Mohamed Salem Al Dhaheri, Vice President, Jiu-Jitsu Federation

Tell us how the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation is raising the profile of the sport at home and abroad.

For over a decade, the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation (UAEJJF) has been hosting international Jiu-Jitsu competitions in Abu Dhabi, attracting thousands of athletes, enthusiasts and tourists from around the world to the UAE capital. These recurring sporting events not only established and reinforced Abu Dhabi’s status as the global jiu-jitsu capital, but also popularized the sport in the region.

We have seen the Asian Championships and other AJP circuit competitions held at the Zayed Sports City Jiu-Jitsu Gym. We also successfully held the Jiu-Jitsu World Championships in October and the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championships in November.

These events attract international athletes and tourists to the city, which clearly has a positive impact on the emirate’s tourism and overall economy. For example, more than 6,000 men and women competed at the Jiu-Jitsu World Championships and Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championships held in Abu Dhabi last November.

Do you think sports tourism in Abu Dhabi is growing?

There is no doubt that Abu Dhabi has established itself as a premier sports destination and hosts many important international competitions, including the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the FIFA Club World Cup, consecutive Three-time Jiu-Jitsu World Championships and NBA competition for the first time.

Putting on events is one thing, but to keep these sporting events coming back to the UAE shows not only that we are doing a commendable job, but also that the organization and the fans are happy to be back here. Public excitement about these events is also at an unprecedented level.

We are certainly experiencing some level of sports prosperity, and several factors have contributed to it including leadership support, ideal infrastructure, connectivity, and most importantly, a sports-loving audience.

Do you think sports create jobs?

Absolutely.Any major international event held in Abu Dhabi will increase No distinction in employment and sporting eventsrent. The hard work of many people goes through the entire process of hosting an event: from planning the event, creating the infrastructure, the actual execution of the event, to the post-event review.