UAE is always one step ahead when it comes to honing their homegrown talents, be it athletics or the management side of things.

Hence as part of their efforts, Sharjah Women’s Sports has announced the launch of the Sports Future Pioneer’s Diploma.

It is a first-of-its-kind certificate course available in the region and seeks to empower, develop and shape the local sports sector for women under the directives of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, and Chairperson of SWSF, in partnership with Sharjah Sports Council and Sharjah Media.

The diploma is a 6-months course, a total of 150 hours, that involves workshops and training sessions on communication, media engagement and strategic leadership and governance in sports organization and there are 25 women who are participating in the program.

According to Dr. Husam Barakat, program instructor and the director of training at Al Roya TV in Jordan, the course will allow greater integration of women not just as athletes but as managers to create functional institutions that will drive the sporting scene forward in the region.

“This program is about learning high skills of dealing with sports media,” said Dr. Barakat, “Emirati girls are really smart, but we need to give them proper training so they know how to conduct themselves and communicate effectively to get their ideas heard and use the right channels to execute them for smooth operation of the sporting sector.”

23-year-old Ghalia Abdullah Al Mazmi, senior officer of International Relations for the UAE national Olympic committee and is one of the participants of the program, insists that the program has allowed her to learn more in one session than you can ever learn in a month.

“It has always been my passion to be involved in sports management and this program equips you with the right skills to become leaders in the sector,” Al Mazmi told Sport360.

“The course is very informative, interactive and it’s a lot of fun, so I have learned more through a single session than I could have over a month,” she added.

Mey Ahmed Al Naqbi, Assistant Admin officer of Sharjah Women’s Sports, stressed the importance of these programs to increase the number of women in the sector and insists that the royal family’s support has been vital in empowering Emirati girls.

“As you know, there are not that many women in the sports management side and that has been primarily due to the culture, but things are changing and even our leaders are encouraging us to step up and contribute to the progress of our society,” said Al Naqbi.

The participants of the ‘Sports Future Pioneers’ diploma is part of a recruitment process and at the end of the program, which is in March 2020, the participants will be hired to serve in various sporting organizations in the UAE.