Int'l teams from 7 countries to play Dh2m Gov Games

International teams from seven countries will join more than 150 teams from local and federal government entities across the UAE as they battle it out during the inaugural Gov Games on May 9-12. The Dh2 million games will be held at the Kite Beach.
When Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, launched the Gov Games in March, one of the future goals was to expand the initiative to include international teams. "This goal has already been achieved in the inaugural competition, which is a testament to its unique and visionary nature, and the international attention it has garnered," organisers said on Wednesday.
"The addition of these international players will only add to the healthy competition as teams get set to take on a specially-designed obstacles course that will test the mental, physical, and teamwork capacities of competing teams."
International teams include the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, London Metropolitan Police Service, Los Angeles Police Department, embassies of Canada, United States and the United Kingdom in the UAE, Royal Thai Police, Government of Egypt and government of Niger State, Nigeria.
Director of Gov Games Marwan bin Essa said: "Only a few weeks ago, we announced that the number of teams participating in the first Gov Games was double than what was anticipated when we started planning for the games. Now we can reveal that international teams will be flying to Dubai to take part in the competition - something we had initially envisioned for the 2019 Gov Games.
"I believe that a primary reason for our success thus far is the vision of Sheikh Hamdan, which is to create a world-first initiative that transcends geographies and borders. The key messages of team work and team spirit, excellent communication, dedication and determination are values which all governments entities across the globe share.
"There will of course only be one winning men's and women's team for the entire competition, with each winning Dh1 million in cash."
Assistant secretary-general of Dubai Sports Council Nasser Al Rahma said the international teams will give more meaning to the winning teams' victory. "It will also unite players from all around the world as they compete in the first ever Gov Games."
reporters@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE
• Dubai