The head of the Swimming Federation, Sultan Al Samahi, revealed that he will not run for the presidency of the federation in the new election cycle 2020-2024, and he will be satisfied with the three and a half years he spent in the Board of Directors, indicating that he is 40% satisfied with what has been achieved so far for the game in partnership with the private sector , Hoping the upcoming new council will complete the remainder.
He told «Emirates Today»: “The partnership of the Swimming Federation with the private sector resulted in three million dirhams that supported the Federation’s budget, and that was the first goal that we were seeking to give the partnership with the private sector the opportunity to work.”
Al-Samahi touched on several issues, most notably his wish for the issuance of a law forcing the academies to officially register in the federation, and he refused clubs participating in tournaments with academies of the private sector, and others through the following dialogue:
Why did you decide not to run again for the Federation presidency?
- I think that I performed my mission in the swimming union, we took over the task in a difficult period, and we did not complete the course completely due to the previous problems, but I am completely satisfied with the period I spent, and decided not to run for new faces that may serve the union more during the coming period, and I Against running for two terms, despite the many pressures to run again.
What step did you seek and not achieve?
- Existence of sports legislation that allows the federation to create partnerships with other international federations, and the adoption of the federation to be the only official umbrella for swimming practitioners in the Emirates, to approve the results of swimmers in the Emirates, and the representation of teams, which would not have guaranteed additional income for the federation and the state .. Today sport tourism in the Emirates has A large economic income, and we have a human base that reaches 85% of the total UAE population of expatriates, and this sector must be enabled and take advantage of these capabilities. For example, there is a swimming academy in the UAE that has 15,000 swimmers and swimmers, and is not forced to Register in the Swimming Federation, and practice their activities. What if there is a law that compels these academies to register officially in the Game Federation, and what is the expected income from this registration, which is with a small fee? In addition to adopting diving and rescue courses, and rescuers, they are all matters that must be considered and fixed.
What is your success rate in working with the private sector?
- We succeeded by 40% in this aspect, and we leave the field to the next board of directors to complete the 60%. From my point of view, it is necessary to make sure that the federation is the umbrella of all participants and practitioners in the game, because in 2020, 4000 swimmers and swimmers from private academies were registered in the federation records. And the income of swimmers registration in three years reached 450 thousand dirhams from 9000 registered swimmers and swimmers, knowing that the annual registration fees are simple, and do not exceed 50 dirhams annually, in addition to the training courses sector, and the training of trainers that reached the accreditation of nearly 4000 trainers and trainers from Different nationalities, as a result of cooperation with the private sector.
What is your assessment of the national teams?
- We sought during the current session to work on building a strong national team base, and the Federation won the first gold medal in its history at the level of women, by swimming Laila Al-Khatib, and unfortunately one of the problems facing the UAE sport is the neglect of the sport base .. We have started focusing on building A strong team for the community, and there is a project for the team that was going to participate in the postponed World Championship 2020, and there are currently more than a distinguished swimmer in the Sunni stages, and this was the result of dealing with the private sector that merged in the local championships, and there became strong friction, instead of organizing six Tournaments from citizens only, the federation has organized more than 30 different championships per year, one of which has reached 1,000 swimmers in one championship, which is a historical figure in participation.
How did you deal with the clubs?
- Clubs should think professionally in order to develop swimmers, and there are clubs that refuse to participate in tournaments with the private sector, or have reservations about that in order to compete only in tournaments with clubs to win local titles, but the interest of swimming and the player must be considered in conjunction with different nationalities Especially since swimming is an individual game, and therefore its interest must be considered, which we have worked on by organizing open tournaments, which has resulted in more than one distinct swimmer.
Are you with the change of the electoral system to be in the list?
- I think that whether the election is on the list or the regular system, the responsibility should be on the clubs in choosing candidates who serve the game and the union, and if I personally prefer the election on the list, because there may be incompatibility between the president and those present with him, which is what we saw a lot in sports Emirati women, but more importantly, it is the general assembly that must nominate the right person to advance the country's sport.
The product of the swimming association working with the private sector in 3 years
- 45 swimming academies.
- 18 swimming training courses.
- 12 rescue and water safety courses.
4000 certified trainers.
- 8 tournaments organized with the private sector in one year.
- 9000 swimmers and swimmers registered in the Federation.
Organizing the first championship in the history of swimming (short course) in the Emirate of Ajman.
• I hope that a law will be issued that compels academies to register officially in the federation.
• We succeeded with the private sector by 40% and leave 60% for the next administration.
• There are clubs that refuse to participate in tournaments with private sector academies.