The Dubai Sports Council, DSC, and the Dubai Community Development Authority, CDA, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, to unify their efforts in the field of community development and child protection, and work together to promote sports as a way of life.

The MoU was signed at the headquarters of the DSC by Saeed Hareb, Secretary-General of Dubai Sports Council, and Ahmed Abdulkarim Julfar, Director-General of CDA, in the presence of Nasser Aman Al Rahma, Assistant Secretary-General of DSC, and a number of directors and members of the two Dubai government entities.

The agreement includes the participation of the two parties in making Dubai clubs child-friendly, and support for the educational programme launched by the Dubai Sports Council for young players, parents and employees in the sports sector. The agreement also includes the utilisation of the CDA’s team of volunteers in helping to organise more than 400 sports events that take place in Dubai year-round.

"The vision of the Dubai Sports Council is to build a distinguished and happy sports community," said Saeed Hareb. "So we focus not only on the results of teams but also on all the components of our diverse society. "This agreement comes within the framework of that vision and supports our joint efforts to make our Dubai clubs child-friendly and provide them with the means of child-protection and care.

"For us, sports performance is inseparable from our culture and exemplary behaviour that stems from our values and traditions, and our leadership’s approach. This is what we focus on, and the goals of the council and the objectives of the CDA are the same."

Ahmed Abdulkarim Julfar said, "This agreement marks the culmination of a number of joint initiatives between the authority and the council, and comes within the framework of enhancing cooperation and unifying efforts among government institutions.

"This agreement will contribute towards launching joint and innovative new initiatives in the sphere of community development and child protection. This is an agreement that will enable our children to practice and enjoy sports in a child-friendly, safe and secure environment.

"The authority will put all its child protection expertise at the disposal of Dubai Sports Council and we hope that all sports clubs become child-friendly.

"We are also working to expand the awareness of young people, who love sports, through volunteering opportunities, which will enable them to volunteer in areas they love and enjoy their time in the service of sporting events and programmes."

© Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2018.