In continuing Sharjah’s efforts to advance women’s sports in the UAE, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of Sharjah Women’s Sports Foundation (SWSF) has offered a directive to add indoor football to the list of offerings at the Sharjah Sports Club for Women that operates under SWSF.

Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi recommended that all necessary measures and means should be put in place to ensure the successful launch of the sport. Administrative and technical bodies will be formed to take up responsibility of supervising and coaching football teams representing the club in local, regional and international indoor football tournaments.

The new initiative was approved at a meeting attended by Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi; HE Nada Al Naqbi, Director General of SWSF; and Marima Youssef Al Hosani, SWSF’s Deputy Director.

Her Highness approved the inclusion of indoor football within the Sharjah Sports Club for Women’s activities after having reviewed a comprehensive study of the feasibility of games held as part of the club’s activities and its impact on players’ physical and professional development, the building of athletic talents and sporting skills as well as mental health in accordance with Emirati traditions.

HH Sheikha Jawaher has also underlined the need to take into account representation of female players from different age groups to design a training and mentoring framework to be inclusive and specialised enough to form a new women’s indoor football team.

On behalf of SWSF’s staff, HE Nada Al Naqbi extended her deepest gratitude to Sheikha Jawaher for her unfailing support to women’s sports, underlining that this new initiative promotes SWSF’s efforts to provide best-in-class sports training to women by giving them opportunities to practice athletic activities within the nation’s regulatory framework.

She underlined: “The main goal of introducing new games is to meet the needs of players and encourage them to practice sports, besides forming a cohort of skilled and outstanding players to join national teams and represent the UAE in international sporting forums.”

The SWSF’s strategic plan includes effective mechanisms to gradually develop and expand the scope of practicing sports at the Sharjah Sports Club for Women and its branches in a manner that meets the needs of girls and women, and allows them to develop their athletic talents and capabilities in both individual and group categories. The club aims to create a stimulating environment that contributes to promoting women’s sports and allows women pursuing sports access to a world-class infrastructure and coaching, as well as exposure at local, regional and global competitions.

SWSF was established in 2016 under an Emiri decree by His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah. Chaired by wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, SWSF aims to empower national athletic women, nurture a highly qualified generation of women leaders in sports and entrench a sporting culture. It also aims to raise community awareness about the importance of sports and promoting women’s sports by providing a female-friendly environment.

Operating under SWSF, Sharjah Sports Club for Women (SSCW) was established in 2018 upon an Emiri decree by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qasimi. The club aims to serve the sports sector, develop women in sports, and nurture a qualified generation of women leaders and professional players who can represent the UAE in regional and global competitions.

The SSCW seeks to establish modern and integrated frameworks to develop administrative sports systems, in collaboration with competent bodies and international sports organisations. It also aims to establish a sporting culture and promote community awareness about the importance of sports, strengthen the emirate’s stature in women’s sports locally and internationally, and contribute to developing sports-related legislation and rules.

The SSCW encourages initiatives that aim to develop athletic games in the UAE, and Sharjah in particular, as well as to establish relations with various sports clubs and institutions.