H.H. Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council, congratulated President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the advent of the Holy Month of Ramadan.

He also congratulated Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Supreme Council Members, Their Highnesses Rulers of the Emirates, Crown Princes and Deputy Rulers, on the occasion of Ramadan, wishing the month would be one full of goodness and love and further progress, prosperity, security and safety.

With the participation of 16 teams of different public and private entities, fans and communities of Al Ain, draw of the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium Ramadan Futsal Tournament (HBZS RFT) was held at the Chairman’s Lounge at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium Wednesday 16th May 2018. The tournament is to be kicked off on Sunday 20th May 2018 and ends by Sunday 3rd June 2018. The total amount of the tournament awards is AED 100,000 to be distributed to the winners of first place and the winner of the Super Match which will bring together the champion of Groups A and B with the champion of Groups C and D.

The 16 teams were split into four groups. Group A and B will include teams of public and private entities where the team placed first of each group will be playing in the semifinal stage and the two winners will be playing the final match to identify the champion of Groups A and B. the same rules apply to Groups C and D which include the fans and communities of Al Ain. The Organizing Committee has allocated individual financial awards for the Best Player, Top Scorer and Best Goalkeeper, besides in-kind award for the best player in each match.

Group A includes Tadweer, Dar Zayed, Al Awqaf and Petroleum Construction L.L.C while Group B includes Al Ain Club, Al Ain Police, Jafra and Tawam Hospital. Group C which is the fans group includes Al Hazam, Al Jazira, Al Zaeem and Al Khalif, while Group D representing the communities includes Moroccan Community, UAE Samba, Ne’ma and Wedad Al Sheiba.

Rashid Abdullah, Director of Investment and Business Affairs at Al Ain Club Investment Company, congratulated the representatives of the participating teams on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan and stressed Al Ain Club’s interest in organizing the first edition of the Futsal Ramadan Tournament. He underlined that the athletes’ gathering at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium aims to spread the culture of sports among institutions and the public, establishing links of cooperation and communication among them, creating a positive sports environment, in addition to creating an annual community activity that supports the goals of Al Ain Club senior management, that is to have means of interaction with the community of Al Ain.

Worth mentioning, HBZS RFT is scheduled to kickoff at 10:30 p.m. on Sunday 20th May 2018 at the outdoor football fields of Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium with four matches for the first group.

Ahmad Al Ka’abi, Manager of the Fans Affairs Office and HBZS RFT Manager, delivered a welcoming speech and joined teams’ representatives in the draw of the tournament.

Former Al Ain star Faisal Ali, HBZS RFT Technical Director provided a full presentation on the rules of the tournament to the representatives of the participating teams.

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, H.H. Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, today witnessed the graduation of over 600 students from Khalifa University.

H.H. Sheikh Hazza posted on his official Twitter account: “Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, we witnessed the graduation of over 600 students from Khalifa University. We are proud of the youth who specialized in modern science, and their graduation during the anniversary of the birth of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan has given them the extra responsibility to not accept anything but excellence and success.”

On the occasion of Al Ain’s First Volleyball Team clinching the President’s Cup, Al Ain Sports Games Company held a ceremony to celebrate this occasion to honor the company staff at the court of Khalifa Bin Zayed Stadium on Thursday 3 May 2018.

The ceremony was attended by Vice Chairman of Al Ain Sports Games Company Abdullah Al Darmaki, Abdul Aziz Al Junaibi, Board Member of Al Ain Sports Games Company, Ahmed Sultan, Sports Director, the technical and administrative staffs, players and a number of the Operations Department of Al Ain Sports Games Company.

Abdullah Al Darmaki, Vice Chairman of Al Ain Sports Games Company, thanked the Club’s Leadership for their highly appreciated support, especially the first volleyball team, which was crowned by winning the coveted trophy of the President’s Cup which the team missed for 22 years.

Al Darmaki expressed his appreciated the role of the players and the technical and administrative staff in attaining this achievement. He also thanked all the unknown soldiers working silently in support of the team including the staff of Operations Department and all Sports Games Company.

Al Ain Volleyball Team player, Khaled Hamza, who is in his first season with the “Boss” said that the meeting held by the players after qualifying for the final match of the President’s Cup at the expense of Al Jazira Team where they all vowed to finish the season by clinching the title and by this they are saving the best for the last, specially following losing the title of the league.

Hamza confirmed that he moved to Al Ain Volleyball Team looking for winning more titles and that he and his teammates could win the three titles of the season. He stated: “We lost the title of the league, but we ended this season by winning two titles out of which a title that has been absent from our cabins for 22 years.”

On the details of the final match of the President’s Cup, he said: “Actually, as we lost the first round we began to feel disappointed and frustrated. However, we managed to play as one team and to correct our mistakes and won the other three rounds in a row and that guaranteed the title to be in our side.” He concluded: “I present this title to our Sheikhs, fans and my father who attended the match and never stopped supporting me in order to win titles.”

Al Ain volleyball team player Abdulla Ali Saif Al Ma’amari confirmed that they were committed to their responsibilities and were able to quickly overcome the disappointment of losing the league title to Bani Yas Team and succeeded in compensating the fans by clinching the President’s Cup.

“We present the title to our Sheikhs and our fans who supported us and never left us alone in the toughest times and cheered up us until the end of the season holding high two titles as we clinched the Vice President’s Cup,” said he. He signed off by saying: “I want to say to all Emiratis clubs: Excuse me, this is the Boss’ year.”

Al Ain volleyball captain and winner of the Best Setter Award, Majid Thani, expressed his delight at the team’s success in winning the title of the President’s Cup after a 22-year absence. He revealed a secret behind winning the title by saying: “We had a meeting a day before the final match and we vowed to clinch the title away for our records for 22 years.”

“Being crowned with the title is the reward for all members of the club: management, players, technical staff and fans,” stressed he. He underlined: “Since the kickoff of the season, everyone has been trying to put an end to the absence of the President’s Cup form our cabins and we are happy that we have succeeded in winning two of the three titles we were competing for.”

On winning the Best Setter Award, he said that he was able to win this precious award with the help of his teammates and the coaching staff. he also expressed his pleasure in winning the two cups of this season, the President’s Cup and the Vice-President Cup, in his first season with the team.

Al Ain’s volleyball star and winner of the Best Libro Award, Mohammed Suleiman, expressed his deep pleasure on the occasion of winning the title of the President’s Cup on the expense of Hatta Team in the final match. He stated: “I was not expecting to win the award of the best libero and our target was to win all the titles of this season.”

“Winning the title of the President’s Cup has a special flavor and means a lot for us specially we missed it for 22 years,” said he. He pointed out: “It is true that we wish we had won the three titles of this season but we were able to clinch two out of three. We are so happy with our double titles and present the titles to our Sheikhs, fans and my family.”

Al Ain star, Mohammed Shamal, presented the title of the President’s Cup to H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Chairman of Al Ain Club and Chairman of Al Ain Club Honorary Council and H.H. Sheikh Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice-Chairman of the Executive Council, First Vice President of Al Ain Sports and Cultural Club, First Vice President of the Honorary Council & Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al Ain Sports and Cultural Club, as well as H.H. Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Advisor, Second Vice President of Al Ain Sports and Cultural Club and the Honorary Council.

“We have been looking forward to winning this title for more than 22 years during which we lost 8 final matches,” said he. He added: “We have vowed since the kickoff of this season put our hands on this precious title and we were able to overcome the misfortune and overturn the expectations. We were hoping to win the three titles but we are happy with our achievements and I have no doubt that we have had a good and successful season.”

Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Administrative Manager of Al Ain First Volleyball Team, expressed his deep pleasure to win the President’s Cup following beating Hatta Volleyball Team in the final match held at Al Nasr Club in Dubai by 3-1.

“The match was so intense and our opponent Hatta was played so hard as they were aiming to win their first title this season. Indeed, they were able to win the first round that extended for 25 points and witnessed robust competition,” said he.

He added: “Our players reacted fiercely in second, third and fourth rounds which they won in a row despite certain attempts made by Hatta team. But with the coach’s tactics and players’ experience, we managed to maintain our lead of the match and we were able to clinch the prestigious double titles, the President’s Cup and Vice-President’s Cup as well.”