(WAM) — Under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Honorary President of the UAE Football Association, the draws for the UAE President’s Cup and UAE Football Association’s awards ceremony for the 2018-2019 season will take place on 3rd September at 18:30, in the Al Ras Hall of the Intercontinental Festival City Dubai Hotel.

Marwan bin Gheleita, President of the UAE Football Association, praised the support of the country’s leadership for local sports, especially football, stressing that this support is a major reason for the success of Emirati sports and has made the country a capital of international sports, through its hosting of many international sporting events.

He also thanked Sheikh Hazza for supporting the event and praised his directives.

Al Ain Jujitsu Team sits in the second place by the end of the first round of the Vice President’s Cup Championship at the Sharjah Sport Club on Saturday 14th September 2019. Al Ain team achieved a total of 287 points after taking 5 gold and 3 silver and 5 bronze

More than 150 athletes representing 13 clubs from across the UAE took to the mats, cheered on by a passionate crowd, who were treated impressive technical ability from the athletes eager to get their season off to a fast season.

The first round of the Vice President’s Cup was featured by the high enthusiasm and excitement. This reflected the great technical level of the tournament at all levels.

Noteworthy, Al Ain stars were the champions the previous version of Vice President’s Cup, which was the first championship.

Mustafa Al Ka’abi, the Manager of the Al Ain First Handball Team, hailed the players’ discipline, commitment, and seriousness during the training sessions of the preseason away camp being held currently at the Hammamat City in Tunisia.

The away camp is being held in Tunisia in preparation for the competitions of the General Handball League which is scheduled to start on 10th September 2019.

He said: “I do praise the efforts of the players and their great cooperation they have shown during the recent period to achieve all the desired goals of the camp. Also, not to forget efforts exerted by the coaching team and the medical staff to ensure that the players are fully ready and fit for the coming season through holding friendly matches and training sessions.”

“We were so keen to ensure that the team is fully ready for the new season by playing three or four friendly matches during the program of the camp and the quality of training sessions. The Tunisian head coach Mohammed Abu Ghazaleh has been so dedicated to playing friendly games against technically advanced teams to ensure gaining the desired advantages of these matches and to identify the strengths of the team to improve them further and weaknesses ones to handle them,” Al Ka’abi stated

The Manager of the team concluded his statement by saying: “The team will go on with their training sessions in Hammamat City in Tunisia per the program set by coaching staff. The team is scheduled to head back to Dubai on Friday 6th September to kick off their home preparations for the first match in the new season against Al Jazira Handball Team in the General Handball League.”

Greece head coach of Al Ain First Volleyball Team, Jannis Kalmazidis, hailed the performance of the team players in their preseason away camp kicked off on 22nd August 2019 and ends by 4th September.

Noteworthy, the team will start the new season by playing the Super Cup match scheduled to be against Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Team on 13th September 2019 at the indoor court of Bani Yas Club.

The newly-appointed head coach stated: “We are progressing at a good and firm pace in the current camp. Indeed, there are great advantages we are gaining in this important phase, on top is the team players are all together in one place. This gives the coaching team the appropriate time to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the team and the players’ reactions and performance during the matches and training sessions.”

As for the friendly matches that the team has played as part of the current away camp activities, he commented: “At this stage of preseason preparations, results of the friendly matches are not of great importance to me. What I do care for is to improve the performance and skills of the team, and to handle any problems or challenges that the team may face.”

“All that I focus on right now is to allow the 15 players to play, to monitor their performance, to get a thorough idea about their capacities and reactions in the court and how they collaborate as one team,” he said.

He added: “My vision is to build a strong team for the future who will eventually clinch titles and be on coronation podiums. It is a known fact that it is difficult to find a fully ready team during the training camps, and this applies to all teams, indeed.”

Responding to a question on the team’s readiness and fitness for the upcoming Super Cup match against Shabab Al Ahli Dubai, the head coach stated: “It is difficult for us to determine the percentage of the team’s readiness at the moment, but I can say they are ready by 60% or 70%. Although we have a quality team and outstanding and skillful stars, we are not fully ready and need more time.”

He also put an accent on the fact that patience is a keyword in the world of sports. “We have to be patient because of the golden rule in the sports world stipulates that you have to act quickly and be patient to achieve future goals.

“We hope that the team will perform well and honorably, but we must address some of the challenges, including allocating players in the right positions and cover the gaps we have in the current squad,” he said.

Responding to a question on whether he is familiar with the UAE Volleyball League and Al Ain Club, he said: “I know that Al Ain is a big club where all sights are set to win titles and be the champ all the time. This magnificent history motivates all of us to exert double efforts at all levels including the players, coaching team, or administrative staff to win all championships and put firm hands on new titles.

He went on to say: “No one can promise to win all the tournaments, but I promise everyone to exert more effort and focus on winning all the matches through hard work and high concentration. I do hope the team will be able to achieve all the aspirations and successes they desire to realize.”

“It is my dream when coaching any team is to build a team whose aspirations are not limited to win titles, but to keep going and develop the players’ performance and skills which are very important for the future of the team. The team must have a future that will lead us to achieve the goals we seek. I know how important it is to win trophies and titles for Al Ain Club, but what I am focusing on now is building a great team for the future and then we can win trophies,” he stated.

He commented: “I have heard a lot about Al Ain Club through friends and professional and there were previous negotiations to sign to be the head coach, but it was difficult for me at that time due to inevitable circumstances it. Al Ain club is known for its distinguished history and significant achievements, and I hope that my presence with the team will be of an added value.”
Coach Jannis signed off: “I do not fear challenges no matter what, and I will work to help the team achieve the best results. I am so eager to work with such brilliant stars and highly motivated to achieve the Club’s desired goals.”

Al Ain Sports and Cultural Club organized a special celebration on the occasion of the Emirati Women’s Day in cooperation with the General Administration of Customs and Saadiyat Villas- Rotana Resort Abu Dhabi. The ceremony was attended by all female members of the Club and the General Administration of Customs.

The event agenda included diverse and joyful celebrations where elegant bouquets of flowers were distributed to all participants. The agenda also comprised several exceptional initiatives, including paying a visit to the Louvre Museum located in our beloved capital, Abu Dhabi.

Mohamed Abu Ghazaleh, the head coach of Al Ain First Handball Team, hailed the distinctive and fantastic atmosphere that dominates the team’s preseason away camp held in Hammamat City in Tunisia.

He stated: “All is going well at the away camp which was kicked off on 22nd August and would last until 6th September. The camp is held in preparation for the General Handball League when the team will meet Al Jazira on 10th September.”

He added: “I believe that this camp will pay off as the team is scheduled to play three friendly matches that serve the best interest of the team and the pre-set tactical and physical plans by the coaching team. We achieved far-reaching harmony between the players and the coaching team and the administrative staff.”

On the team’s first friendly match, in the camp, Abu Ghazaleh said: “It was a good game against one of the best teams in Tunisia. We gave all the players the chance to play to assess their fitness. Indeed, we did not pay attention to the result as much as we are focusing on creating harmony and the sense of enthusiasm among the players.

Abu Ghazaleh stressed that the team would have morning and evening training sessions with the participation of all the squad players who are highly committed to the plans.

H.E. Abdullah Jumaa Al Darmaki, Vice Chairman of Al Ain Sports Games Club, emphasized that the team’s preseason camp being organized this season is different from other previous ones. He stated: “The arrangements for this season is different due to the addition of the Super Cup Tournament and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council Preseason Tournament scheduled to be held next November. These changes led us to adjust the duration of the away preseason camp to match the new dates.”

Al Darmaki added: “The plan of the current season has two phases. The first phase kicked off with the home preseason camp, and the second one is the away camp. The first phase started on 1st August and lasted for three weeks. The two-week second phase has been kicked off in Poland and is dedicated to preparing the team for the coming new season which starts on 13th September by the Super Cup match. The team will play their first match in the Vice President’s Cup, and then they are scheduled to participate in the preseason tournament hosted by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council where five teams from Abu Dhabi along with other three continental teams will take part in. Then, the team will kick off the third stage by playing in the General Volleyball League and the President’s Cup.”

Al Darmaki commented on signing the new head coach of the team by saying that the tea had a great and the team was able to win all the titles following playing in all the final matches of the past season. “Despite being qualified to all the final matches, we just won the league only. The achievement did not meet our aspirations, and this is why we decided to bring a new head coach on board and bring new blood to the team to achieve the aspirations of the loyal Ainawi fans.”

As for the criteria adopted to sign with Greece Iwan to assume his responsibilities as the head coach of the team, he said: “Iwan had been on the radar of Al Ain Club in the past two years, but we were not lucky enough to sign him being one of the club’s options. However, joining an Arab league in the previous period gave him an added value as he is accustomed to the Arab mentality and gained good knowledge about the nature of the Arab player. This makes it easy for him to assume his responsibilities as a head coach. It is not easy to be in charge of a non-professional team who enjoy a different mentality compared to professional players in terms of training, tactics, and way of thinking.

He signed off: “We need a very patient head coach who enjoys the qualities of long-winded policy and a significant charism to lead the team and clinch more titles.”

H.E. Saleh Al Shouaili, Board Member of Al Ain Sports Games Company and Supervisor of the Handball Sector, praised the high spirit that prevails preseason away camp currently held in the Hammamat City in Tunis, which will last until 6th September 2019 in preparation for the new season.

He emphasized that the atmosphere in the camp is entirely satisfactory. “It is an ideal atmosphere, given the availability of quality infrastructure, including the gymnasium hall and training courts along with the perfect weather conditions. Definitely, such factors will help the players to train enthusiastically and seriously as per the program pre-set by Tunisia’s head coach Mohamed Bu Ghazala and his assistant Yousri Al Mazeni.”

“All players are aware of the importance of this camp, which comes after good break time. So, they are required to exert lots of efforts and take optimal advantage of this away camp to be ready for the new season,” he said.

Noteworthy, the team lost yesterday evening their first friendly match to Tunisia’s Olympic Suleiman team by 19-21.

Al Ain First Volleyball Team is scheduled to play their first friendly match in Zabrze City, Poland against Poland’s Janstochowa Volleyball Team on Monday 26th August 2019.

The team headed to Poland on Thursday 22nd August 2019 to kick off their away training camp which will last until 4th September 20019 as part of their preparations for the new season. The team debut will be on 13th September in the Super Cup match against Shabab Al Ahli Dubai scheduled to be held at the indoor court of Bani Yas Club.

The coaching team, led by the Greek coach Iwan Kalmazidz, focuses on boosting the physical fitness and harmony between the players to be fully ready for the new season.

The team conducts a morning and evening training sessions, and the players show excellent cooperation and responsiveness to the instructions of the coaching team. They all train seriously to take advantage of the away training camp.

As part of the team’s away training camp in Hammamat City in Tunisia, Al Ain First Handball Team carried on its daily training sessions. The away camp was kicked off on 22nd August and will last until 6th September in preparation for the General Volleyball League which starts on 10th September.

The team is scheduled to play their first friendly match on Monday 26th August against Olympic Suleiman Team. The schedule of the friendly games includes playing other friendly matches, which will be against Malab Team and Al Hammamat Association Team.

The coaching team, led by Tunisia’s coach Mohammed Bu Ghazaleh, focuses on boosting the physical fitness and harmony between the players to be fully ready for the new season.

The team conducts a morning and evening training sessions, and the players show excellent cooperation and responsiveness to the instructions of the coaching team. They all train seriously to take advantage of the away training camp.