The Executive Director of the Emirates Billiards and Snooker Federation, Khaled Al Khaili, revealed that the support and budget allocated by the General Authority for Sports to the Snooker and Billiards Federation, amounting to 400,000 dirhams, is not sufficient to cover the volume of posts and external achievements achieved by the national team players in both games in 2019, after gifting a sport UAE to bronze individual World Cup Snooker in Italy, last March, through the star of the national team, Mohamed Shehab, and finally followed in less than a month to dominate the titles of the Arab and Gulf championships, to win the shield of general excellence and the Arab Championship Cup in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt last November, and completed Ba Gulf championships will continue to dominate and win 19 consecutive titles in the tournament hosted by the Sultanate of Oman early this month.
Al-Khaili told Emirates Today that "preserving the gains and continuing to reap the achievements in the same way that the billiard and snooker team succeeded in achieving in 2019, is the motivation that drives the federation to compensate for the lack of financial support provided by the authority, which is limited to 400 thousand dirhams annually, Especially since the Federation's activity for the current year and covering all its expenses recorded a volume of spending amounting to approximately five million dirhams.
He explained: “The support provided by the commission is not in line with the size of the honorable external achievements and participation of the snooker and billiard stars who always seek to raise the state’s flag in the largest foreign forums, but the successful strategy of the federation headed by Sheikh Juma bin Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum, and the strong partnerships that we succeeded on Throughout the long years in building it with national and private companies, thanks to which the Federation’s dynamic and general secretary, Sultan Al-Joker, were behind the union’s ability to compensate for this lack of liquidity, and to provide financial support to cover the annual activity volume with all its activities, whether covering the Local championships or ensuring the continuity of the teams ’participation in external entitlements, whether at the regional or international level, adding“ the commission must adopt different strategies in terms of financial support, so that the unions that succeed in achieving their goals in terms of reaping the achievements are rewarded, as 400 thousand dirhams are allocated The commission, as an annual budget for the snooker and billiards federation, does not even cover travel expenses and outside participation of the nationally-elected players.
He continued: «The game’s federation pays 600,000 dirhams a yearly rent to the headquarters of the union’s hall, which has contributed greatly to the establishment of competitions and the hosting of tournaments, besides giving the players of the team the opportunity to provide a suitable preparation for their external participation, but the Federation’s ability to always enter into strategic partnerships contributed to providing financial support, To fly (Dubai) finally to sponsor the team in its participation in West Asia, which Bahrain hosts from 19 to 27 this year, it was behind granting us the financial liquidity required to cover the Federation's activity.
He added, “There are investment projects that also secure liquidity for the Union, as it witnessed the beginning of the current year the beginning of investing the first financial returns from the commercial project that was built years ago in cooperation with investors on the plot of land granted to the Union in 2007 by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance.
He concluded: «We look forward to catching the end of 2019 and the completion of the march of achievements, by winning the title of the third regional championship within about a month by winning the title (West Asia) supplementing the Arab and Gulf titles».