DUBAI: The future of Olympic movement in the post-coronavirus era webinar held remotely by the National Olympic Committee a couple of days ago concluded to 31 recommendations from 15 speakers who enriched the event with their immense experience and deep knowledge.

Recommendations called for Embracing the International Olympic Committee’s campaign logo #StrongerTogether in the UAE sport to shun the intolerance, endeavouring to bring international sports achievements, and commissioning sports research, especially relating to studies about sports data, a key driver of sports development.

The webinar called for working together to restructure the sports structures in the UAE in an integrated manner that spans all sports entities in the UAE, developing a uniform law and strategy governing the national sports movement, and recognising that sports is a soft future power that warrants stronger

diplomacy at the national or international levels.

Speakers called for promoting social sports by focusing on no more than 7 Olympic sports to make Olympic achievements for the nation, designing a strong legislative structure for the national sports movement through grooming experts in the field of sports legislation, and setting up a central committee for national sports legislation besides adopting several legislative accelerators for the national sports movement.

The webinar called for supporting elite athletes of the UAE Paralympic Committee to bring Paralympic sports achievements for the UAE. It called for supporting the goal of the UAE Football Federation to increase the base of footballers in the nation in line with the population of the country through making concerted efforts to develop innovative means for improving the UAE sports environment. It also called for professional thinking in the sports practice since childhood, whether through institutions or parents, to improve the calibre of athletes in the United Arab Emirates.

The National Anti-Doping Committee called for improving the UAE antidoping practise by raising awareness and education in sports doping through workshops and training courses, especially for national staffs and athletes. It also called for developing a vision and an integrated system for the UAE sports based on legislative and organizational flexibility through an educated team; which is keen on bringing about a sports change to achieve sports sustainability in general, especially in doping practices.

Speakers stressed the importance of the NOCs as supreme authorities in the technical aspects of sporting practice in various countries, and the importance of governance in developing sports laws and enhancing the integration between sports authorities in the UAE.

They also called for undertaking the Olympic Champion as a national project through the enhanced integration between the NOC, General Authority for Sports and Sports Councils, and mustering efforts to groom the UAE athletes as leaders, which means a good investment in athletes. The webinar called for charting out a national plan for empowering Emiratis to take positions in international sports bodies in general and the International Olympic Committee in particular.

The webinar stressed the importance of the initiative of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, regarding a national sports sciences academy to groom national sports cadres in the UAE. It called for benefiting from digital and virtual platforms in the sports practice and training, and the UAE’s resources in artificial intelligence and IT in developing the national sports practice.

Speakers called for developing programmes that achieve sustainability in sports practice, such as sports arbitration and sports training, and highlighted the initiative of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (Mother of the UAE) regarding the promotion of women’s sport and the grooming of women in the UAE.

Recommendations also called for using IT and digital platforms in sports arbitration and fostering the culture of arbitration through holding remote arbitration sessions to settle sporting disputes. They also highlighted the importance of specialist championships for Sports Excellence to enhance the sports practice and preserve the practising sports UAE police champions.