Al Bustan Centre & Residence hosts delegates from Special Olympics Middle East Football Unified Cup 11-a-Side

Al Bustan Centre & Residence, the popular hotel apartment among visiting tourists and businessmen in the heart of Dubai, recently hosted the accommodation of delegates of the Special Olympics Middle East Football Unified Cup11-a-side, held at the Dubai Club for Special Sports.

The Special Olympics in the Middle East and North Africa region has organized the Unified Sports Football Cup Qualifier that brought together Special Olympics athletes (people with intellectual disabilities) and Unified Partners (people without intellectual disabilities) to play as team mates. The 10 countries competing in the qualifier are the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan.  The winning team will take part in the 2014 Unified Sports Football Cup in Brazil.   

Moussa El Hayek, Chief Operating Officer, Al Bustan Center & Residence, said “We, at Al Bustan Centre & Residence, are much honored to host the delegates of the Special Olympics. We always look ways to get associated with Government bodies which work towards promoting sports among athletes with disabilities. We applaud the initiatives taken by our great rulers, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who are seeking to reinforce the disabled sports in the UAE.”

Mohammed Fadel Al Hamli, Chairman of Special Olympics UAE said this regional qualifying event is a very important tournament and is supported by FIFA. It is a unique event that can allow UAE Team to qualify to Brazil as the team has been preparing hard for the past year to do well in this tournament.

The 2014 Unified Sports Football Cup is part of the Special Olympics’ Global Football initiative which was launched in 2008 and aimed to utilize the power of football to help transform attitudes about intellectual disability. Half a million people worldwide take part in Unified Sports, breaking down stereotypes about people with intellectual disabilities in a fun and exciting way.

Seen in the picture are Mr. Yasser Moussa, Director of Revenue and Business Development and Mr. Paul Kayal, Front Office Manager along with the delegates of the Special Olympics.