His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah stressed the importance of sport and its role in society within the youth sector and in instilling the values of patriotism and love of a national theme, which contributes to the development of their abilities and talents and prepares them for a better future in all fields.
This was when His Highness, in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, met on Monday evening with the Chairman and Members of the Sharjah Sports Council, the Board of Directors of Sharjah Sports Club and the teams crowned by Local and Gulf football, basketball and handball titles as well as individual achievement winners for the season of 2018-2019.
His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah awarded AED 26 million to sports achievement winners, including AED 15 million for the senior team of Sharjah Football Club, AED 6 million for group and individual games at Sharjah Sports Club, AED 3 million for achievement winners of clubs in the Emirate and AED 2 million for Khorfakkan Football Club.
His Highness congratulated the Sharjah Sports Club on winning of the senior football team of the Arabian Gulf Shield and the basketball team on winning the 39th GCC Champions League for the second time in a row, handball team for men for being the four-season local champions and the Asian Club Championship bronze and number of winners of individual achievements.
His Highness pointed out that the presence of the Sharjah Sports Club over the podiums this year in a number of collective games underlines the great efforts made by those in charge of these teams in various activities and sports specialties, including management, coaches, players and all the administrative and technical bodies of all teams in the club.
His Highness thanked all those in charges and players of Sharjah sports Club and called upon them to continue their efforts and maintain the first positions. Furthermore, His Highness stressed the need for players to be ethical, fair play, respectable, to respect the other competitors in the stadium and not to engage in conflicts that cause problems and hatred among clubs and players, calling upon the management of the clubs to start educating players about these values.
His Highness, the Ruler of Sharjah, pointed out that football has even entered homes and has an influence even among the brothers, and he added that the real professionalism is about discipline, respect for competitors and compliance with laws and sports rules.
His Highness explained that he is a big fan of football and matches despite his preoccupation, pointing to his follow-up of the entertaining and exciting matches, both local and international. His name had many memories with football since he played so many matches when he was young.
In this regard, His Highness pointed to the need to assign a responsible person as an official spokesman, such as the head of the team so as to talk with the responsible authorities or with the referee away from the introduction of everyone in these affairs, which dispersal of players and administrators.
His Highness stressed the need to respect the decisions of the referees and not to object to them except in a formal way. The referee has been assigned to manage the match and he is responsible for it. In case of having any objections to the decisions of the referees, clubs may submit their objection through the party that assigned the referee and not by gathering and grouping around the referee during the match and objecting to his decisions which may affect the players' behavior and morale, in addition to stirring the audience against the referees.
Regarding the news of the increase in the number of foreign players, His Highness explained that it is an undesirable idea that would negatively affect the national players, indicating that the clubs have been recruiting foreign players as strikers in a manner that significantly reduced the number of outstanding national strikers, recalling the achievements of the team to reach the World Cup 1990 in Italy despite the absence of foreign players.
His Highness praised the results of the merger, which all see its results in the Sharjah team and Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai FC that competed this season for the league title. His Highness called for reducing the number of sports teams so as to contribute to the focus of efforts on these clubs and provide the means to strengthen the good competition among all teams and motivate the rest of the clubs to diligence and work on competition.
His Highness, the Ruler of Sharjah, called on the Football Association to work as one team and not to let personal differences affect the work for the national interest in the Association which may affect all clubs. His Highness referred to the media's handling of the reasons and differences of opinion negatively affect the work of those in charge of the Association and clubs.
His Highness urged the promising players to work on boosting their individual skills and developing their levels through continuous training and training in skills of dodging since childhood, and His Highness pointed to the role of clubs in boosting the skills and in training the young ones since childhood.
His Highness expressed his pride in the winners of significant individual achievements, as they raise the flag of the State in international forums in a manner that would undoubtedly honor the State to stand with dignity on the global platforms.