Emirates Draw to sponsor the youth national team and the Gulf Championship

Emirates Draw has announced its sponsorship of the youth national basketball team and of the Gulf Championship, the qualifying event for the Asian finals, which opens at Al Wasl's hall next Friday. Six Gulf teams take part — the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar — with competition running until the sixth of next month. The winners and runners-up qualify for the Asian finals.

The sponsorship was announced at a press conference at federation headquarters in Dubai, attended by secretary general and organising committee chairman Salem Al Mutawa, Paul Shadur, head of marketing and communications at Emirates Draw, executive office head and finance director Mohammed Abdullah Al Haj, and federation executive director and Gulf Championship rapporteur Mohammed Al Hammadi.

Salem Al Mutawa said he was pleased with a partnership that serves both parties, and thanked Emirates Draw for its role: “The board, under Major General Ismail Al Qarqawi, thanks Emirates Draw for this national contribution in support of the youth team at an event that matters at both Gulf and Asian level, and for helping make a success of a sporting occasion held on Emirati soil.”

“Supporting basketball matters, particularly at this youth stage, so that we can ultimately develop the structure of the game by having backers present at every event, whether local, Gulf or continental,” he added.

Paul Shadur said it was the first time Emirates Draw had sponsored a sporting event: “I am proud that we are the principal supporter of the youth team at this Gulf tournament qualifying for the Asian finals, one of the strongest competitions in the region at this age group. Our sponsorship reflects our belief in the need to support sport in the country, which is among the most important areas of community participation for young people.”

He added: “We are committed to our vision of a better tomorrow and of improving daily life for our winners and for society as a whole. We take pride in being among those who give back to the individual and the community through our weekly draws, as well as supporting the country's sustainability agenda: the company works with experienced divers and dedicated volunteers to preserve the country's rich marine life through a coral reef rehabilitation programme, and we have so far surveyed multiple sites and planted 4,000 coral fragments at various points along the country's coast.”

“We support the national team in its ambitions and in raising the country's flag in different arenas. The Gulf Championship qualifying for Asia is the first and most important stop for a generation we regard as the future of the game, and Emirates Draw sees a community role it wishes to play in supporting local environmental initiatives through the corporate social responsibility programmes it leads.”

Shadur said significant surprises awaited the players and the crowd during the tournament, to be announced in due course, as part of the support offered both to the team and to the spectators, whom he urged to back Al Abyad during this important period.