SME
Today, the competitions of the first edition of the Fatima Bint Mubarak Gulf Women’s Basketball Cup conclude, which is held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Chairwoman 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 Emirates”, and under the directives of Sheikha Fatima Bint Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Supreme Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the Fatima Bint Mubarak Women’s Sports Academy, President of the Abu Dhabi Ladies Club, and Al Ain Ladies Club. This is done by holding the final match between the Kuwaiti Al-Qurain Club and the Qatari Al-Gharafa Club, as the Kuwaiti Al-Qurain Club was able to confirm their worthiness to reach the final after their victory over the Fatima Bint Mubarak Basketball Academy team, with a score of “17/66”. The fans of Al-Gharafa of Qatar were on a date with great joy after their team achieved a well-deserved victory over the Omani team, Salalah, with a score of “31/53”, as Al-Gharafa of Qatar showed a distinguished performance and high skills, proving their readiness for the upcoming challenge in the final. With this qualification, all eyes are on the anticipated final of the tournament, which will bring together Al-Qurain of Kuwait and Al-Gharafa of Qatar this evening, in the basketball hall at the new academy headquarters. This final is one of the most prominent sporting events on the agenda of Gulf women’s sports, which will contribute to raising the level of competition in basketball in general and increase the interest of the fans in women’s sports by highlighting the achievements made and thus encouraging more girls to engage in activities and practice them professionally. The tournament also enjoyed wide success echoes in the Gulf. Regarding the victory, the coach of the Kuwaiti Al-Qurain team, Yahya Al-Shammari, said: “We thank our brothers in the UAE for their hospitality and for everything they provided us during our stay in Abu Dhabi. We would also like to express our happiness with this opportunity that our team has been given to participate in the first Gulf Women’s Championship under the umbrella of the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy. Our main goal from the beginning was to participate and gain experience, and now the players’ ambitions have risen to the point that the goal has become winning the title and returning the cup to Kuwait.”
He continued: “Holding a tournament for female national players only develops the level of the Gulf player and gives her the opportunity to showcase her skills more and increases her sense of responsibility to give her best. This is what we found in the Academy Cup matches, which resulted in positive results for the team and their reaching the final match with merit and worthiness.”
Alaa Suleiman, the administrator of the Qatari Al-Gharafa Club, also stated about the team’s qualification, saying: “Our team has young players, as their ages range between 16 and 17 “A year that increases their experience and hones their skills through interaction with players from different Gulf countries, as the competition was strong between all teams and this is the first international participation for the players and it will not be the last,” she added. “We are very happy with this qualification as we have secured at least a medal whether we are in first or second place, but we are determined to win the cup. Al-Qurain Club of Kuwait may be stronger technically as it has highly experienced players, some of whom play in the Kuwait national basketball team, but Al-Gharafa Club players of Qatar have the spirit and passion that may sometimes surpass their technical capabilities. This is what we are counting on and I have full confidence in our players. We will focus on the psychological and mental factor greatly in preparation for the final match.”
