Sharjah Women’s Sport Foundation (SWSF) has gained valuable insights into the British world of sporting activities following a fact-finding trip it has undertaken to the UK. A delegation from the organisation led by HE Nada Askar Al Naqbi, Director-General of SWSF, travelled to London recently to find out more about the British experience and to discuss ways of mutual cooperation in the realm of women’s sports.

The visit, which comes as part of SWSF’s efforts to strengthen the status of women's sports in the UAE, saw the delegation visit the UK Sports and its affiliates, ‘SportAid’ and ‘Sport England’ facilities, as well as the UAE Embassy in London and the World Travel Market that was underway in the capital.

During its visit to SportAid, the sports foundation dedicated to helping young athletes who suffer from lack of funds that prevents them from participating in international and Olympic championships, the SWSF delegation was briefed on the British institution’s pioneering and quality experience. Tim Lawler, SportAid Chief Executive and Laura Eddie, SportAid National Awards Manager, spoke about their foundation and highlighted the joint professional ties between SportAid and SWSF.

During the visit, the delegation was also briefed about the experience of UK Sport by Robert Morini, Head of International Developments at the government organisation that includes under its umbrella SportAid and Sport England. Andrew Lewis, Head of Public Affairs, Sport England, also spoke about his role. In reciprocation, the SWSF representatives highlighted their desire to exchange expertise and experiences and to establish a framework for future cooperation for the launching of training programmes and special workshops for young athletes.

The delegation discussed the ground rules of a number of sports initiatives, particularly the ‘This Girl Can’ questionnaire that is part of a campaign launched by Sport England and which has helped narrow the gap between men and women’s exercise patterns. A motivational video was shown that highlighted the negative effects of neglecting exercise, with the campaign results showing that women who watched the video successfully change their lifestyles by intensifying their physical activities.

HE Nada Askar Al Naqbi, Director General of SWSF, stressed her desire to nurture a strong relationship between the foundation and the UK’s most prestigious sporting bodies, which are making significant efforts to take care of athletes. Al Naqbi also pointed out that the cooperation between SWSF and these UK bodies is aimed at sharing experiences, thus contributing to enhancing the reality of women's sports in the UAE.

"Our visit to these prestigious sporting bodies reflects the relationship between SWSF and important sports authorities in the UK. The trip to these facilities is a testament to SWSF’s keenness to make every possible effort to pave the way for UAE female athletes to achieve their ambitions, to help them compete at the highest level and to enable them to win titles," said Al Naqbi.

“The ‘This Girl Can’ initiative is a pioneering experience in its content and aims to enhance the status of women's sports. It draws attention to the need for exercising for a healthy lifestyle. Sport is an effective factor for women's physical and mental health and this is what we seek to enhance. As an organisation we are committed to encouraging girls and women in the UAE to participate in sports,” she added.

During their excursion to London the SWSF delegation also took time to visit the UAE embassy there. The delegation members thanked the embassy’s diplomatic staff for facilitating all the necessary procedures for their trip. The members also provided an explanation about the vision and mission of SWSF and discussed the basic points related to the Arab Women Sports Tournament (AWST) and the various women’s sporting activities carried out by the Sharjah-based foundation.

The delegation was received by Khalfan Al Matrooshi, Head of Economy Department and HE Rouda Al Otaiba, Charge d’affaires.

On the sidelines of the visit, the SWSF delegation participated in the World Travel Market (WTM) 2017 in London, the world’s largest travel and tourism fair. Its attendance was under the umbrella of the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority as representatives of the sports tourism industry in Sharjah.