24 March 2016

NEW WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL GOLF TOURNAMENT ‘FATIMA BINT MUBARAK LADIES OPEN’ TEES OFF IN ABU DHABI

FATIMA BINT MUBARAK LADIES SPORTS ACADEMY AND ABU DHABI SPORTS COUNCIL STRIKE 3-YEAR PARTNERSHIP WITH LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR

• Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open (FBMLO) will be the first annual women’s professional golf tournament to be staged in Abu Dhabi

• Tournament to be organised by Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy (FBMA), in cooperation with Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC)

• Tournament to be hosted at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club (SBGC) from 2 - 5 November 2016

Abu Dhabi, UAE – 23 March 2016:Some of the world’s best women professional golfers will come to Abu Dhabi in November 2016 to compete in the newly announced FBMLO.The event will be hosted at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club from Wednesday 2 to Saturday 5 November and is the first time the Ladies European Tour (LET) has visited Abu Dhabi.

The tournament, with a prize fund of AED 2,021,250 (US$550,000), will be organised by the FBMA and supported by ADSC. It will take up a key position in the LET schedule as one of its season-ending events.

Dr. Mai Al Jaber, Board Member, FBMA said, “Hosting this new golf event is part of our commitment to encourage Emirati Women to participate in all aspects of sports through sport education, training and competition. Alongside the world’s leading professionals playing a tournament, a full schedule of community engagement activities will make this one of the most unique golf events in the UAE calendar.”

The new event is being held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak – President of the General Women’s Union, Chief Executive Officer of the Family Development Foundation and President of the Higher Council for Motherhood and Childhood.

His Excellency Aref Al Awani, General Secretary, ADSC said, “I’d like to thank Her Highness, FBMA and the LET for their commitment to bring top-flight ladies professional golf to Abu Dhabi. The UAE leads the way in the advancement of the crucial role that women play in our society and this event will be a celebration of that. We support their collaborative vision of promoting the women’s game and developing future generationsof UAE sporting superstars. We can’t wait to bring another world-class event to Abu Dhabi.”

LET events are marketed as ‘More than just golf’ and the stars of the Tour working extremely closely with amateurs, media, spectators and local communities to ensure that the event has genuine impact. The event will occupy a very different position in the UAE golf calendar by adding a touch of style and unique public appeal.

Ivan Khodabakhsh, CEO, LET, commented: “We’re thrilled to be coming to Abu Dhabi in 2016. Abu Dhabi’s world-class portfolio of sporting events made it an obvious destination to bring something a little different, in the shape of our Ladies European Tour product.We can assure our stakeholders that the tournament will showcase the venue and destination to a worldwide audience, whilst we’re equally excited by all the important social and cause-related activities we can support in partnership with FBMA.”

A field of 126 professionals will compete over the stunning Gary Player-designed oceanfront course at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, as the very best female golfers battle it out to stake their claim for the season-long Order of Merit title.

On behalf of the players, rising LET star, Caroline Martens, commented: “We’ve been wanting to play a tournament in Abu Dhabi for some time. The golf course will be one of the best we play all season and I know my fellow professionals will love the experience offered to all visitors. We already take the advantage of visiting Abu Dhabi whenever we can for the perfect climate and training facilities, now to have a tournament title to play for as well is so exciting and I can’t wait for November.”