Leaders in Sport: Women's sports, opportunities and inspiration in the UAE

The Mettleset Podcast

Hello Dawn here,

Today we have a special bonus episode that’s a little different to our usual athlete interviews as we touch upon the business of sport and sport leadership here in the United Arab Emirates.

As someone who’s worked in sports communications for over 11 years, I recently had the opportunity to go to the Leaders in Sport Business Summit in Abu Dhabi held on 1-2 March. This episode shares some observations and snippets from just one of the many thought-provoking panels that took place.

If you’re unfamiliar with Leaders in Sport, among other things, they bring influential individuals within the sports industry together in a series of global events. The events are really a platform to foster discussion and debate about the state of the industry, explore trends and discuss ways to drive the industry forward.

The panel you will hear in this episode includes the very inspirational Dr Omniyat Al Hajeri, Vice Chairwoman of the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy ( FBMA), speaking live from the stage about the work of the FBMA and women’s sports in general. She is joined by professional cyclist and pro rider for UAE Team ADQ, Safiya Al Sayegh, the first Emirati woman to race in the Women’s WorldTour on a panel moderated by Laura McQueen, Managing Director of Leaders in Sport.

We wanted to share some insights from this very uplifting panel and Dr Omniyat in particular as a sports leader as she discusses the role of the FBMA in sport development for women in the UAE and what it means for athletes like Safiya. The panel chats about leadership, pathways into sport, how the UAE is fostering talent and also, how organizations like the FBMA are encouraging more diversity in the wider sporting ecosystem. Dr Ominyat also discusses the many opportunities that exist here in the UAE for sport, something that as a long-time resident, I can absolutely attest to.

A big thank you again to the Leaders in Sport team who kindly provided this audio for us to use within the podcast. To find out more information about Leaders in Sport visit https://leadersinsport.com.

For more information on the work of the FBMA, visit https://www.fbma.ae and for more information on UAE Team ADQ, visit https://www.uaeteamadq.com/.

Today’s episode was supported by the awesome and adventurous team at Deep Dive Dubai, the world’s deepest pool. Check them out for some truly awe-inspiring scuba and freedive experiences. Visit www.deepdivedubai.com

Our wider support team for this episode includes Editor JJ Thompson and our Artwork is by the talented Alexandra Hickey of Studio Theodore.

For more info, visit www.themettleset.com , and follow us on @themettleset

We hope you enjoy!

Dawn & Afshan

@dawnable

@afshahmed