Tournament organisers have put added emphasis on sports for special needs athletes, including two new disciplines in the form of Goalball and Deaf Football.

The Goalball will be an exhibition event on the opening night, with the main competitions getting under way the following day with the volleyball tournament.

Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council (DSC), this year’s tournament is being held in seven disciplines, including futsal, volleyball, a 10km road run, a 75-km cycling race, wheelchair basketball, archery, goalball and deaf football, with a total prize fund of Dh8 million for the various winners.

The tournament this year is being held under a new theme ‘Limitless Abilities’ in keeping with the aim to encourage sports for special needs athletes.

The volleyball competition will start from Wednesday with eight teams in the fray. The teams have been divided into two groups who will initially play in a round-robin format to decide the best two from each group, before the final on June 15.

The Wheelchair Basketball will be held at the Dubai Club for Special Sports in Al Ghusais with the final scheduled for June 25.

There will be an archery competition in various categories from June 11-13, while the tournament will conclude with the finals of all sections on June 19.