Pakistan PM Imran Khan to be honoured at Expo 2020

Dubai - The 11th edition of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award will celebrate its winners at a glittering presentation ceremony on Sunday

The 11th edition of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award will celebrate its winners at a glittering presentation ceremony on Sunday, in the heart of Expo 2020 Dubai – the Dubai Exhibition Centre.

A Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiative, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award is the largest award of its kind, in terms of prize money and categories, and the first dedicated to creativity in sports.

Sponsored by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, the Award is organised under the chairmanship of Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the National Olympic Committee, and translates the directives of the country’s wise leadership to support and raise the level of creativity in sports.

The ceremony to award the winners of the 11th Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award will take place in South Hall 1A-1C of Dubai Exhibition Centre in Expo 2020 Dubai on Sunday, bringing the curtain down on a busy season that saw a record total of 409 applications – 54 in the Institutional Creativity category, 29 in the Team Sports Creativity category and 326 in the Individual Sports Creativity category.

In their previous 10 seasons, 2,188 individuals, teams and organisations from 188 different countries - including 583 from the UAE, 1,386 from Arab countries, and 219 from the rest of the world — have sent in their nominations for the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award. The honours list includes 230 winners — 110 from the UAE, 104 from the Arab region and 16 from the rest of the world. One hundred and sixty-five of the winners have been individuals, while 19 teams have received the coveted awards and 46 local, Arab and international institutions have been honoured for their creativity.

Seven Olympic and Paralympic champions

This year, the winner’s list includes seven Olympic and Paralympic champions from Tokyo, who won three gold medals and a silver and bronze at the Summer Olympic Games, and two gold and a silver at the Tokyo Paralympic Games.

The names of the winners of the 11th Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award were revealed at a ceremony on November 23, 2021, at Deep Dive Dubai, the world’s deepest pool, in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, and His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Award’s Board of Trustees.

The winners are:

The International Sports Personality Award

Imran Khan, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, has been named the International Sports Personality Award in appreciation of his efforts in turning Pakistan into one of the world's leading cricketing nations. He was captain of the Pakistan team that emerged victorious in the 1992 Cricket World Cup, defeating England in the final.

An inspirational sports icon, he continues to inspire young people as Prime Minister now, enhancing the status of sports in general and cricket in particular, and empowering Pakistani society through sports. Today, half of the country’s 221 million population identify themselves as cricket fans, and nearly 42,000 players are officially registered with the Pakistan Cricket Board.

In 2019, PM Imran Khan launched a pioneering $639 million initiative for the welfare of Pakistan’s youth, under which young men and women will be given scholarships and skill-development opportunities, including scholarships in sports. In June this year, PM Imran Khan announced plans to build a cricket ground in each of Pakistan’s 4,000-plus Union and Village Councils.

The Arab Sports Personality Award

Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of Qatar Olympic Committee, has been named as the Arab Sports Personality for his long list achievements since taking over as President of the Qatar Olympic Committee in 2015, including the unprecedented success of Qatari athletes at the Tokyo Olympic Games; they won two gold medals and a bronze, and this was Qatar’s best performance at the Olympics.

He was also chair of the Organizing Committee of the 2015 World Handball Championship in Doha and contributed to Qatar’s hosting of many international sports events as well as the development of equestrian sport and success of Qatari horses worldwide. He also led Qatar’s successful bid to host their second Asian Games in 2030. Doha had first hosted the premier continental championships in 2006.

The Local Athlete Award

Ali Ahmed Mabkhout – for his historical achievements at both the local as well as the international level, where he has emerged as the all-time top scorer for the UAE national team with 78 goals. Mabkhout has also broken the goalscoring record at the domestic level and is the UAE League’s all-time leading scorer with 175 goals. He is currently third on the list of international goalscorers.

The Local Administrator Award

Anas Nasser Al Otaiba, for winning the presidency of the Asian Boxing Confederation and becoming Vice President of the International Boxing Association.

The Local Referee Award

Ahmed Mohammed Al Hammadi, for being the first Arab to be chosen as the head referee for the International Weightlifting Federation for People of Determination, and for his participation for the seventh time in a row as a referee at the Paralympic Games.

The Local Coach Award

Abdulaziz Muhammad Al-Yasi (Al-Anbari) for winning the Arab Gulf Football League title in the 2018/2019 season for the first time in the history of Sharjah Club since the start of the Professional League, as well as winning the Arabian Gulf Super Cup in 2019, and the success of Sharjah Club under his leadership for the first time in its history. He qualified twice in a row for the AFC Champions League and was named the best coach in the league for the 2018-2019 season.

Abdul Hamid Ibrahim Al Hosani, being the dean of basketball coaches in the United Arab Emirates, and has achieved 58 titles so far in his career at local, Gulf, Arab and continental level. In 2001, he was crowned as the best coach in Asia. He is the first Emirati coach to succeed in guiding a team to the podium at the continental level. He also took over the technical leadership of the national teams in the UAE and Bahrain.

The Local Team Award

The UAE National Endurance Team, for winning the gold medal in the World Championships for Youth and Juniors, for endurance races over a distance of 120 km in Italy.

The Local Organisation Award

Zayed Higher Organization for People of Determination, for the success and excellence in organising the 2021 Paralympic Shooting World Cup for the fifth time in a row.

The Arab Athlete Award

Award was given to four champions who excelled in the Tokyo Olympics:

Feryal Ashraf Abdel Aziz (Egypt) for winning a historic gold medal in karate at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020, which is the first Olympic gold medal for Arabs in karate.

Ahmed Ayoub Hafnaoui (Tunisia) for winning the gold medal in swimming at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020, the first Arab Olympic medal in swimming in the 400m freestyle competition.

Soufiane El Bakkali (Morocco) for winning the gold in the 3000m steeplechase at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, becoming the first Arab athlete to win an Olympic gold in the 3000m steeplechase.

Tarek Ali Hamdi (Saudi Arabia) for winning the silver medal in Karate at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020.

The Arab Administrator Award

Aya Medany (Egypt) for being the first Arab and African to be elected as the President of the Players Committee and a member of the Executive Office of the International Modern Pentathlon Federation.

The Arab Referee Award

Zitouni Metyout (Morocco) for being the first international Karate referee to officiate 4 finals in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, in addition to receiving the best African Continental Karate referee and the Arab Excellence Award in Arbitration 2021.

Zayed Abdulnaser Al Katheeri (UAE) for winning three gold medals in international jiu jitsu championships.