Federation adopts its statutes and sets list-based elections

The extraordinary general assembly of the UAE Basketball Association has approved the federation's statutes for the first time since its foundation.

The decision came at a meeting held at the Marriott Al Jaddaf hotel in Dubai, attended by all 17 member clubs, 15 of whom are entitled to vote.

It was decided that elections in the new term will be held under a closed-list system, for the first time.

The meeting was chaired by federation president Major General Ismail Al Qarqawi, with the representative of the General Authority of Sports, federation members and club representatives present, in an atmosphere of debate and exchange of views on every decision taken; on several items the general assembly's opinion was sought.

The 96 articles making up the statutes were presented, alongside the 40 articles of the elections regulations, and discussed with the club representatives before several were put to a vote — most notably the decision to settle on a closed electoral list rather than individual candidacy, which was approved by eight clubs to seven.

During the meeting there were interventions from Major General Ismail Al Qarqawi, vice-president Abdullatif Al Fardan and secretary general Salem Al Mutawa to clarify points in response to questions from Al Wasl, Al Wahda and Shabab Al Ahli.

Speaking afterwards, Al Qarqawi said: “There were observations from some clubs and extensive discussion throughout, and some changes were made to the regulations' articles. They serve Emirati basketball for decades to come, having been drawn up by experts in sports law.”

He said the period ahead is a challenging stage for developing basketball, and called on club officials to develop players, particularly in the age groups, to strengthen the national team.