Rallying legend calls for team effort to create more UAE champions and involve more young Emiratis in country’s sports event infrastructure
"Success in sport builds national pride, and he called for a major team effort to create more UAE champions and involve more young Emiratis in the country’s sports event infrastructure" – Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the Automobile and Touring Club for the UAE, speaking at the UAE National Identity Conference.
UAE rallying legend Mohammed Ben Sulayem said today that sport can play an important role in helping to protect and preserve the national identity of Emiratis.
Speaking on the second day of the ‘United Arab Emirates National Identity Conference’ in Abu Dhabi, the 14 times Middle East rally champion said success in sport builds national pride, and he called for a major team effort to create more UAE champions and involve more young Emiratis in the country’s sports event infrastructure.
Sulayem, President of the Automobile and Touring Club for the UAE, told the conference: "When a UAE driver wins a rally; when our football team wins the Gulf Cup; when an Emirati wins a gold medal for shooting at the Olympics; we inspire our young.
"We make them proud to be Emiratis, proud of their national identity, eager to embrace it, to aim for success in sport themselves and to become tomorrow’s champions.
"When Ismael Matar scored the goal to give the UAE the Gulf Cup for the first time last year, there was an outpouring of joy and pride throughout the Emirates.
"I believe sport can play an important part in making sure that our national identity is carried forward by future generations of young Emiratis."
During today’s opening session of the conference at the Emirates Palace, Sulayem shared the floor with UAE Football Association chairman H.E. Mohammed Khalfan Al Rumaithi, Ibrahim Abdulmalik, Secretary General of the General Authority of Youth and Sport, and UAE sportswoman Shamma Al Muhairi
"We can never do too much to encourage the youth of the UAE in sport, said Sulayem.
"Sport has helped put the UAE on the map. Sport is big business. It has as a huge global audience, and there’s no better example of this than Formula 1.
"When Abu Dhabi stages its F1 Grand Prix next year this is a fantastic sporting occasion for the whole of the UAE. We have a great opportunity to show the rest of the world what the UAE is all about, an opportunity to make this an event like no other F1 race.
"I’m on the advisory board for the event, and I’d like to see the Ministry of Culture work with us to build a special programme around the race to promote our national identity and culture, and to involve young Emiratis in the planning, preparation and execution of the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix.
"This will give them a chance to make their event, and their country, stand out, to make us all proud. And I’d like to see this idea being repeated through other major sporting events that we stage in the UAE."
Added Sulayem: "As a sportsman, if I could have one wish granted for the UAE, it would be for the creation of a national centre of sporting excellence, a place which would bring out the best in our best young sports men and women.
"It would help them achieve their full potential in the sporting arena, educate them to influence and inspire other young Emiratis, and create an environment built on and embracing our national identity."
Sulayem continued: "In sport, we can do so much to protect our national identity. It is in our own hands. We are a mirror for our national identity. How we behave when we win, when we lose; how we celebrate; how we take defeat, says a lot about us as Emiratis.
"I have a son who shares my passion for cars. He never wanted to be a rally driver. If he had I would have supported him. I would have used my experience to guide him, not just teach him how to drive, but how to conduct himself as an Emirati representing his country.
"When I was young my father taught me how to behave, when I visited the Rulers office and attended official events. He made me aware of our national identity, our history, culture, our heritage. I’ve tried to have the same influence on my sons. I believe all Emirati parents have a responsibility to educate their children about the importance of preserving our national identity. Discipline begins at home. Education begins at home. Respect is learnt at home."
The two-day conference has brought together leaders and decision makers from many other fields, and Sulayem said: "If our champions, our experts, our specialists in all areas come together, as they have here, and we combine their skills and their experience, we can do powerful work to protect our national identity.
"We’re building a new team here this week. This is just the beginning as the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Community Development plans an ongoing programme of events and activities. We have the resources, we have the will, and we have the ingenuity."
Added Sulayem: "I won more than 60 international rallies, and I won them as UAE driver. I dedicate every success I enjoyed to the UAE, because the UAE gave me the chance to achieve what I achieved. I want every Emirati parent, and every young Emirati son or daughter, to be proud of their heritage, their culture, their country and their national identity. We have a lot of work to do. But we’re committed, and by working as a team we can achieve great results."
- Tony Lewis, Total Communications Dubai - also photo
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