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The Laureus World Sports Awards, which takes place in Abu Dhabi on 10th March 2010, will have an important role to play in the development of future Arab sport stars, said a leading government official.
Speaking at the opening press conference for the Awards - which recognise sporting achievement during the period January 1 - December 31, 2009, and are the premier honours on the international sporting calendar - His Excellency Mohammed Ibrahim Al Mahmood, General Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, said he believed that with the presence of so many champions in the emirate for the Awards, it will serve as a catalyst to inspire sportsmen and sportswomen of the region to reach new heights in the field of competitive endeavour.
"We’re hoping that one day one of our sportsmen or sportswomen will win an Award. That won’t come without accepting challenges and without experience. But we are working hard to improve our young people, to open doors for them to practice sports and to achieve medals,” said His Excellency.
“We want to see more goals achieved in the sporting arena, especially for the development of youth and women, and this is something we are actively pursuing. We have made sure to put in place the infrastructure and provide the necessary support to help encourage more aspiring athletes to go all the way. Laureus will help in that pursuit.”
Nawal El Moutawakel, the first Muslim woman to win an Olympic medal when she triumphed in the 400m hurdles at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, applauded Abu Dhabi for encouraging more women to take part in sport.
"Between when I competed in the early eighties and now, the difference is like day and night regarding the participation of Arab women and Muslim women in the arena of international sports,” said El Moutawakel, the first woman to chair the International Olympic Committee’s coordination commission ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and a passionate supporter of women in sport.
"I can confirm that the difference is so huge, it is hard to imagine it. But it is still not easy for women to get a ’red carpet’. It is very difficult, and I know when I speak about this.
"My event is the 400m hurdles, which has many barriers. There are ups and downs, it is not always flat and smooth. Women are having to fight for their rights, but I’m definitely sure that a good future belongs to this country, and belongs to this region. Women are there, we just need to give them a little push."
Abu Dhabi is the first Middle Eastern city to ever host the Awards, and marks a decade of remarkable expansion and progress for the Laureus Academy and Sport for Good Foundation. That was the message from legendary athlete Edwin Moses, the Academy’s chairman, to the world’s assembled press.
Sports stars and celebrities from around the globe will tomorrow night celebrate another year of tremendous sporting achievement, with a select few champions being honoured by the presentation of Laureus statuettes.
But Moses believes the Laureus Academy and Foundation can celebrate a full 10 years of successfully exploiting sport to do good around the globe.
"We initially started out as a Foundation without much direction, but with the thought of using sport as a tool for social change. We started out with about $1 million a year, but our turnover has really multiplied tremendously, especially in the last three years,” said Moses, the 400m Olympic gold medalist and world record holder.
"That has enabled us to go from six projects in four countries to 72 projects in 38 countries. We now have nine Foundations spread out around the world, all headed up by Academy members. From an initial idea and 28 people in a room as the founding Academy members, we now have 46 members.
"There is no doubt that the Laureus World Sports Awards are now a major event on the international calendar. We’re well respected by those who win Awards, as well as by the world class athletes who come to support us."
Expected to support the Awards – which are chosen by the Laureus World Sports Academy, the ultimate sports jury, made up of 46 of the greatest sportsmen and sportswomen of all time – will be sporting powerhouses such as World Heavweight Champion boxer Vitali Klitschko; Germany Women’s football coach Silvia Neid; South Africa rugby coach Peter de Villiers; and American 400 metres World Champion Sanya Richards.
They will be joined by a host of other big stars including cricket stalwarts, Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff and Michael Vaughan from England, Shaun Pollock from South Africa and Steve Waugh from Australia; Iranian tennis legend and crowd favourite, Mansour Bahrami; British track star, Dame Kelly Homes; Irish boxing marvel, Barry McGuigan; and ex-South African Springbok captain, Francois Pienaar.
A cacophony of the Laureus World Sports Academy and the Laureus Friends & Ambassadors programme have also signed-up for the event, which will mark the first time the Awards have been staged in the Middle East.
From the racing fraternity, Giacomo Agostini, the Italian multi-time world champion Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Mika Häkkinen, the two-time Formula One World Champion; and British racing legend, David Coulthard will join tennis and cricket stars, Sir Ian Botham, OBE, who was recently was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame; Kapil Dev, one of India’s greatest cricketers; Brian Lara, widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time; and Monica Seles, former World No. 1 professional tennis player and a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Also flying in for the event will be football legend, Franz Beckenbauer; golf stalwart, Gary Player; American professional skateboarder, Tony Hawk; English Rower, Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave, who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000; and Morne du Plessis, the former South African rugby union player who is often described as one of the Springboks’ most successful captains.
In addition, a wealth of athletic stars will also be present such as, Sergey Bubka, the Ukrainian pole vaulter who was repeatedly voted the world’s best athlete; Romanian gymnast, Nadia Comãneci, winner of three Olympic gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics, and the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event; Moroccan hurdler, Nawal El Moutawakel, who won the inaugural women’s 400 m hurdles event at the 1984 Summer Olympics; and the UK’s Daley Thompson, who is considered by many to be the greatest decathlete of all time.
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