In line with the vision to keep inspiring the Nation’s women and girls towards excellence in sports and with a view to further develop local Emirati talent in the sports sector, the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy (FBMA) has launched yesterday its “FBMA Elite Athletes Program for professional athletes”. 

                     

The program aims to bring together female elite athletes from across the country and allow them to take stock of the challenges they have faced to-date and the benefits and opportunities that arise from choosing to lead an athlete’s life, as well as assess their needs for further personal growth in the future.

 

Held under the generous patronage of H.H. Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union (GWU), Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (FDF) and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood; and H.H. Sheikha Fatima Bint Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy (FBMA), and Chairwoman of the Abu Dhabi Ladies Club, the FBMA Elite Athletes Program aims to deliver a world-class educational curriculum that will nurture and further develop the elite Emirati athletes of tomorrow.

Held in partnership with HIBOU Alliance and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC), the program will run on the Higher Colleges of Technology AD campus over the course of four weeks between 8-30 May 2016, and will be delivered by highly-esteemed academics and sports professionals of international caliber, who will arrive to Abu Dhabi to share their valuable knowledge and experience with the nation’s elite athletes as they continue to support the UAE women sports movement. The curriculum is built around four thematic modules - each taught over one week - that cover a number of critical areas for athletes’ development, including sports psychology and sociology. The modules have been specifically designed to meet the needs of Emirati female elite athletes.

 

The initiative has been welcome with excitement from sports federations and sports clubs nationwide that have responded to FBMA’s invitation by encouraging athletes to participate in the program and benefit from this unique learning opportunity. In addition to the highly-esteemed academics instructing throughout the program, the Academy has engaged Mr. Antoine de Navacelle, descendant of the father of the modern Olympic Games, Pierre de Coubertin, as well as U.S.A. Olympians, Monica Hargrove (track & field) and SoolmazAboo Ali (karate) to speak and share with participants their valuable insights on sports at the elite level.

“As the Academy is expanding its educational activities, we are very proud to see that our efforts are so positively received by all stakeholders involved in strengthening women sports in the UAE. The FBMA Elite Athletes Program is testament to the heartfelt commitment of our leadership to providing equal opportunities to women and girls, and we are very confident that participants will benefit greatly from such world class insights into the fundamental principles of sport from a pedagogic and a psychosocial perspective", stated Ms. Mariam Al Mansoori​ , from FBMA.