtd) Mohammed Hilal Surour Al-Ka’abi, AFOC Board Chairman and Chairman of the Higher Organising Committee, Ibrahim Abdul Malik, Secretary General of the General Authority for Youth and Sports, Abdullah Ibrahim, Chairman of the UAE Sports Writers Committee and a large number of Jiu-Jitsu fans.
One hundred and sixty contestants from 28 countries of the world, including 95 contestants from the UAE, are participating in the event.
The other contestants come from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Sudan, Palestine, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, Iran, Cyprus, the USA, Britain, Brazil, the Philippines, France, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Bosnia Herzegovina, Romania, Slovenia, Hungary and Portugal.
The first day of clashes saw 21 contestants making it to the final round to be held Friday night in the weight classes of 65kgs, 74kgs, 83kgs, 92kgs, above 92kgs and the Open Weight event.
The championship provides opportunity for UAE fighters to sharpen their skills in preparation for the UAE’s hosting of the Asian Jiu-Jitsu Championship in December and in preparation for the World championship in April 2010.

Abu Dhabi, September 7, 2009: The boxing event of the 13th AFOC Open Sport Festival kicked-off Sunday night at the tent auditorium of the Armed Forces Officers Club (AFOC). Lt. General (Rtd) Mohammed Hilal Surour Al-Ka'abi, AFOC Board Chairman and Chairman of the Higher Organising Committee, inaugurated the event which is making a debut at the AFOC Games.
The opening ceremony attracted a number of dignitaries, including Khalifa Butti Al-Shamsi, Deputy Chairman of UAE Boxing Association and Chairman of the 13th AFOC Open Sports Festival Boxing Committee, Salah Al-Salloumi, Deputy Chairman of the Higher Organising Committee, Director of the 13th AFOC Open Sports Festival and many other officials, as well as a large number of boxing fans.
In the Lightweight (60kgs) bouts of the night, Badar Khasif of Al-Ain defeated Ali Humaid Al-Zahmi of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed Mussabbah Al-Shimmary of the Air Force beat Ali Humaid Juma Al-Dawwar of Fujairah, while Bilal Abdul Rabbo of Abu Dhabi defeated Ali Saeed Salim Naseeb of Fujairah in the 3rd bout.
Clashes in the Super Lightweight (64kgs) bouts of the night involved Najm Al-Haddad of Sharjah who defeated Ali Hassan Sulaiman of Al-Ain in the first bout, while Mohammed Hassan of Sharjah also defeated Omar Mustafa of Air Force in the second bout.
In the Middleweight (69kgs) fights, the most interesting of all fights of the night, Sultan Farah Al-Wali of the Air Force put up a great fight to defeat Basshar Abdullah Al-Ismaeli of Fujairah, Abdul Aziz Al-Yakoubi of Air Force beat Talal Hamza of Sharjah, Mohammed Abdul Wahab of Al-Ain overpowered Marwan Ghanim Al-Marri of Fujairah, while Tahir Nasir Hussein of Abu Dhabi beat Sami Mohammed of Abu Dhabi. Abdul Khaliq Abdul Fattah of Fujairah defeated Obaid Khalifa Al-Ka’abi of Al-Ain in the only bout of the Super Middleweight (75kgs) bout of the night, while Mohammed Ibrahim Moawwad of Abu Dhabi beat Qasim Mahir Anwar of Al-Ain in the Light Heavyweight (81kgs) fight of the night.
The bouts continue on daily basis until the night of Wednesday, when the prize giving ceremony will be held to honour the champions.
In a comment, Khalifa Butti Al-Shamsi, Deputy Chairman of UAE Boxing Association and Chairman of the 13th AFOC Open Sports Festival Boxing Committee, said the boxers have put up a good show and standard was high despite the fact that the sport is new and is making its first appearance in the annual AFOC Games. He pointed out that the AFOC Games is providing a great opportunity for the birth and rising of young and promising boxers to stardom and is uplifting UAE boxing to greater heights by making boxing one of the popular and broad-based sports in the country.

PlayStation:

The Open event of the PlayStation championship has moved into top gear as 256 contestants who qualified to the second round of the event battle for qualification to the next stage of the championship, which kick-started with 800 contestants of various nationalities and age groups.
The knockout stage which started Sunday night produced only eight contestants who have berthed into the semi final round of the event. The Eight are: Taha Abdullah Al-Saqqan, Ateeq Isa Al-Muhairby, Jamal Hamad Al-Areemi, Hassan Ahmed Al-Hammadi, Khalid Ajeel Al-Jenaibi, Yunus Saeed, Khalid Anees Al Jenaibi and Saleh Hussein Al-Musabi.
The knockout stage continues until September 12 when the final will be played and the champions declared for them to be honoured and awarded their prizes on September 13 when the prize giving ceremony would be held, coinciding with the final day of the festival.

Bowling:

The preliminary round of the professional bowling event has ended but not without a major surprise when the Asian Champion and top contender for the title, Hussein Al-Suwaidi and star player, Saeed Humur-Ain, were both eliminated from the championship.
With the exit of the two top contenders, Saeed Al-Hajri of Qatar, who is making his debut at the AFOC Games, jumped on to the front seat. Others who have qualified to the next round include UAE International bowling star, Mohammed Khalifa Al-Qubaisi, Kuwait national team coach, Patrick Heilly and Ibrahim Bahair, former captain of Al-Sha’ab Football Club. The quarter final clashes continue tomorrow, Tuesday, night with the final clashes and closing ceremony slated for Thursday night.

Football:

Following the last matches of the preliminary round which was played Sunday night, the top two teams of the eight groups qualified to the Round 16 stage of the Men’s Five-Aside Indoor Football event, which kicks-off tomorrow, Tuesday.
Air Force, who have won all their group matches without conceding a goal and Al-Masi qualified from Group (1), Wadi Land and Istishaariyya from Group(2), Karam Transport, who have also won all their matches and Border Security from Group (3), Capital Police, who have also won all their matches and FC Abu Dhabi from Group (4), Sayyaad and Logistic Force (A) from Group (5), National Archives Centre, who have also won all their matches and Mukhaalifeen Wal Ajaanib from Group (6), Ground Forces, who have also won all their matches and Sicon from Group (7) and Rabea of Algeria, who have also won all their matches and Shangri-La from Group (8).
The Round 16 stage which will be on knock-out basis will continue until Thursday night to determine the quarter finalists, who will take a break on Friday before starting hostilities on Saturday when the semi final round will be held. The final match and the prize giving ceremony are slated for September 13, the same day the 13th AFOC Games closes for the year.
Sunday night clashes saw National Archives Centre snatching a tough 4:2 win from Mukhaalifeen Wal-Ajaanib, Sicon beat Italia Design 2:1, West Life collected 3 points for free by walkover when Judiciary Department failed to show up, while Rabea of Algeria whipped Marchelago 4:0 in the last clash of the night.

Shooting:

The Shooting event, which is being held at the Karakal Shooting Club, an affiliate of the AFOC, is gearing towards the final round, which will be held on September 12. About 400 contestants are vying for honour in the championship which features 20 metres air pistol (9mm) and 25 metres air raffle (22.0 mm) for the men’s event and 15 metres air pistol (9mm) for the women’s event. Prizes at stake include AED15,000 for winner of both the men’s and women’s air pistol event, second position (1st runner up) takes home AED12,000, winner of the 3rd position will pocket AED8,000, while winners of the 4th and 5th positions take home AED5,000 and AED3,000 respectively.

Abu Dhabi, September 6, 2009: The Women’s Seven-Aside Outdoor Football event of the 13th AFOC Open Sports Festival ends Monday night. Kick-off for the 3rd and 4th places match, involving Al-Shabab Al-Arabi versus Bahrain national team is scheduled at 9:30 pm, to be followed by the final match between the Emirates and Jordan national team.
The second match will be followed by the award distribution and closing ceremony, during which the four teams will be honoured and awarded their various cash and kind prizes. The total cash prize at stake is AED260,000 with the champion taking home a cash prize of AED100,000, the first runner-up pockets AED80,000, the second runner-up takes AED50,000, while the fourth-placed team pockets AED30,000.
The top scorer of the championship will also take home a cash prize of AED5,000. Currently Maitha Ziyad Mahmoud of Jordan national team and Kia Ban of the Emirates share the top spot on the goal king chart with 5 goals each, followed by Faiza Haidar of Al-Shabab Al-Arabi with 4 goals.
The semi final matches played Saturday night saw the Emirates trouncing Bahrain 3:0 with Kia Ban scoring a brace and Sara Hasanain scoring one goal, while Jordan national team also qualified to the final by beating Al-Shabab Al-Arabi 2:0 from goals scored by Alaa Othman and Shurouq Khalil.
Meanwhile, the quarter final matches of the Men’s Five-Aside Indoor Football event kick-off on Tuesday. Matches played on Saturday night saw Karam Transport who has already qualified to the quarter final stage routing Labour Village 3:0. Border Security spanked Logistic Force (B) 6:2, while Capital Police whitewashed Emirates Youth 7:1. Sayyaad maintained its winning spree by adding three more points to its credit from a walkover as Terjan failed to show up, having lost hope in qualifying to the next stage, while Logistic Force (A) defeated Amaliyyaat 5:2 in the last clash of the night.

Fencing:

The two-day Fencing championship ended Saturday night. The finals attracted a number of dignitaries, including Dr. Hanif Hassan, Health Minister, Engineer Sheikh Salim bin Sultan Al-Qasimi, Chairman of the UAE Fencing Association, Lt. General (Rtd) Mohammed Hilal Surour Al-Ka'abi, AFOC Board Chairman and Chairman of the Higher Organising Committee, the committee members, representatives of sponsors and a large fencing fans.
It was a clean sweep for the UAE in the Youth Under 20 “Foil” event with all the three medals going to the UAE as Majid Al-Mansouri of Baniyas Club won the Gold medal after defeating his compatriot and team mate, Abdullah Al-Hammadi who took home the Silver medal, Ali Al-Mansouri of Baniyas Club also took the Bronze having defeated Suroor Al-Az’az.
In the Youth Under 20 “Sabre” event, Abdullah Al-Shamali of Kuwait won the Gold after defeating UAE’s Mohammed Al-Mansouri of Baniyas Club, who took home the Silver of the event, while the Bronze went to UAE’s Mohammed Al-Hashimi of the Emirates Heritage Club after defeating Rashid Al-Alawi of Kuwait. Egypt’s Muhannad Saif was crowned champion of the “Epee” Open event which witnessed tough fight among the contenders before the outstanding performance by Saif gave him the Gold medal of the event after defeating Kuwait’s Abdul Aziz Al-Shati, who took the Silver, while the Bronze went to both Amrou Abul-Ainain of Canada and Bahrain’s Al-Zazi.
The UAE health minister, flanked by Al-Ka’abi and other dignitaries on the podium, distributed the prizes to the winners. He was also gifted an AFOC souvenir at the end of the ceremony by Al-Ka’abi, in recognition and appreciation of his visit. Other’s who received the AFOC souvenir include Engineer Sheikh Salim bin Sultan Al-Qasimi, Chairman of the UAE Fencing Association and Major General Ahmed Ismail, Chairman of Egypt Fencing Association.
In a statement, Dr. Hassan praised the Higher Organising Committee, led by it chairman, Lt. General (Rtd) Mohammed Hilal Surour Al-Ka'abi, AFOC Board Chairman, for the great success of the championship. He attributed the success of the championship to the unflinching support of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Presidential Affairs Minister and Patron of the AFOC Open Sports Festival.
He said despite having been introduced into the country in recent years, UAE fencing has made a giant stride, producing some of the finest fencers in the region, who have won laurels for the UAE at regional and Arab levels. This is a clear testimony that the championship is making positive impact,” he said and expressed happiness on the participation of women in 7 out of 13 events of the AFOC Open Sports Festival. He said their participation in sports is part of his ministry’s strategy of creating awareness on the need for all to practice sports to keep fit.
Engineer Sheikh Salim bin Sultan Al-Qasimi, Chairman of the UAE Fencing Association also praised the AFOC Higher Organising Committee for doing a great job. He reiterated his outfit’s commitment to continue to cooperate with the AFOC by proactively participating in and contributing to the success of all AFOC organised sports events. He said the AFOC Sports Festival had contributed immensely in the spread of fencing in the country among the youth. He said out of the 81 contestants of various nationalities, 50% are UAE nationals, adding that the AFOC championship provided a golden opportunity for the UAE fencers to sharpen their talent and skills in the game.
Meanwhile, Lt. General (Rtd) Mohammed Hilal Surour Al-Ka'abi, AFOC Board Chairman and Chairman of the Higher Organising Committee, has reviewed the progress of work and preparations for the closing ceremony of the 13th AFOC Open Sports Festival, scheduled for next Sunday, September 13. He was extensively briefed by Mussabbah Al-Ka’abi, Director of the AFOC Open Sports Festival, who assured the chairman that everything is ready for the colourful ceremony.

Dedication:

Members of the Baniyas fencing team, who made a clean sweep of the titles and medals at stake at the 13th AFOC Open Sports Festival, have dedicated the team’s splendid achievement to the Chairman of Baniyas Club, Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister. The move is in deep appreciation of Sheikh Saif’s, unflinching support, patronage and care for the club, in general and the Baniyas fencing team, in particular, which is yet to be one year old.

Abu Dhabi, September 5, 2009: The boxing and professional bowling events of the 13th AFOC Open Sports Festival opens Sunday evening at a time when the preliminary round of the men's five-aside indoor football enters its final stage, while other events like shooting (men and women's events) PlayStation move into final gear and the stage is set for the final match and the closing ceremony of the Women's Seven-Aside Outdoor Football championship, scheduled for Monday.
Saturday night's (tonight's) semi final clashes will involve the Emirates versus Bahrain in the opening match of the night, while Al-Shabab Al-Arabi takes on Jordan. The winners of the two games play the final on Monday, while the losers play for the 3rd and 4th places the same day.
The boxing event, which is making its debut in the annual sports festival will feature the finest UAE national team boxers, including Mohammed Musabbah, Khamis Obaid, Qasim Mohammed Al-Baroon, Ali Mohammed Ibrahim, Ibrahim Hassan Al-Za'abi, Saeed Abdullah Al-Mukhaini, Sultan Faraj Al-Wali and others.
According to the rules of the championship, all participating clubs will be represented by a maximum of only two boxers in each weight class featuring in the championship. A club has the right to participate with as many number of boxers of foreign nationality as it may want to but contesting boxers must not be below 18 or above 34 years of age and must be registered by the UAE Boxing Association.
Weight classes featuring for the championship include Junior Flyweight (48kgs), Flyweight (51kgs), Bantamweight (54kgs), Featherweight (57kgs), Lightweight (60kgs), Super Lightweight (64kgs), Middleweight (69kgs), Super Middleweight (75kgs), Light Heavyweight (81kgs), Cruiserweight (91kgs), and Heavyweight above (91 kgs).
For boxers of 19 years of age and below, a bout will last for 4 rounds of 2 minutes per round, stoppage time for caution not included, while inter-rounds break is limited to only one minute. But for boxers above 19 years of age, a bout will last for 3 rounds of 3 minutes per round, stoppage time for caution not included, while inter-rounds break is limited to only one minute.
The first ten of each weight class bout will take home various amounts of cash and kind prizes. There will also be prizes for the "Best Boxer" and the "Best Trainer".

Football:

The final matches of the preliminary round of the men's five-aside indoor football kicks-off tomorrow, Sunday, night. The first clash of the night will feature Judiciary Department versus West Life, followed by a clash between Mukhaalifeen Wal Ajaanib and the National Archives Centre, who have already qualified for the quarter final round. The third clash of the night will see Italia Design locking horns against Sicon in a no contest match as both teams are out of the race for qualification. Ground Forces will sort things out against DNRD, while Al-Rabea of Algeria clash against Marchelago in the last match of the night.
Matches played Friday night saw Istishaariyya confirmed its qualification to the next stage of the championship by spanking Aircraft Company 5:0, Wadi Land also humiliated Bin Hilal with a 8:1 win to also book a place in the next round, Air Forces whipped Fursan Al-Marfa 6:0, while Al-Rabea of Algeria routed Marchelago 4:0.

Fencing:

The first round of the fencing event, which ended in the early hours of Saturday morning saw a number of contestants qualifying to the semi final round. They include Egypt's Saif Ali, Christopher of France, Mohannad, Amrou Abul-Ainain, Ali Mirza of Qatar, Aziz Makwain of Bahrain and Abdul Aziz Al-Shatti of Kuwait.
Others are: Abdullah Al-Shamali of Kuwait, UAE's Mohammed Al-Mus'abi of Baniyas Club and UAE's Mohammed Al-Hashimi of Emirates Heritage Club.
In the Youth Under 20 "Foil" event, four UAE contestants from Baniyas Club made it to the final round. They are Majid Al-Mansouri and his brother Ali Al-Mansouri, Surour Al-Az'azi and Abdullah Al-Hammadi.

Bowling:

The professional bowling event entres a crucial stage Sunday night as top contenders for the title make their first appearance to spice up the championship. Some of the big names making their appearance are former world champion, Mohammed Khalifa Al-Qubaisi, Shakir Ali, Hussein Al-Suwaidi and other stars of the national teams of the UAE and other Gulf states, as well as Patrick Henley of the United States, ranked one of the best in the world, whose appearance at the championship poses a big threat to other title contenders.
So far, Hisham Gitmoul of the Philippines is maintaining his top position in the professional bowling event at the end of the Round 4 with UAE’s Shakir Ali close to his heels. Eighteen professional bowlers are vying for the ultimate prizes at stake. The table as at the end of Round 4 stands as follows: Hisham Gitmoul 1312 points, Shakir Ali Hassan 1292 points, Saeed Obaid Humur-Ain 1280 points, followed by Khalid Al-Hammadi, Mahmoud Al-Attar, Abdul Rahman Sulaiman, Ibrahim Bahair, Sultan Abdullah Al-Marzuoki and Hussein Al-Suwaidi respectively.

1st Raffle Draw:

An Egyptian woman has won the first car raffle draw held at the 13th AFOC Open Sports Festival Friday night. Shemaa Fayez, who is planning to leave the UAE for good back to her country, Egypt, after four years of living in the UAE, was stunned and hilarious when her ticket won her the Toyota car donated by Al-Futtaim Motors. "I couldn't believe my ears when a phone-call came to me to say I have two hours to be at the club," Fayez said, adding that it was the first time in her life to have won something. "I got the winning ticket when I went to watch a football match, I don't know yet if I will sell the car or take it to Egypt," she said amusingly. She thanked the AFOC Higher Organising Committee for its credibility. Mussabah Al-Ka'abi, Director of the AFOC Open Sports Festival, flanked by a representative of Al-Futtaim Motors and members of the Higher Organising Committee, presented the key of the car to Shemaa.

Judo:

It was a clean sweep for Tunisia as both its men's and women's national teams were crowned Friday night champions of the Judo events. The Silver medal of the women's event went to the UAE, while the UAE men took home a Bronze. Syria's national women's team won Bronze, while the Silver of the men's event went to the Yemeni national men's team. Mohammed bin Thaloub Al-Dar'e, Chairman of the UAE Wrestling, Judo and Jiu-Jitsu Association, crowned the winners of the championship which ended successfully Friday night, in the presence of Lt. General (Rtd) Mohammed Hilal Surour Al-Ka'abi, AFOC Board Chairman and Chairman of the Higher Organising Committee. The closing ceremony was also attended by a number of distinguished guests, members of the organizing committee and heads of the delegations of participating countries and teams. In the men's single event, Khalifa Al-Qubaisi of UAE won the Gold medal of the 73kgs weight class. Tunisia's Husam Al-Khalfawi won the Gold of the 66kgs weight class, while Yemen's Ali Khasrouf also took home the Gold of the 60kgs.
In the women's single event, the Gold of the 70kgs weight class went to Tunisia's Anja Al-Greidi, the 63kgs and the youth class Gold medals also went to Tunisia's Khawlat Al-Mirawi and Hiba Badrudeen respectively.
In a statement, Mohammed bin Thaloub Al-Dar'e, Chairman of the UAE Wrestling, Judo and Jiu-Jitsu Association, praised the Higher Organising Committee, led by it chairman, Lt. General (Rtd) Mohammed Hilal Surour Al-Ka'abi, AFOC Board Chairman, for the great success of the championship. He reiterated his outfit commitment to continue to cooperate with the AFOC by proactively participating in and contributing to the success of all AFOC organised sports events. He said the championship and others yet to come are part of the association's preparation to host a Judo Grand Prix in November, to be followed by the UAE's hosting of the Asian Wrestling Championship.

Abu Dhabi, September 4, 2009: The fencing event of the 13th AFOC Open Sports Festival kicks-off Friday at the Armed Forces Officers Club (AFOC). The two-day championship ends Saturday, while the boxing event, which is making its debut at the AFOC Sports Festival, kicks-off on Sunday.
The Judo event which opened on Thursday night ends later Friday evening. Hundred contestants are fighting for the ultimate prizes at stake in the Judo event, which saw the qualification of a number of them to final round scheduled for tonight.
In the 60kgs youth event, Yemen’s Ali Khasrouf was declared champion, while Tunisia’s Bashir Rahhal was 2nd and UAE’s Mahfouz Al-Qubaisi placed 3rd. But the 66kgs title went to Ham Al-Qalgawi of Tunisia, Hussein Mohammed of Yemen and Sultan Al-Kutbi of UAE were 2nd and 3rd respectively.
In the women’s event, Tunisia’s Anga Al-Greidi, won the 70kgs bout leaving the 2nd and 3rd spots to UAE’s Maryam Al-Bulushi and Palestine’s Aaya Atallah respectively. The title of the 63kgs bout went to another Tunisian, Khaulat Al-Mibrawi, while UAE’s Rukayya Al-Bulushi and Tunisia’s Darsaf bin Saeed Al-Kairawan placed 2nd and 3rd respectively.
While the Judo event was ongoing, the fencing event was also going on simultaneously, under the same roof of the huge tent-made auditorium, where 90 contestants of 17 nationalities are fighting for honour in the fencing event. Most of the contestants are from clubs in UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq and Bahrain. The contestants are fighting for the prizes at stake by contesting in the Youth Under 20 “Foil” and “Sabre” events as well as in the “Epee” open event.
Four contestants have qualified to the final round of the Youth Under 20 “Sabre” championship. They are Abdullah Al-Shamali of Kuwait who will lock horns against his compatriot Khalid Al-Alawi, while UAE’s Mohammed Al-Musa’abi of Baniyas Club will also clash against his compatriot Mohammed Al-Hashimi of the Emirates Heritage Club. In the Youth Under 20 “Foil” event, four UAE contestants from Baniyas Club qualified to the next round. They are Majid Al-Mansouri and his brother Ali Al-Mansouri, Surour Al-Az’azi and Abdullah Al-Hammadi to guarantee a clean sweep of the three medals at stake for UAE.

Football:

As the countdown begins towards the final stages of the five-aside indoor football event, the top horses of the race for the title are beginning to emerge. But the picture will be clearer after Saturday night’s five clashes, which feature a Labour Village versus Karam Transport in the first match of the night, to be followed by Border Security versus Logistics Force (B) match and Capital Police versus the Emirates. But the toughest clash of the night will involve Sayyaad, studded with UAE football stars, against Terjan, studded with Iranian football stars, the last match of the night will involve Amaliyyaat against Logistics Force (A).
Matches played on Thursday night saw Sayyaad thrashing Amaliyyaat 3:0 and Terjan routing Logistics (A) by the same margin. In the other clashes of the night, National Archives Centre whitewashed Judiciary Department 9:0, Mukhaalifeen Wal Ajaanib beat West Life 3:1, while Ground Force spanked Italia Design 3:0 in the last clash of the night. Sicon won a walkover as DNRD failed to show up for their match
In the Women’s Seven-Aside Outdoor Football event, Bahrain sprang the first surprise of the championship with a 2:1 win against fancied Al-Shabab Al-Arabi in an action-packed match. The win has thrown the chance in Group (B) open for qualification to the semi final round. In the second clash of the night, Wadi Dajlah routed Majan of Oman 5:0, the Australian University in Kuwait team spanked Abu Dhabi 3:0, while the Emirates continued their winning spree by defeating Jordan 3:1 in the last clash of the night. The last group matches of the event will be held Saturday night.

Bowling:

With two more rounds to go, Hisham Gitmoul of the Philippines is maintaining his top position in the professional bowling event at the end of the Round 4 with UAE’s Abdul Rahman close to his heels. Eighteen professional bowlers are vying for the ultimate prizes at stake. The table as at the end of Round 4 stands as follows: Hisham Gitmoul 1312 points, Abdul Rahman Salim Sulaiman 1224 points, Ali Al-Kathiri 1204 points, followed by Mohammed Hreiz, Sultan Al-Dorani, Fahd Falah, Abdullah Al-Mahri and Fuad Al-Mas respectively.

Abu Dhabi, September 3, 2009: The Men's and Women's Judo events will kick-start tonight, Thursday, at the 13th AFOC Open Sports Festival which is being held at the Armed Forces Officers Club (AFOC) under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Presidential Affairs. Forty high-ranked contestants at the Arab world level, including contestants from UAE, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Yemen, Somalia and other countries, will be fighting for the prizes at stake.
Invitations had been sent to a number of distinguished sports personalities to be guests at the two-day championship, which ends Friday night. This is happening at a time when other sports events, including the men's five-aside indoor football, the women's seven-aside outdoor football, shooting, PlayStation, professional bowling and fencing events have entred decisive stages gearing towards the end.
The preliminary round of the Men's Five-Aside Football event ends on Sunday for the 16th round of the event to take-off on Tuesday, September 8. Wednesday night clashes saw Bin Hilal suffering their second defeat in their Group (2) match against Istishaariyya, who beat them 2:0. The loss means Bin Hilal has very slim chance of qualifying to the next round of the championship. In the other clashes of the night Wadi Land whitewashed Aircraft Company 6:1 to join Istishaariyya in booking a place in the next round. Labour Village played a 2:2 draw with Border Security, while Karam Transport continue their winning spree by whipping Logistics forces (B) 4:1. Capital Police also routed FC Abu Dhabi 5:0 in the last clash of the night.
There will be five tough clashes Thursday night with the opening match of the night featuring a clash between Shangri-La and Rabea of Algeria at 9:30 pm. This will be followed by Al-Masi versus VT match, after which Air Force will take-on Fursan Al-Marfa before Bin Hilal clash against Wadi Land in the forth match of the night. The final match of the night will involve Istishaariyya against Aircraft Company in what is expected to be an Afro-Arab duel.
The women's seven-aside football event, which will entre the semi final round on Friday, featured some funny clashes on Wednesday night which was set alight with floodlight of goals. Al-Shabab Al-Arabi continued their splendid show of consistency when they beat Wadi Dajlah 2:0 in the first clash of the night. Soon afterward the floodgate opened with Bahrain whitewashing Majan of Oman 7:0 in a one-sided match, which was followed by another 7:0 whitewash of Abu Dhabi by the Emirates in the third clash of the night before Jordan also walloped the Australian University in Kuwait by the same score line.
The matches were officiated by Waleed Ali, assisted on the touchlines by Sultan Al Marzouqi and Zayed Dawood. Yahya and Abdullah Al-Jabri served as the forth referee, while Mrs. Amal Bu-Shallakh, Head of the Women's Football Committee, served as the match commissioner.

Abu Dhabi, September 1, 2009: Wednesday night is going to be a busy and thrilling one as the 13th AFOC Open Sports Festival moves into top gear with the kick-off of two interesting sports event, including Judo (men’s and women’s) and Fencing. This is in addition to some big clashes in the Men’s Five-Aside and Women’s Seven-Aside football events.
The women’s seven-aside football event opened Tuesday night with a modest opening ceremony attended by Lt. General (Rtd) Mohammed Hilal Surour Al-Ka'abi, AFOC Board Chairman and Chairman of the Higher Organising Committee, Representatives of the sponsors of the sports festival and a very large football fans.
It was a good start for the Emirates team as they walloped the Australian University in Kuwait team 5:0 in the opening game of the women’s seven-aside football event, which was played on the outdoor pitch at the Armed Forces Officers Club (AFOC), Jordan national team trounced Abu Dhabi 3:0 in the second clash, while Al Shabab Al-Arabi whitewashed Majan of Oman 7:0 in a one-sided game, in the forth and last clash of the night, Wadi Dajlah peeped Bahrain national team 3:2 in an action-packed match.
The next round of matches which will be played tomorrow, Thursday, will give a clue of the major contenders for qualification to the semi final stage. Thursday’s clashes will feature Abu Dhabi versus Australian University in Kuwait in the first clash of the night, to be followed by a match between the Emirates and Jordan, Al-Shabab Al-Arabi will clash with Bahrain and Wadi Dajlah will lock horns with Majan of Oman to bring the preliminary round of the event to an end and set the stage for the semi-final matches scheduled for Saturday.
The men’s five-aside football will also feature 5 strong clashes Thursday night. The first clash of the night will involve Sayyaad versus Amaliyaat, to be followed by Terjan versus Logistics Force (A). The third clash will bring West Life against Mukhaalifeen Wal Ajaanib, while Italia Design clash against Air Force in the forth game of the night, before Sicon clashes with DNRD for the last match of the night. In the five matches played Tuesday night, Ground Forces whipped Sicon 4:0, Italia Design defeated DNRD 2:0, Marchelago peeped Shangri-La 1:0, Air Force whitewashed Al-Masi 5:0, while VT also peeped Fursan Al-Marfa 2:1.

Bowling:

The third round of the Professional Bowling event witnessed tough competition among the major contenders in preparation for the final rounds of the event, which begins on Sunday. Eighty contesters are fighting for the ultimate prizes at stake with the major contenders being Hashim Ginmoul, Abed Omar, Naufal Gharib, Mohammed Sultan, Ahmed Al-Dar’e, Saeed Jamal Al-Amiri, Sultan Humaid, Waseem Khalid Al-Misri and Salim Al-Mamary.

Shooting:

The 25 metres air raffle (22.0 mm) shooting event has gathered momentum with all the 80 contestants in both the men’s and women’s events jockeying for a better position on the table. The five top contenders in the men’s event are Saeed Mohammed Rashid Al-Ka’abi, Ali Hassan Obaid Al-Dar’e, Salim Saeed Al-Miqbali, Mohammed Sultan Al-Bulushi and Abdullah Abdul Rahman Al-Aryani.

Visitors:

Meanwhile, Lt. General (Rtd) Mohammed Hilal Surour Al-Ka'abi, AFOC Board Chairman and Chairman of the Higher Organising Committee, received at the AFOC Tuesday night dignitaries, including Ibrahim Abdul Malik, Secretary General of General Authority for Youth and Sports, Abdullah Ibrahim, Board Chairman of UAE Sports Writers Committee and Abdul Mohsen Al-Dossari, Assistant Secretary General of the General Authority for Youth and Sports, Khalid Isa Al-Madfa, Assistant Secretary General, Adnan Hamad Al-Hammadi, Assistant Director of Sports Channels of the Arab Radio and TV (ART).
During the meeting which was held in the presence of Salah Al-Salloumi Al-Za’abi, Deputy Chairman of the Higher Organising Committee and Director of the AFOC Sports Festival and Khalid Al-Hammadi, Head of the Media Committee, they discussed sports issues of mutual interest. Al-Ka’abi took the visitors round to have first hand information about the activities in the various sections of the AFOC.
At the end of the visit, Al-Ka’abi presented to the visitors special souvenir of the 13th AFOC Open Sports Festival in appreciation of their visit.

Abu Dhabi, September 1, 2009: The 13th AFOC Open Sports Festival, which is being held here in Abu Dhabi at the Armed Forces Officers Club (AFOC), entres its 10th day today with a lot of events featuring on the bill including the Women’s Seven-Aside Outdoor Football, the Men’s Five-Aside Indoor Football, Professional Bowling, PlayStation and Shooting. Everything is now set for the kick-off of the Judo event on Thursday, while, boxing, which is making its debut at the sports festival, kicks-off on September 6, the Jiu-Jitsu event will also kick-start on September 9. Shooting is the last event of the festival to kick-start on September 12, the same day the PlayStation event is scheduled to end.

Football:

The Women’s Seven-Aside football continues Thursday night with four games on the bill. The first clash of the night features Al-Shabab Al-Arabi versus Wadi Dajlah. In the clash Bahrain will lock horns against Majan of Oman in a Group (B) match, Abu Dhabi will do battle against the Emirates in a Group (A) match, while the last clash of the night will feature Jordan versus the Australian University in Kuwait team.
In the Men’s Five-Aside football event, there will also be five clashes on the bill of Thursday night involving Group (2), (3) and (4). The bill of the night will open with a Bin Hilal versus Istishaariyya clash, while Wadi Land clash against Abu Dhabi Aircrafts in the second match of the night. Labour Village will face Border Security in the third clash, while Logistics Forces (B) clash against Karam Transport in the forth clash. The last match of the night will feature F.C Abu Dhabi versus Capital Police.
In the five clashes of Monday night, FC Abu Dhabi drew 3:3 against the Emirates, Terjan beat Amaliyaat 2:0, Logistics Forces (A) defeated Sayyaad 3:1, National Archives Centre humiliated West Life by whitewashing them 10:2, while Mukhalifeen Wa Ajaanib routed Judiciary Department 4:0.
Meanwhile, the technical committee of the championship Monday evening held an ordinary evaluation meeting to assess the progress of the championship. The meeting, which was presided over by Salah Al-Salloumi, Deputy Chairman of the Higher Organising Committee and other Higher Organising Committee members, was attended by representative of all the participating teams and the head of the men’s and women’s football committees.
Al-Salloumi, who conveyed to the gathering the greetings of Lt. General (Rtd) Mohammed Hilal Surour Al-Ka’abi, AFOC Board Chairman and Chairman of the Higher Organising Committee, welcomed the Australian University in Kuwait team, which is participating in the championship for the first time. He wished all members of the team a happy stay in the UAE and success in the championship. He said women’s football is enjoying a great deal of support in the country, thanks to the unstinting support from the Abu Dhabi Sports Council under the chairmanship of H.H. Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Advisor.

Fencing:

Everything is now set for the take-off of the fencing event on Thursday. According to the Fencing Committee, headed by Qasim Salim Al-Tahir, Member of the Higher Organising Committee, 83 contestants, representing 17 nationalities, will fight for the ultimate prizes at stake.
Fencing is making its second appearance in the history of the AFOC Open Sports Festival. Al-Tahir said 49 Emirati contestants are ready to make the country proud by contesting in the Youth Under 20 “Foil” and “Sabre” events as well as in the “Epee” open event.
The championship will open with the “Foil” and “Sabre” events. The “Epee” event will be held on Friday, while the closing ceremony for all the three events will be held on Saturday, September 5 at the AFOC auditorium.

Abu Dhabi, August 31, 2009: The men’s Five-Aside Indoor Football championship of the 13th AFOC Open Sports Festival kicked-off Sunday, August 30 at the indoor facility of the Armed Forces Officer’s Club (AFOC). Thirty teams from various parts of the UAE parading players of various nationalities, including UAE, Arab and foreign nationals, are participating in the event.
The modest opening ceremony was patronised by Air Commodore Faris Khalaf Al-Mazrue, Director General of the Critical National Infrastructure Authority (CNIA) and Saif Al-Hajri, Chief Executive of Tawazun Holding.
Six clashes featured on the opening day, including two clashes from each of Group (1), Group (2) and Group (3). In the opening match which kick-started at 9:30 pm, involving Group (2), Aircraft Company beat Bin Hilal 2:1 in a tough match, in which Yunus bin Jamil and Mohammed Fairus scored for the victor, while Mohammed Ahmed Ali scored the consolation goal for the losing team.
Abdul Rauf Omar and Yusuf Karimu scored in each half to give Air Force a sweet victory against their opponent, VT, in another action-packed match. In the third match of the night, Istishaariyya drew 1:1 with Wadi Land in a thriller in which both teams paraded some of the top football players. Sameh Saleh scored the opener for Istishaariyya but Majid Wali got the equaliser for his side few minutes later.
Fursan Al-Marfa also drew 2:2 against Al-Masi in the forth clash of the night with the goals coming from Mohammed Na'em and Mohammed Abubakar for the Fursan Al-Marfa and Khalid Mubarak scoring a brace for his side.
The surprise of the night came from Karam Transport who handed down a shocking 2:0 defeat to the highly tipped Border Security with goals coming from Waleed Samir and Mahmoud Yusri. The last clash of the night involving Logistics Forces (B) against Labour Village ended in a goalless draw.
Five matches featuring groups 1, 7 and 8 teams, will be played on Tuesday. Ground Forces will lock horns against Sicon in the opening match, while DNRD clash with Italia Design in the second. The third match will bring Marchelago against Shangri-La, while Al-Masi clash with Air Force in the forth match. The final clash of the night will involve VT against Fursan Al-Marfa.
Meanwhile, the Women's Seven-Aside Outdoor Football event will kick-off later in the evening of Tuesday and will last until September 13, the final day of the sports festival.
Eight teams are contesting for the ultimate title of this year's championship plus a total cash prize of AED265,000 from which the champion will pocket AED100,000 plus the trophy and Gold medal, the first runner-up will take home AED80,000 plus the Silver medal at stake, while the second runner-up will also pocket AED50,000 plus Bronze medal. The fourth-placed club will take home a consolation prize of AED30,000, while the Goal-king of the championship will take home a cash prize of AED5,000.
The eight teams have been divided into two groups. Group (A) has the Emirates team, Jordan national team, Abu Dhabi team and Australian University in Kuwait team, while Group (B) has Wadi Dajlah, Majan of Oman, Al-Shabab Al-Arabi and Bahrain national team.
The opening match will bring the Emirates face to face with the Australian University in Kuwait, while the second clash of the night will feature Jordan versus Abu Dhabi. The third match will feature Wadi Dajlah versus Bahrain, while the fourth and last match of the night will involve Al-Shabab Al-Arabi versus Majan of Oman.

2nd Raffle Draw:

The raffle draw for the second car at stake will be made Tuesday night on the fringe of the opening ceremony of the Women's Seven-Aside football event. The raffle draw for the first car was made on Sunday night by Al-Futtaim Motors, the Golden Sponsor of the sports festival.
Meanwhile, Lt. General (Rtd) Mohammed Hilal Surour Al-Ka'abi, AFOC Board Chairman and Chairman of the Higher Organising Committee, has received Sunday evening Dr. Ahmed Sa'ad Al-Shareef, Secretary General of the Dubai Sports Council and Mohammed Jowkar, Chief Editor of Al-Bayan newspaper and Deputy Board Chairman of both the UAE and Arab Gulf sports writers associations.
Al-Ka'abi took his guests round the various venues of the games, during which Dr. Al-Shareef inaugurated the shooting event at the refurbished Karakal Shooting Club. The guests were briefed extensively about the Karakal Shooting Club, the stages of its development and Karakal products.

UAE's national Karate team has been crowned champion of the Kata (group) championship which ended in the early hours of Friday, August 28. More than 100 international contestants, holders of the black belt, fought for the ultimate prizes at stake for the men's and women's single and group Kata and Komite events, which attracted a large crowd of Karate fans.
The UAE contestants show a good class during the event which is making its debut at the 13th AFOC Open Sports Festival, which is being held at the Armed Forces Officers Club (AFOC) under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Presidential Affairs.
Abdullah Issa and Hamad Al-Najjar led the UAE group team to the title, leaving the second and third spots for the Moroccan and Omani teams respectively, while in the men's single, Marwan Abdullah won Gold for the UAE, the Silver went to Egypt's Mustafa Ibrahim and Ahmed Salim Ba-Salib and Abdullah Issa of UAE jointly share the Bronze.
Morocco's Shadia Al-Rabe'e proved too much for her opponents to deservingly take home the Gold medal for the women's Kata event. The Silver went to Oman's Ibtihal Al-Bulushi, while Du'a Al-Sayyid of Egypt shared the Bronze with Alexandra.
It was almost a clean sweep for Morocco in the women's single Komite event, as Fatima Al-Zahara Al-Ashqar and Sakina Tahrawi won Gold and Silver respectively, while Oman's Ibtihal Al-Bulushi and Egypt's Du'a Al-Sayyid jointly shared the Bronze medal.
At the end of the thrilling night of fantastic Karate Mohammed Salim Al-Dhahiri, Director of the Abu Dhabi Educational Zone, flanked by Salah Al-Salloumi, Deputy Chairman of the Higher Organising Committee and Director of the AFOC Sports Festival and other members of the Higher Organising Committee decorated the winners with their medals and presented the cash prizes totaling AED130,000.

Al-Dhahiri:

In a comment after the championship, Al Dhahiri praised H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan for the unflinching support he continued to give to the annual AFOC sports festival. He also praised the Higher Organising Committee, led by Lt. General (Rtd) Mohammed Hilal Surour Al-Ka'abi, AFOC Board Chairman and all those who had contributed in making the championship a great success.
"We are happy to see all the various sports associations, which enjoy the support of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, under the Chairmanship of H.H. Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Advisor, teaming up to ensure the great success of this festival," he said, adding that the presence of the Abu Dhabi Education Council and the Abu Dhabi Educational Zone at the annual sports festival, through the participation of students and other personnel of the Council in the various events of the festival, is very important and heart warming. He wished all participants success in their endeavour.

PlayStation:

Four contestants from Group 4 of the Youth Under 16 PlayStation event have qualified to the 16th round which kicks-off on Saturday. The four who qualified are: Tawheed Mohammed Nasir Al-Sayyid, Saleh Salim Saleh, Mubarak Obaid Al-Dhahiri and Abdul Aziz Mohammed Hussein.
The Open PlayStation event will kick-off on Monday, August 30. Sixty four contestants will clash in that group for the ultimate prizes at stake.

Volleyball:

The women's Volleyball event will come to an end Saturday with two decisive matches. The first match of the night features Bin Thani against Al-Wasl, while the second clash features the two giants of the event, Arora versus the defending champion, Al-Jazeera. Winner of the latter clash is undoubtedly favoured to win the 2009 title.
The high profile Arora versus Al-Jazeera match is going to attract a large crowd of volleyball fans, including some distinguished guests invited to watch the game. A total cash prize of AED220,000 is up for grabs with the winning team taking home AED100,000 and the 1st and 2nd runners up pocketing AED70,000 and AED50,000 respectively.
Meanwhile, results of the Round 5 of the volleyball matches held on Thursday saw Bin Thani registering a 2:1 win against the Emirate Roofing Sheet Co. team, while Arora brushed aside Al-Wasl with a two-straight win despite the good show by Shaikha Shamsa bint Hasher Al-Maktoum, captain of the Al-Wasl team.

Football:

Preparations are complete for the kick-off of the men’s Five-Aside Indoor Football event on Sunday, August 30, when the first Group (2) match will be held at 9:30 pm between Aircraft Company and Bin Hilal, while the second clash will feature Istishariyya versus Wadi land at 10:00 pm.
Other matches of the night include Group (1) matches involving Air Force versus VT, while Fursan Al-Marfa will clash against Al-Masi at 11:00pm. The fifth match of the night will feature Border Security against Karam Transport and the final clash will feature Logistics Forces (B) against Labour Village.
A match will last a full time of 20 minutes (10 minutes per half) with a break of 5 minutes. Each group will play in an "all-paly-all" system with the first two on the top of the table qualifying to the 16th stage for the knockout system to begin until the final.

Women's Seven-Aside Football:

The women’s Seven-Aside Outdoor Football event will kick-off next week Tuesday with four clashes on the first night. The first match of the two groups of nine teams will feature the Emirates team versus the Australian University in Kuwait team at 9:30 pm at the AFOC outdoor football pitch. This will be followed by the second match involving Jordan national Team against Abu Dhabi team for the Group (A) matches, while the Group (B) matches of the night will involve Al-Raha Beach versus Al-Shabab Al-Arabi and the final match of the night will see Wadi Dajla locking horns with Bahrain National Team.

Wrestling:

The Amateur Wrestling event, which is being organised in collaboration with the UAE Wrestling, Judo and Jiu-Jitsu Association, ends on Saturday evening. The event features in eight (8) different weight classes, including 50kgs, 55kgs, 60kgs, 66kgs, 74kgs, 84kgs, 96kgs and 120kgs.

A total cash prize of AED80,000 is at stake. The first three in each weight class takes home a cash prize of AED5,000 for the first, AED3,000 for the second and AED2,000 for the third.

The 13th AFOC Open Sports Festival entred its 4th day since it officially opened on August 23 amidst spectacular fanfare. The festival, which is featuring 13 various sports events, is scheduled to end on September 13.

Tuesday evening was another day of great sporting activities at the Armed Forces Officers Club (AFOC) as the Chess event came to a successful end making it the second event to do so after Babyfoot. About 150 contestants of various nationalities fought for the prizes at stake.

Armenia's Simoniyan was crowned champion of the International Masters' event with 7 points to his credit after winning a ballot held by the organisers to determined the champion following a tie in points with Uri Droduski of Ukraine who ended up lying second with same point after a tie-break. Georgia's Zorab Strua was third with 6.5 points. The three took home the cash prizes at stake.

Unlike in the past when the first ten take home prizes for their achievement, only the first three received the cash prizes at stake this time. This made the final round of the event a tooth-and-nail fight which produces positive results for the first six on the table instead of the draw games usually seen during such circumstance.

The best performer at the event among the Arab contestant was Egypt's Basim Sameer, who ended with 5 points to place 10th on the table, while the "Best UAE Players" award in this category was shared jointly by Salim Abdul Rahman and Ibrahim Khoory according to the verdict of the organising committee.

The modest closing ceremony was attended by Major General Obaid Al-Khairy Salim Al-Kutbi, Deputy Commander General of Abu Dhabi Police, Salah Al-Salloumi, Deputy Chairman of the Higher Organising Committee and Director of the AFOC Open Sports Festival, Musabbah Hamad Al-Ka'abi, General Coordinator, Hussein Khoory, Member of the Higher Organising Committee and Chairman of the Chess Committee, members of other sub-committees and a large number of Chess fans.

Georgian dominance

Georgian contestants totally dominated the women's event as former World Champion, Maya Shevardnadze, won the title this year with 6 points, while two of her compatriots, Nino Jurriella and Nino Khoryatsa jointly shared the second spot with 5.5 points but had to be separated through a tie-break.

The best result for Arab contestants in this category came from Egypt's Mona Khalid, who placed 6th. Khulud Isa Al-Zarouni recorded the best UAE result in the event, while her sister, Aisha Al-Zarouni also recorded the best UAE result in the youth category.

Filipinos also dominated the Open Chess event as Robert Lowela of the Philippines national team topped the table with 8 points to be crowned champion, his compatriot, Ariliano shared the second spot jointly with UAE's Ahmed Khoory (Representing Etisalat) at 7.5 points.
The award for "The Best UAE Youth Result" went to Abdullah Al-Marzouki (member of Etisalat team).
At the end of the ceremony, Salah Al-Salloumi presented an AFOC Open Sports Festival souvenir to Major General Obaid Al-Khairi Al-Kutbi and the company sponsoring the event in appreciation of their contributions.

Volleyball

In the women's Volleyball event, Arora of Egypt recorded a two-straight win (25/17 and 25/11) against the Bin Thani team to prove it is a strong contender for this year's title. Arora, with its more experienced and taller players from the Czech Republic and some Arab countries, proved to be superior to their opponent. It took Arora only 35 minutes to brush aside their disorganised opponent in a match that was officiated by Mohammed Sultan and Saif Sultan with Ibtisam Abdullah as the Match Commissioner.

Defending champions, Al-Jazeera will lock horns tonight against the Bin Thani who will try to make for Wednesday's loss although that will be an uphill task. In the second match of the night, Al-Wasl will try to add another win to its credit when it clashes with Emirati Women's team following it easy win last Tuesday against the Emirates Roofing Sheet Co. The final match of the preliminary round will be played on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Bin Thani team has expressed happiness on its participation in the championship. In a statement soon after the loss against Arora, Amina Thani, said her team, which is making its debut at the AFOC Open Sports Festival, consists of many Emirati players. She said her outfit chose to participate in the championship due to its high standards as it has many foreign teams and players from Europe, Africa and the Arab world, including Egypt, Tunisia and Syria., adding that her team plans to participate with two separate teams in the Ramadan tournament of the Sharjah Women's Club soon after the end of the AFOC championship.
She praised the good organisation at the AFOC championship and tipped Arora to win this year's title because of the high quality of their play and players.

Tallest Players: Three players from the Arora volleyball team have stolen the show not only for their high skills and stamina but also for being the tallest in the championship. They are Gregore Olga (194cm), Farotna Lina (184cm) and Yana (182cm).

Bowling

The third round of the Youth Bowling event is in top gear for the top spot where UAE's Saeed Kamil Al-Amiri is comfortably sitting at present. Lebanon's Wael Al-Reef and Jordan's Faisal Abu Hajlah are stepping up their chase for the top spot of this event which has 41 contestants vying for the title. Standing for the first ten on the table is as follows:

Saeed Al-Ameri (784 points), Lebanon's Wael Al-Reef (783), Jordan's Faisal Abu Hajlah (779), Abdullah Marzouk (748), Mohammed Humur-Ain (729), Albasa Mark (702), Ali Mohammed Al-Buloushi (695) and Suhail Al-Tamimi (671)

Babyfoot:

Tony Aspire of the United States, who was crowned on Tuesday champion of the Babyfoot event, has expressed great happiness on his latest achievement.
Aspire, who is the runner-up to the world champion and ranks 2nd in the world, defeated his compatriot, Robert Asher in the final game to win the 13th AFOC Babyfoot Championship title.
He said although this was his first participation in the AFOC Sports Festival he can see from all indications that the championship is one of the most successful ones in the world technically and organisationally. He praised the organising committee for doing an excellent job, saying he believes the organisers have all it takes to host a World Babyfoot Championship. He also expressed satisfaction on the attendance regarding the contestants and the fans.

PlayStation:

Four contestants from Group 3 of the Youth Under 16 PlayStation event have qualified to the 16th round which kicks-off on Saturday. The four who qualified out of the 32 contestants are Abdul Rahman Al-Mamary, Nasir Al-Marzouki, Omar Al-Shakai and Abdul Rahman Al-Jenaibi.
The Open PlayStation event continues up to Monday, August 30.

Wrestling:

The Amateur Wrestling event, which is being organised in collaboration with the UAE Wrestling, Judo and Jiu-Jitsu Association, kick-starts Friday evening. Number of contestants is open for all participating teams on condition the contestant is not below 18 years of age. The event will feature in eight (8) different weight classes, including 50kgs, 55kgs, 60kgs, 66kgs, 74kgs, 84kgs, 96kgs and 120kgs.
Weighing of contestants will start 3 hours before the bout.
A total cash prize of AED80,000 is at stake. The first three in each weight class takes home a cash prize of AED5,000 for the first, AED3,000 for the second and AED2,000 for the third.

Football:

Preparations are complete for the kick-off of the football events, while the men’s Five-Aside Indoor Football event is scheduled to kick-off on Sunday, August 30, the women’s Seven-Aside Outdoor Football event will follow Saturday of the next week. Members of all the teams participating in the events are expected to complete their arrival into the country today.

Al-Kutbi:

Major General (Rtd) Obaid Al-Khairi Salim Al-Kutbi, Deputy Commander General of Abu Dhabi Police has commended the AFOC Higher Organising Committee for the successful organising of the Chess event. In a statement, Al-Kutbi, who was the patron of the Chess Championship, said the proactive participation of Emirati women in the championship reflects the high social awareness of the significance of women’s sports, whose foundation was laid by the Mother of the Nation, Her Highness Shaikha Fatima bint Mubarak.

Following a short but beautiful opening ceremony held at the Cinema Hall of the Armed Forces Officers Club (AFOC), the balloting of the men's and women's football events has been held successfully last Monday to feature the participating teams in groups before the events kick-start next week.

While the Five-Aside Men’s Indoor Football event is scheduled to kick-off next Sunday, August 30, following a successful balloting in which 32 teams from inside the UAE and abroad are involved. The Seven-Aside Women’s Football event will kick-off on Tuesday, September 1, on the AFOC football pitch, where eight teams will lock horns for the ultimate prize at stake.

Salah Al-Salloumi, Deputy Chairman of the Higher Organising Committee, inaugurated the ceremony, which was attended by a number of members of the organising committee, Musallam Ahmed Al-Bulushi, FIFA referee and Chief of the UAE Referees Committee and Dr. Adel Hilmi, a Technical Advisor.

In a keynote address, Al-Salloumi conveyed to the gathering greetings and well-wishes from Lt. General (Rtd) Mohammed Hilal Surour Al-Ka’abi, AFOC Board Chairman and Chairman of the Higher Organising Committee. He urged the contestants to make "fair play" their watch word. He also urged the organisers and the officiating team to handle the events with utmost transparency and neutrality.

Before the balloting, Al-Bulushi explained to the gathering the system of the balloting and rules and regulations of the events. He urged all to abide strictly by the rules of the game and to respect the time factor, which is vital to the success of the events.

The organising committee had rejected the application and registration of four teams from the men's football event and three from the women's event for missing the deadline. This reduced the total of the teams contesting in the men's event to 32 and in the women's event to 8.

The women's event, which is to be played in two groups, features UAE, Jordan, Abu Dhabi and the Australian University in Kuwait teams in Group A, while Al-Raha Beach, Wadi Dajlah, Al-Shabab Al-Arabi and Bahrain teams form the Group B. The women's event will kick-off on September 1 and end on September 7. The men's event, which will last from August 30 to September 13, the closing date of the festival, has eight groups of four teams per group. The groups are as follows:

Group (1): Air Force, Fursan Al-Marfa, Al-Masa, Abu Dhabi Institute (VT),
Group (2): Al-Istishariyya, Aircrafts Company, Bin Hilal Group and Wadi Land,
Group (3): Border Security, Logistics Forces, Global Village and Karam Transport.
Group (4): Capital Police, Emirates and FC Abu Dhabi.
Group (5): Amaliyaat, Logistics Forces (A), Sayyaad Properties and Terjan.
Group (6): Archives Centre, Mukhaalifeen Ajaanib, Judiciary Department and West Life.
Group (7): Ground Forces, DNRD and Italia Design
Group (8): Rabea of Algeria, Marchelago and Shangri-La,

Volleyball

It took defending champions, Al-Jazeera only 32 minutes to defeat Al-Wasl team in two straight sets (25/6), (25/11) on the first day of the volleyball event to sound a warning that the team is not ready to relinquish its hard won title. In a match officiated by international referees Ali Salim and Mohammed Al-Shamsi, Al-Jazeera exhibited their prowess and supremacy throughout the game, giving their opponent no chance to breath.
In a similar fashion, Arora of Egypt, led by Captain Tahani Thompson also beat Emirates Roofing Sheet Co. (25/8), (25/11) in the second clash officiated by Mohammed Al-Shamsi and Ali Salim.
Wednesday evening clashes will see Security (2) team locking horns with the Emirates Roofing Sheet Co., while the second clash will involve Al-Wasl against Arora.

Babyfoot

Tony Aspire of the United States defeated his compatriot, Robert Asher in the final game to be crowned champion of the Babyfoot event which ended late Tuesday evening.
Shaikha Shamsa bint Hasher Al-Maktoum crowned the champion of the event which was contested by 128 players of various nationalities, including big names in the international Babyfoot game. Jamal Allalou, a German national of Moroccan descent, placed third but the "Best Player" prize went to UAE's Rashid Al-Nasiri.
Soon after presenting the prizes to their respective winners during the prize giving ceremony, Shaikha Shamsa was also presented a souvenir of the championship by Major General Mustafa Al-Raesi, on behalf of Salah Salim Al-Salloumi, Deputy Chairman of the Higher Organising Committee of the championship, which was a great success in all aspects of the game.
Also present at the prize giving ceremony were Musabbah Hamad Al-Ka’abi, General Coordinator, Nasir Khamis Aamer, Representative of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Amal Hassan Bu-Shallakh, Head of the Women’s Football Committee and Khalid Al-Hammadi, Head of the Media Committee.
A group picture of the three winners of the event, Shaikha Shamsa and members of the organising committee climaxed the event.

Chess:

UAE's Grand Master, Salim Abdul Rahman, has been forced to withdraw from the championship by a sudden ill-health which struck him midway in the seventh round of the game. Abdul Rahman had to be whisked away to hospital where after thorough medical check-up the doctor advised him not to go back to the game. Abdul Rahman's withdrawal came at a time he was in a better position to be a major contender of the crown of the championship's title.
Meanwhile, the International Master's title chase is now limited to Ukraine's Droduski and Simonyan of Armenia. Both sit at the top of the table with six points apiece. Droduski achieved his feat by defeating Armenia's Zafin and Georgia's Zorab in the 7th and 8th rounds respectively after a draw game with Malcomiyan of Armenia in the 6th round, while Simoniyan achieved his feat through a win against Egypt's Basim Samir and two draws against Armenia's Malcomiyan and Shevchenko of Ukraine.
In the women's event, Georgia's Maya continued unabated her match towards retaining her title, sitting comfortably at the top spot with 5 points after adding a point and a half to her credit following a draw game against her compatriot, Khoryatsa and a win against Russia's Yulia Riganova. At second spot lie two other Georgian contestants Jurriella and Khoryatsa - with four points apiece. This follows Jurriella's draw game with Serbia's Monakova and Khoryatsa's draw against Maya.
Meanwhile, Renelson of the Philippines continue to increase the gap at the top of the Open Chess event, having defeated UAE's Abdullah Al-Marzouki and played two draw games against UAE's Ahmed Khoory and compatriot, Robert Ariliano, to take his total accumulated points to 7.
Khoory, who is representing the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat), the technical partner of Abu Dhabi Chess Association, is lying second jointly with Marcos Marvin and Robert Ariliano.

PlayStation:

Four contestants in the Youth Under 16 PlayStation event have qualified to the final stage of the event which ends on August 30. The four are Sultan Hassan Al-Hossani, Khalid Mohammed Abdullah, Obaid Mohammed Al-Karmastji and Abdullah Ali Saeed.

Distinguished Sponsor:

The representative of Emirates Advanced Investment, Distinguished Sponsor of the 13th AFOC Open Sports Festival, has said his company's future strategy and vision is to help promote sports, cultural and social activities in the country, adding that his outfit is committed to continuing with its sponsorship of the AFOC Open Sports Festival, being held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Presidential Affairs.
Major General (Rtd) Mustafa Al-Raesi, said the AFOC Open Sports Festival continues to grow in successes year after year. He attributed the great successes of the championship to the outstanding organisation and planning by the Higher Organising Committee headed by Lt. General (Rtd) Mohammed Hilal Surour Al-Ka’abi, AFOC Board Chairman, adding that the successes of the AFOC Open Sports Festival had further boosted the high reputation of the UAE worldwide.
He wished all contestants in the championship success and urged them all to use fair play as the vehicle to the crowning podium.

The 13th Open Sports Festival of the Armed Forces Officers Club (AFOC)

, opened in Abu Dhabi late Sunday evening. Minister of Public Works, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, inaugurated the annual Ramadan sports event following a spectacular opening ceremony, which was held in two segments - indoor and outdoor.

The colourful and sensational opening ceremony attracted a number of sheikhs, ministers, members of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, other senior officials, members of the diplomatic corps, heads of the various sports associations in the country and other dignitaries.

The about 40-minutes indoor ceremony, which was held in the AFOC auditorium, showcased a blend of heritage and modernity in the UAE. It also saw the unprecedented participation of Emirati sportswomen in various display of artistry to add some glamour to the ceremony, which came to crown the great efforts and to reflect the sound planning of the Higher Organising Committee, led by Lt. General (Rtd) Mohammed Hilal Surour Al-Ka'abi, who is also AFOC Board Chairman, and the various sub-committees.

The ceremony also highlighted the role of Her Highness Shaikha Fatima bint Mubarak (the Mother of the Nation) in empowering women and supporting them since 1973 through the establishment of the Abu Dhabi Women's Organisation and the UAE General Women's Union, which served as a vehicle for Emirati women to reach their current status of playing leadership roles in various sectors and areas of national development.

More than 3000 contestants, representing 55 nationalities, from within the UAE and abroad are participating in the annual sports festival which will last until September 13.

The Ceremony opened with the national anthem of the United Arab Emirates, followed by recitation from the Holy Quran, which was also followed by an address by AFOC Board Chairman and Chairman of the Higher Organising Committee, Lt. General (Rtd) Mohammed Hilal Surour Al-Ka'abi, who addressed the gathering via teleconference system.

In his address, Al-Ka'abi warmly welcomed the gathering to the 13th edition of the annual sports event. He outlined the achievements of the championship throughout its 13 years of existence, saying that those achievements had boosted the UAE's status and reputation worldwide and reflected positively on the country's civility.

"As we watch this great sports event which is coinciding with the holy month of Ramadan, we would like to seize the opportunity to offer our warmest greetings and congratulations to H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President and Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, his brother, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Their Highnesses Members of the Supreme Council, Rulers of the Emirates and the entire UAE people on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan," he stated in the address and prayed to God for more progress and prosperity for the UAE, its leadership and people.

He said the opening ceremony was in line with the directives of H.H. General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and in implementation of the strategy of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council led by H.H. Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Advisor, as well as under the patronage of H.H. sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Presidential Affairs, who, he added, continued to provide the championship with all the support it needs to grow bigger and better.

He noted that the unflinching support the championship continues to receive from the UAE leadership enabled it to become one of the most significant sports events in the region, having gone international by successfully attracting participants from various parts of the globe. "The championship has successfully transformed itself from the mere local tournament it used to be to a great championship, an international sports meeting which is attracting annually sportspersons, pundits and experts," he stated.

He acknowledged the significant role being played by national and international companies sponsoring the event and described their support as "the glowing point of the championship."

After the address, the dignitaries moved to the second segment of the ceremony which was held at the forecourt of the club where the Guest of Honour, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, torched the Olympic flame to formally declare the games open amidst big applause. This was followed by spectacular fireworks which illuminated the sky of Abu Dhabi in beautiful colours to signal the commencement of the annual sports festival.

Sheikh Hamdan was presented a souvenir in the form a beautiful painting by a renowned international Arabian horse artist in appreciation of his presence and contribution to the sports event.

Chess:

The chess championship, which kick-started in grand style, attracted large fans, including Sheikh Mohammed bin Ahmed Al-Hamed, who was received on arrival at the venue by Hussein Khoory, member of the Higher Organising Committee and Director of the championship.

Unlike in the previous years, this year’s championship has been divided into three groups, according to class and standards, due to the high standards of the participants. Contestants in the Masters’ category of the championship include 17 Grand Master title holders, 4 International Master title holders and 4 FIDE Master title holders. Participation in this championship is reserved for only contestants with minimum FIDE rating of above 2100 points. This is to keep standard very high at the championship which has attracted chess stars from the regional, Arab and international levels. Notable among the great names at the national and international chess fraternity contesting in the championship are Salim Abdul Rahman of the UAE, who is the Asian Youth Champion, Mohammed Al-Mudaihiki of Qatar, voted Arab Player of the Century, Basim Samir of Egypt, who has been crowned several times as African and Arab champion, and his compatriot, Esam Al-Jundi, former Arab and African Champion.

The opening matches saw four contestants jumping to the top spot with two points each. They are Malcomiyan and Simoniyan (both from Armenia), Ofishkin (Russia) and Zorab( Georgia).

The masters’ championship is being held according to the Swiss system of 9 rounds of 25 minutes for each player plus 10 seconds for each move.

The women’s chess event was a big thriller as 15 contestants slugged it out for the ultimate prize. Four of the 15 contestants are holders of Grand Master titles, while two are International Master title holders. Notable among the contestants are the world champion, Maya of Georgia, Mona Khalid, African and Arab Champion, Huda Al-Najjar, National Champion of Syria and Khuloud Al-Zar’ouni, UAE champion (women).

At the end of round two, Maya (Georgia), Yulia (Russia), Juriella (Georgia) and Monacova (Serbia) top the chart with two points each.

Etisalat team in early lead

Eighty one contestants are vying for honour in the championship, including major participation by UAE players, notable among them current national youth champion, Abdullah Al-Marzouki, who is leading team representing the National Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) in the championship. Other members of the Etisalat team are Abdullah Al-Ka’abi, Ahmed Khoory, Zayed Al-Hamed, Isa Mohammed, Majid and Saif Khalfan. Due to the large number of contestants, 19 contestants are currently sharing the top spot with two points each. The clashes continue today evening until Wednesday August 26.

Today’s programme

Balloting for the seven-aside football event (women) and five-aside football (men) will be held later in the evening of today at the AFOC Cinema Hall. Members of the Higher Organising Committee, as well as Amal Bu-Shallakh, Chairperson of the Women’s Football Committee, Nada Al-Harbi, member of the committee, Musallam Ahmed Darwish Chairman of the Five-Aside Football Committee, will be present at the balloting event.

So far teams participating in the women’s seven-aside football, having completed the registration procedures, are: the UAE teams, Abu Dhabi Sports Club, Bahrain, Majan team of Oman, Shaabat of Jordan, Al-Shabab Al-Arabi, Arora of Egypt (Egypt National Team players) and Australian University in Kuwait team.

The balloting in the football events will involve 32 teams representing various companies and institutions, including the UAE Armed Forces and Police, which will be parading their players, some of them UAE football stars, during the championship.

Meanwhile, other sports events, including PlayStation and Bowling continue at their various venues attracting and thrilling their fans. But while Volleyball will kick-off tonight, the Babyfoot event will wrap up later tonight.

H.H. Sheikh Mansour’s Statement
It’s a great pleasure to salute you all for gathering at this distinguished sports event – the 13th Armed Forces Officers Club Open Sports Festival. While I seize the opportunity to applaud the great status the championship had attained, I would also like to applaud the great organizational and technical standards, as well as the positive regional effect and influence it has achieved.

The annual open sports festival of the Armed Forces Officers Club (AFOC) offers us all a great opportunity to meet once again in the UAE to engage in one of the greatest sports events. The event also represents a certificate of achievement for all sincere efforts and innovative contributions which help lift the country to greater heights and make it proud on international podiums. The continuation of this sports festival underlines the commitment of the AFOC to continue to provide all factors of success for the sustainability of this event to reflect the nationalism pride AFOC has adopted since its establishment in 1997 with the aim of achieving excellence of international standards in the social, sporting, tourism and civil areas.

As we watch the launch of the 13th edition of the AFOC Open Sports Festival, which is being held annually during the holy month of Ramadan, the event brings us together to compete in fair play peace and love, while our great ambition pushes us to work harder for more successes which underscore UAE’s high standards and status at the international level. The successes also underscore the UAE’s great civil development under the wise leadership of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President and Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and their relentless commitment to supporting and caring for their people, particularly those in the youth and sports sector. This stems from their deep belief that the youth represent the backbone of the nation’s future.

As I closely follow developments in this event with keen interest, including the high media coverage and increasing number of participants from within the UAE and from abroad, participants of various nationalities and countries, I can confidently say the event has become a bridge for promoting cordial relations among the people of the world through the UAE, the country of love and peace. This competitive sports forum underscores once again that the Emirati youth, who represent the future of this nation, are capable of shouldering responsibilities and are capable of succeeding in various areas of development and progress for their nation.

The successful holding of the AFOC Open Sports festival for the 13th consecutive year, thanks to the support of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council under the chairmanship of His Highness Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE National Security Advisor, and the festival’s ability to expand across the national borders to include various countries of the world and to successfully put the UAE in a greater spotlight is a physical testimony that the event’s successive achievements did not come by chance. It is rather a solid proof of the natural outcome of the relentless efforts of the Armed Forces Officers Club and the good and sincere intentions of the Higher Organising Committee and all its subcommittees.

Let’s also commend the national companies and business establishments for their unflinching support and generous contributions to the continuous success of this festival and sports development in the country, in general. This supportive stance reflects the nationalism and patriotism stance of their officials, who are making significant contributions to the proper utilising of the energy and capabilities of our national youths, notwithstanding their great contributions to the successful preparation and organising of the festival to achieve its targeted objectives.

It is our right to be proud of a great sporting event like this one. On behalf of the UAE people and sportspersons, I welcome all our guests and participants in this annual sports event as they all participate in the various sports disciplines in great spirit and fair play in which the festival distinct itself from the first edition. To you all I say: Welcome our brothers, sisters and friends to your second home – the United Arab Emirates – I wish you all a happy stay and success. I would also like to remind our youth, as we always do during their participation in all activities and events, to live by good example to others in fair play and good conduct. We also wish this festival an unprecedented success through the discovery of new champions in various sports disciplines. We once again assure you of our unflinching support to ensure the success of the championship and the happiness of all the participants.

I’m pleased to congratulate the Higher Organising Committee for its relentless efforts and commitment to the great success of all the events it organises. This has positively given a good account of the UAE worldwide and has underscored the country’s ability to host regional and international sports events.

CAPTION: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Satement by Air Commodore Sheikh Ahmed bin Tahnoun bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Critical National Infrastructure Authority (CNIA)

The proactive participation of the Critical National Infrastructure Authority (CNIA) in the organizing of the AFOC Open Sports Festival is based on our deep belief in and commitment to encouraging the youth to invest their free time during the holy month of Ramadan in useful ventures which would benefit them and the country in general.

By its successful launch in this holy month of Ramadan, the 13th AFOC Open Sports Festival, which has attracted many top rank members of the various sports events, is going to witness high standards and tough competition which will uplift the standards of our local competitors and instill in them the principle of team work and fair competition. This is why we are proud to be part of this great event in the form of sponsor contributing our quota to further expand the scope of the event, which is now arguably the most popular and most successful Ramadan sports event by all standards and aspects, as it attracts contestants of all age groups and of various nationalities.

It is a great pride for us to be part of an event which is being held under the patronage and support of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. This pride is not based only on our proactive participation and our presence here at the venue of the historic event but also on our moral and material support to contribute to the greater success of the event, which is growing from success to greater success every year.

Finally, I say good luck to all the contestants and thank you to all sponsors and those who had contributed in one way or the other to the success of this great event.

CAPTION: Ahmed bin Tahnoun Al-Nahyan

Hamdan bin Mubarak

H.E. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al-Nahyan, Minister of Public Works, who is the Guest of Honour at the opening ceremony, has said that the AFOC Opens Sports Festival has added beautiful touches to sports in the UAE, adding that this has been going on for 13 years now.

He said the ability of the current edition of the championship to attract about 3000 contestants to fight for the ultimate prizes at stake in 13 sports events is a clear evidence of the great success of the annual sports festival.

He, once again, praised H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces for his unstinting support. He also commended H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan for patronising and sponsoring the annual championship.

CAPTION: Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al-Nahyan