Jiu-Jitsu federation unveils vision to be world's best

UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation aims to promote the sport locally and globally.-Supplied photo

The UAE is leaving no stone unturned in its efforts to become a world leader in jiu-jitsu.
The new season, starting from this month till April 2020, will see many first-ever among the 18 competition events, which will promote the UAE as the global home of jiu-jitsu, a top official from the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation (UAEJJF) told Khaleej Times.
A new tournament - Tolerance Jiu-Jitsu Championship - is introduced to mark the Year of Tolerance from Sept. 26 to 28 in Al Ain Club. For the first time, the UAE will host the Jiu-Jitsu World Championship at the Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi from Nov. 16 to 24. There will be first-ever 'No GI' category Dubai International Championship held in outdoor settings of Jumeirah Beach Residence on Jan. 10. The season will end with the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship from April 11 to 18 next year. The total value of prizes, excluding the world professional championship, will hit Dh2.6 million, up from Dh1.8 million in last season.
"This is one of the most exciting seasons. The Jiu-Jitsu World Championship will be one of the biggest with three age categories - Under-18, Under-21 and adults," Mubarak Al Menhali, Technical Director, the UAEJJF, said after unveiling calendar of activities for new season.
"The President's Cup, for the first-time, will be held in league system," he said and noted the first round will be held next month at Al Jazeera Club, second round in February at Al Dhafra Club and final round at Mubadala Arena in March.
The national team, he said, has done exceedingly well in the Asian Championship in Mongolia and the Thailand Open. The team is now set for next month's the Balkan Open in Romania, the West Asian Open in Jordan and the World Championship in November."
Future targets are 2020 Asian Beach Games in China, 2021 World Games in the US and 2022 Asian Games in China.
Meanwhile, Fahad Ali Al Shamsi, chief executive, UAEJJF, said the new calendar reflects the efforts to introduce innovative tournaments and events, which will help players triumph in local and international championships and raise the UAE flag high globally.
The new season gets underway with the Vice President's Cup in Sharjah on Saturday. The federation will also participate in Abu Dhabi Showdown Week held alongside UFC 242 from Sept. 1.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com