Candidates for the Fatima Bint Mubarak Women Sports Award announced The jury reveals the top three in each category

The Fatima Bint Mubarak Women Sports Award jury has announced the names of the candidates in each category of the award’s seventh edition, which is held under the patronage of Her Highness Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, President of the General Women’s Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (Mother of the Nation), and with the support of Sheikha Fatima Bint Hazza Al Nahyan, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy, and President of the Abu Dhabi and Al Ain Women’s Clubs.

The winners in each category will be announced on 15 November at the ceremony held in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi.

The list announced by the award jury included the top three male and female candidates for each category in the individual levels as well as the sports federations and institutions levels, due to the nomination process garnering a high volume of registration from 14 Arab nations.

The list of candidates in the individual categories are as follows:

Best Arab Women Athlete: Sara Samir Elsayed, weightlifting champion (Egypt), Juliana Fouad Fawzi, Taekwondo champion (Jordan), and Samar Amer Ibrahim Hamza, Greco-Roman wrestling champion (Egypt).

Best Emirati Women Athlete: Farida Abdullah Al Dhahouri, archer, Safia Al Sayegh, cycling champion, and Rouda Alserkal, UAE National Chess Team player.

Best Paralympic Athlete: Noura Khalifa AlKetbi (UAE), Fatma Omar (Egypt), and Aya Ayman Abbas (Egypt)

Best Youth Athlete: Shams Ahmed (Egypt), Yara Khaled Bin Thani (Bahrain), and Mariam Adnan Al Ali (UAE)

Best Female/Male Coach: Hisham Ismail Ezz Eldin (Egypt), Sanaa Samir Al Mirdassi (Tunisia), and Alaa Eldin Hassan Kamel (Egypt)

Best Sports Media: Heba Hamed Al Sabbagh (Jordan), and Amira Gamal Ammar (Egypt).

Best Sports Mother (created by the organisation committee for this year’s award): Zaafarana Ahmed Al Hosani (UAE), mother of Special Olympics champions in athletics and bowling, Hamda and Mariam Al Hosani, Lilian Nashaat Tawfiq (Egypt), mother of rhythmic gymnast Farah Sidqi, and Intisar Muhammad Al Swahili (Sudan), mother of Salma Anis, Special Olympics swimming champion.

The nominees in the sport federations and institutions categories are as follows:

Best Team: Sharjah Women’s Sports Foundation, Baniyas Jiu-Jitsu Club, and Fujairah Martial Arts Club

Best Sports Creative Initiative: Emirates International Endurance Village, Steps Foundation to Encourage Children’s Sports, and Dubai Police General Headquarters

The jury decided to withhold the award for the Best Youth Development Program due to none of the submitted files meeting the required nomination criteria.

A special award will be awarded by the jury to honor the Arab Sport Personality of the Year for her outstanding performance and contributions to the advancement of women’s sports in the Arab world.

The Fatima Bint Mubarak Women Sports Award, organised by the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, is the first of its kind in the region, and one of the most distinguished awards amongst the Arab sports community. It aims to empower women and highlight their achievements in the sports sector, strives to improve participation, enhance competitiveness and excellence in women’s sports, and create a stimulating and supportive environment for women athletes to advance to higher levels.