DUBAI: Over 900 female athletes from 14 Arab countries will compete in seven events in Arab Women Sports Tournament that will take place in Sharjah from Feb. 2-12.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday at Al Jawaher Reception & Convention Center in Sharjah, Nada Askar Al Naqbi, head of Executive Committee and manager of Arab Women Sports Tournament (AWST), released the schedule for the second edition of Arab Women Sports Tournament.
UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Algeria, Jordan, Palestine, Libya, Lebanon, Yemen, Sudan, Iraq and Egypt are participating in 11-day event.
Nada highlighted the participation of 14 countries, starting with the UAE, which will have six clubs – Sharjah Ladies Club, Bani Yas, Al Shabab, Ajman, Al Wasl, and Abu Dhabi Police club – participating in seven games, including basketball, volleyball, table tennis, athletics, fencing, shooting, and archery.
Jordan has entered four clubs, Al Mokawloon, Women Club, The Fencing Club, and the Olympic Club, which will be competing in four games, namely basketball, volleyball, fencing, and athletics.
Six clubs from Bahrain, including Al Moharraq, Bahrain Club, the Fencing Club, Al Ahli, the Shooting Club, and Al Shabab Sportage Club, will be competing in basketball, volleyball, table tennis, fencing, shooting, and athletics at the Tournament.
Jibalona Club will be representing Algeria in archery and shooting, while Al Hilal Club from Sudan will be competing in archery. From clubs from Iraq will also be participating – these are Serawan Nawa, Kadhimiya, Erbil, and the Armenian Club. They will be competing in basketball, fencing, shooting, and athletics. From Oman, Saham Club and Alittihad Club will be competing in volleyball and shooting, respectively.
Palestine will be competing in fencing and athletics via two clubs: Al Quds and Areeha, while Qatar will be represented by Qatar Ladies Club, which will be competing in basketball, table tennis, fencing, shooting, archery, and athletics.
Kuwait’s Al Fatat Club will be participating in five games – basketball, volleyball, table tennis, shooting, and athletics – while Lebanon’s Shabab Al Fawar Club will be showcasing their table tennis skills.
Two clubs from Libya, Sedi Selim Club and Al Ahli, will be competing in fencing and shooting, respectively; Egypt will be represented by the Delphi and Al Sayd Clubs in volleyball and archery; and Yemen’s Al Fatayat Clyb will be participating in volleyball, table tennis, shooting, fencing, and athletics.
The event, which is an initiative by Sheikha Jawaher bin Mohammed Al Qasimi aims to develop Arab women sports and improve their sporting skills and capabilities.
Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, chairman of the higher organizing committee of the Tournament of Arab Women Sports Tournament said that the event, the first of its kind for women’s sporting clubs in the Arab world and recognized by the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees and the Arab League, is considered “an accomplishment for Emirati and Arab women, since organizing such sporting events is not a straightforward task in many societies.”
Ahmad Al Fardan, Secretary General of the Sharjah Sports Council; Osama Samra, Director of Sharjah Media Center also addressed the media.
AWST to be held in Sharjah from Feb. 2
AWST to be held in Sharjah from Feb. 2
Own goal enough for Al-Ahli as Matchday 24 win keeps pressure on Al-Nassr
- Al-Ahli eke out 1-0 win over Al-Riyadh to keep pressure on Al-Nassr
- Milan Borjan own goal separated the sides at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium
RIYADH: Matchday 24 of the Saudi Pro League kicked off on Thursday, less than 24 hours after the conclusion of the delayed Matchday 10. With the FIFA Arab Cup, World Cup Qualifiers and FIFA World Cup sandwiching the 2025/26 campaign, resting periods have been few and far between outside the international breaks.
With fixtures coming thick and fast, Al-Ahli opted to rest Riyad Mahrez and Enzo Millot for their clash with Al-Riyadh in the capital. Ramadan has further challenged the league schedule, with Matthias Jaissle’s side only arriving in Riyadh at 5:30pm — just hours before kick-off.
With their previous outing against Damac still dominating conversation, Jaissle was keen to ensure his players did not fall into the same trap — namely, being caught off guard by an opponent’s unexpectedly proactive style.
To his relief, Al-Ahli were largely in control this time. Yet the absence of Mahrez limited their creative spark. Relying heavily on Wenderson Galeno down the left, Al-Riyadh did well to crowd the Brazilian and deny him space to operate.
The bane of any expansive side is a compact 5-4-1, and that is precisely how Al-Riyadh’s recently appointed Brazilian manager Mauricio Dulac set his team up. A long-time assistant to former Al-Riyadh coach Odair Hellmann, this marks Dulac’s first managerial role.
Al-Ahli’s attacking routes were severely restricted throughout the first half. Al-Riyadh denied them the opportunity to press high, Mahrez’s trademark diagonals were absent, and finding Ivan Toney in the six-yard box proved a difficult task.
On the rare occasions the visitors broke the defensive line, Milan Borjan stood firm in goal — there was no getting past the Canadian.
That was until first-half stoppage time. Al-Ahli had one more weapon in their arsenal: set-pieces. A lofted delivery from Galeno’s free-kick met the head of Roger Ibañez, who nodded the ball towards goal. Borjan pushed it away, but it was too late — the ball crossed the line.
VAR intervened within seconds. Ibañez was a shoulder offside, and the opener was chalked off. It was a notable twist, particulary as the simultaneous fixture between Al-Fateh and Damac in Al-Ahsa featured a celebration aimed squarely at Al-Ahli and VAR.
Earlier in the week, Damac equalised late against Al-Ahli via Yakou Méïté, only for the goal to be overturned. Méïté reacted angrily and lashed out at referees, but Al-Ahli escaped with the three points. Méïté followed up with a goal against Al-Fateh, and celebrated by mimicking the referee’s VAR signal.
Back in Riyadh, Al-Ahli returned for the second half with renewed intensity. Zakaria Hawsawi grew more adventurous from left-back, threading lofted balls over the Al-Riyadh defence.
In the 53rd minute, he found Toney behind the last defender, but the Englishman’s volley was adeptly saved by Borjan. Five minutes later, Galeno latched onto Hawsawi’s cross and thought he had broken the deadlock — only for the linesman’s flag to rise once again.
Al-Ahli pushed, but as time ticked away, it seemed the coveted winner would elude them. However, once again, set pieces proved decisive.
In the 75th minute, a corner from Saleh Abu Al-Shamat was parried by Borjan, only for his effort to be bundled into his own net, sending the travelling supporters into a frenzy.
After last week’s scare, Al-Ahli knew they had to finish the job. Cue Ibañez, who surged forward from deep before slipping the ball through to Toney to seal the game with what would have been his 24th goal of the season. The run itself deserved a goal, but Toney was flagged inches offside.
Despite another difficult outing, Al-Ahli did enough to secure a clean sheet and grind out a 1-0 victory to move top on 59 points — one ahead of Al-Nassr, who are yet to play this weekend.
Elsewhere, Méïté’s equaliser was later cancelled out by a 77th-minute Mourad Batna penalty, in a match that saw fans commemorate him for surpassing 100 goal contributions with Al-Fateh.
Batna had earlier missed from the spot to the frustation of the home fans, but Al-Fateh’s undefeated streak against Damac at home remains intact as the encounter ended 1-1.
Saudi Pro League action resumes on Friday, with Al-Hazem hosting Al-Ettifaq, Al-Ittihad welcoming Al-Khaleej, and one of Riyadh’s top derbies in Al-Shabab and Al-Hilal. All games kick-off at 10:00pm, in the league’s unified Ramadan schedule.
