Five months before the Asian Muaythai Championships in Abu Dhabi, the UAE athletes had a great opportunity to test their skills at the annual Zayed Sports Tournament and again highlight the host for the Asian Championships. Asian teams are already anticipating great competition but also look forward to seeing the wonders of UAE architecture, unique culture and spirit of the middle east.
19 Olympic and non-Olympic sports were part of the multi-sport event involving more than 3500 athletes and 20,000 spectators which made Zayed Tournament one of the biggest multi-sports events in the UAE.
The entire event took place under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs to honour the memory of the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and his continued support in promoting the culture of sport and health in society in all its arteries.

The Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Zayed Sports Tournament, Lt. Gen. Mohammed Hilal Al Kaabi (also Chairman of the Armed Forces Officers Club & Hotel) said:

“We are proud to organize and host the Zayed Sports Tournament at the Armed Forces Officers Club & Hotel for the twenty-third year. This coincides with the “Year of Tolerance” announced by the President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as an extension of the Year of Goodwill and a demonstration of his firm humanist approach which he has instilled in the UAE society to reap the fruits of its finest manifestations. The Zayed Sport tournament, organized by the club, is one of the leading sporting events in the country. Over the years, we have been hosting about 37,370 athletes and have witnessed a crowd of 60,750 people.”

IFMA Director Ms. Charissa Tynan said that muaythai in UAE is developing very fast and is one of the major forces in Asian muaythai. For the World Championships in Bangkok UAE athletes will be ones to watch after amazing performances in the previous events.